21
August 2007
The Government of the Sudan must protect women and
children from sexual and gender-based violence, says a new report from the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that details cases of
abduction, rape and sexual violence in South Darfur.
The report,
a follow-up to one issued in April 2007, contains testimonies from victims
and eyewitnesses describing how women were abducted, kept as sex slaves or
subjected to other human rights violations in Deribat and surrounding towns
by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and affiliated groups. These and other
violations occurred in late December 2006 in the wake of air and ground
attacks on civilians in the area.
The report, issued in cooperation with the United Nations
Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), stresses that the Government accrues responsibility
for the actions of its Armed Forces and other informal allied groups, notably
the Popular Defense Forces and the Southern Liberation Army/Abu Gasim
faction. The report says the abuses may also constitute war crimes, recalling
that no investigation had been carried out by the Sudanese Government. Local
authorities have indicated that they have forwarded the allegations to the
Sudanese Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Sudan's Advisory Council on Human Rights
has informed UNMIS that it is proposing to establish an investigation
committee jointly with the African Union Mission in Sudan to inquire into the
allegations contained in the report.
Among its recommendations, the report urges:
· The Government and rebel factions to cease all attacks
against civilians, especially women and children
· The Government to establish an independent body to
investigate abduction, rape and sexual slavery committed in the region, and
those suspected of being responsible should be brought to justice in trials
that meet international standards of fairness. The results of the
investigation should be made public
. The Government to suspend immediately, pending
investigations, any member of the Sudanese Armed Forces suspected of having
committed or ordered rape, abduction and other forms of sexual violence
· The Government to issue immediate clear instructions to
all troops under its command including PDF and other militias that rape and
other forms of sexual violence will not be tolerated
· The Government to undertake a review its legislation, in
particular articles 145 and 149 of the 1991 Criminal Code, so that women are
not deterred from reporting rape through fear that their claims will be
associated with the crime of adultery
· The African Union to maintain a presence in the area;
this should be negotiated with the non signatories of the Darfur Peace
Agreement
|