Statement Submitted by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa Network for the 69th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women

Statement

The Horn of Africa region has a history of complex peace and security issues driven by governance challenges and regional geopolitics, leading to prolonged and renewed cycles of conflicts. As a result, the region has seen high levels of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) against women and girls. Statistics show that 42% of women in the region have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence in their lives, but it is believed that the actual rates could be even higher due to underreporting. As a prominent feminist organization in the region, the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) is deeply concerned about the increase in armed conflicts and sexual violence in the region. We believe this is a direct result of the lack of accountability that has permeated the region, and the ineffective political process characterized by the alienation of civilian populations, which often disrupts peace and stability. The suppression of women’s voices and their political agency only serves to further the instability and violence across the Horn of Africa countries.

In Ethiopia, conflict-related sexual violence continues to be highly prevalent but is often concealed. Since 2019, the prevalence of conflict-related sexual violence in Northern Ethiopia, particularly in the Tigray region, has been increasing rapidly, with gang rape being the most common form of sexual violence. Currently, conflict-related sexual violence is expanding to multiple regions within Ethiopia, including Oromo, Amhara, and the Afar regions. Despite Ethiopia having adequate laws and policies that could have prevented the widespread occurrence of conflict-related sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence, and despite efforts of transitional justice and investigations by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, systemic impunity continues to embolden perpetrators. The justice system is obstructed, and there is a lack of interest in holding perpetrators accountable for the severe violations that constitute crimes under both Ethiopian and international law. The pervasive lack of justice and accountability in relation to conflict-related sexual violence is spreading nationwide.

Somalia: has experienced relative peace for the past two decades, although there have been pockets of conflict, war, and political instability. Somalia has operated a multi-party system for almost 20 years, and women have played an important role in the country’s development, contributing significantly to reconciliation and peace processes. However, despite their contributions, women continue to be marginalized by the patriarchal structures that dominate Somali society and political systems. Conflict-related sexual violence remains rampant across the country. This situation is worsened by a legal system that often enables perpetrators to get away with their crimes. Somalia is still struggling to prosecute sexual violence as a crime in front of statutory courts, even though the law criminalizes rape and provides penalties. The Somali justice system often allows cases of sexual violence to be settled in traditional and customary courts, contributing to a persistent increase in sexual violence crimes across the country. Efforts to pass a sexual offenses bill supported by activists and women’s organizations continue to face challenges in Somalia’s parliament.

In South Sudan, women and girls are enduring severe sexual violence, exploitation, abuse, and harassment in the aftermath of conflict across the country. Women are often subjected to ethnically targeted rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as enduring gender inequalities rooted in social norms and practices that perpetuate discrimination and subordination. Despite South Sudan’s ratification of several international and regional human rights mechanisms, including CEADW, and some progress in establishing the Commission on Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing as mandated by the Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, the situation on the ground remains extremely dire and unsafe for women and girls.

Five years ago, Sudan was seen as a symbol of hope as it was undergoing a democratic transition and achieving stability. However, today, the UN secretary-general describes it as a “humanitarian travesty,” with the UN’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide warning of the risk of genocide in Darfur. The country is experiencing a wave of atrocities, bloodshed, hunger, and disease. Millions of Sudanese people have been displaced from their homes, fleeing armed militia and aerial bombardments while facing poverty and deliberate starvation. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 4 million women and girls are at risk of sexual violence in post-war Sudan. Women and girls are being subjected to rape in their homes, fields, and during displacement. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the armed militia currently battling with Sudan’s armed forces, have been responsible for 80 percent of reported rapes since the civil war began in April 2023. There are also reports of men and boys being raped across the country.

In conclusion, we want to emphasize our concerns and extreme worries about the deteriorating conditions of women and girls in the region, as well as the generational impact of this situation on the region’s peace and stability. We are equally concerned about the setbacks and limited progress the states of the Horn of Africa are making in addressing sexual and gender-based violence, conflict-related sexual violence, and the resulting generational trauma.

We urgently call on the international community to monitor the situation in the Horn of Africa while working to meaningfully ensure the region’s transformation from the status of conflicts into peace and stability.

Based on our long-term inversions and commitment to the women, girls, and their communities in the region, we are outlining the following recommendations for your consideration:

1. Support civil participation with women being central in governance and the political process from beginning to end, with clear benchmark indicators. Promote meaningful democratization of the region, including equitable resource allocation and allowing the different nations to have their voices heard on political and governance systems.
2. prioritize and support the implementation of international and national accountability mechanisms in the region, ensuring that they are integrated into the political process and conflict transformation. And promote women’s participation in security sector reform as active participants and advocates.
3. Uphold gender equality and protection of women and children in line with international and regional mechanisms. Hold state parties accountable for violating their obligations.
4. Allocate resources and capacity to local and national governments and encourage partnership between local governments and civil society to ensure the effective implementation of existing mechanisms and laws designed to hold perpetrators of violence against women accountable.
5. Ensure that women and women-led civil society organizations are given platforms to meaningfully participate, and their expertise is valued and utilized in the political process.
6. Support the development of protection strategies and modules for frontline workers and volunteers in active conflict and encourage partnerships and collaboration between local and international civil society.
7. Call on countries in the region who are not in compliance with international mechanisms, particularly Sudan and Somalia, to ratify all relevant international and regional instruments that strengthen the protection of women’s rights.
8. Promote and work towards improving the socio-economic status of women, particularly in conflict and post-conflict settings, and support their access to sexual and reproductive health and psychosocial support services, especially for survivors of SGBV (sexual and gender-based violence) and CRSV (conflict-related sexual violence).