Senior UN officials call for end to ‘barbaric’ sexual violence in Sudan
New York, US (PANA) - The international community must take immediate action to end the wave of sexual violence being carried out against women and girls in Sudan, two senior UN officials said on Thursday.
Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten together with Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya, said that more than a year into the battle for control of the country between rival militaries, the “barbaric acts” being committed “echo the horrors witnessed in Darfur two decades ago”.
They urged Security Council members who met this week to debate Ms. Patten’s latest report on sexual violence to send “an unequivocal message: under international humanitarian law, civilians in Sudan must be protected and must never be subjected to acts of sexual violence, which constitute war crimes.”
The disturbing reports show how women and girls are being disproportionately impacted.
Allegations of rape, forced marriages, sexual slavery, and trafficking of women and girls – especially in Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan – continue to be recorded with millions of civilians at risk as they flee conflict areas in search of shelter, inside Sudan and in neighbouring countries.
The two top women officials noted that the true scale of the crisis remains unseen, “a result of severe under-reporting due to stigma, fear of reprisals, and a lack of confidence in national institutions”.
Without more financial and political support for frontline responders, access to life-saving services will only continue to shrink, they warned.
-0- PANA MA 26April2024
