Press Statement: Gezira State and the Forgotten Atrocities: A Report on Conflict-related Sexual Violence

SIHA Network has released a report that underscores the dire circumstances faced by Sudanese women and girls amid the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Sudan. The report focuses on the deliberate use of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV) in Gezira State. Sexual violence is part of the broader and extensive series of atrocities being committed in the state, including killings, looting, torture, enforced disappearances, forced labor, and forced marriage.

The report highlights how the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have systematically used CRSV as a war strategy since the beginning of the conflict in Darfur in 2003 on behalf of the National Congress party and used it as a tool to subjugate civilians during the dispersal of the General Command sit-in in 2019. Sexual violence has also been used against activists during the October 2021 coup protests. Despite extensive documentation of the atrocities in the Sudanese war by human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Gezira State remains an area that has not received adequate attention, particularly regarding CRSV crimes, due to societal constraints, the heavy presence of the RSF forces in the state, the limited presence of civil society and human rights groups, and isolation resulting from disrupted communications.

This silence not only deepens the suffering of survivors but also perpetuates an environment where CRSV is normalized and used as a tactic of war and domination. This report calls for urgent action to protect survivors of CRSV, provide comprehensive support services, and pursue justice. It also urges international bodies, governments, and civil society organizations to prioritize the protection of civilians and ensure accountability for the perpetrators.

SIHA Network reaffirms its commitment to advocating for Sudanese women and girls, emphasizing collective action to eradicate conflict-related sexual violence. We also call upon governments and regional and international actors to take immediate action by:

• Launching programs that support independent civil society engagement in human rights and humanitarian work, and to counter militarization and normalization of war crimes.
• Protecting women and human rights frontline defenders to ensure they can continue providing services despite the difficult conditions.
• Establishing integrated service centers to respond to cases of sexual violence, specialized clinics, and support the documentation of sexual violence crimes and the provision of mental health, sexual, and reproductive health services for survivors.
• Extending the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to ensure comprehensive documentation and robust accountability mechanisms to bring perpetrators to justice.
• The UN Security Council must establish a war crimes tribunal to address the many atrocities, including CRSV, being committed during the war in Sudan. The international justice system must use such mechanisms to hold Abu Aqla Keikel, the RSF commander in the Gezira region, along with all other commanders and members of RSF leadership, accountable for the war crimes being committed in Gezira, including CRSV.