WUNRN
Gender Excerpts from Report:
SUMMARY
The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned by the situation of women's rights (in Sudan). In spite of constitutional provisions guaranteeing equal protection by the law and equality before the law, women continue to be considered second-class citizens. Early and forced marriages, violence against women, and female genital mutilation are still widely practised. Furthermore, women are frequently placed in detention facilities for lack of payment of dowry, family debts, acts committed by family members, or on adultery charges. Women are underrepresented in Government institutions, and in positions of leadership in general.
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IV. DARFUR
47. The female population of Darfur, in particular internally displaced persons, continue to be the target of rape and other sexual and gender-based violence. The established pattern of violence against women that emerged at the beginning of the conflict continued during the reporting period. As documented in many previous incidents, the perpetrators were very often armed men in military uniforms or in civilian clothes travelling in groups on horses or camels. In North Darfur, internally displaced persons were victims in 80 per cent of all reported cases of sexual and gender-based violence. Female internally displaced persons were usually attacked when they left the confines of the camps for internally displaced persons to engage in income-generating activities, such as the collection of firewood, grass and fruit. The women reported that they continued to risk being attacked whenever they left the camp.
48. The majority of incidents of sexual violence went unreported. Many victims chose not to file complaints because they felt that the police could not, or would not, take appropriate action against perpetrators. In many cases, police action was limited to receiving complaints without any steps being taken to investigate and bring the alleged perpetrators to justice.
49. In August 2007, the Minister for Justice issued a declaration outlining measures that the Ministry planned to undertake to eliminate violence against women in Darfur. The Government also publicly condemned violence against women and reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy for such crimes. While acknowledging the efforts of the Government, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that these efforts have not yielded any discernible improvement on the ground during the reporting period, as shown by the continuing reports of incidences of sexual and gender-based violence in Darfur.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
Distr. GENERAL A/HRC/7/22 3 March 2008 Original: ENGLISH |
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Seventh Session
Agenda Item 4
HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE THE COUNCIL'S ATTENTION
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION
OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE SUDAN, SIMA SAMAR
FULL REPORT IS ATTACHED.
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