Approaching the one-year mark of a mass rape in Tabit, North Darfur, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a dispatch calling on the United Nations to do more to protect the survivors and those still at risk. This publication follows HRW’s October 12 dispatch detailing ongoing violations of women’s rights in Sudan’s conflict zones as well as the regime’s application of repressive and discriminatory laws to diminish the ability of women to participate in public life.
As documented in a February 2015 HRW report, Sudan Armed Forces soldiers raped at least 221 women over a 36-hour period starting on October 30, 2014. After the incident, the Sudanese government obstructed efforts to investigate these acts and limited the freedom of movement of the people of Tabit. As we wrote in a New York Times op-ed following this report, “These ‘torture rapes’ are just one tool in Sudan’s criminal arsenal, which also includes aerial bombing of hospitals and agricultural fields, burning of villages and the denial of food aid.”
"In both Tabit and Golo, the Sudanese government has done everything possible to cover up its crimes. There is no evidence that anyone has been charged with any crimes. The survivors have not received medical or psychosocial services, let alone justice.
Tomorrow, the United Nations Security Council is meeting to discuss a report from the joint African Union-UN mission in Darfur – a report that, somehow, excludes any mention of the RSF’s role in violence and abuses in Darfur. Instead of allowing this one-sided narrative to stand unchallenged, council members should use this opportunity to press for justice."
Read the full Human Rights Watch dispatch here.