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Rape as a Weapon of War and Genocide in Sudan

By Bhaswati Bhattacharjee



© UNICEF/Mohamed Zakaria


Rape and sexual assault are used as weapons of war to terrorize, displace, and destroy non-Arab ethnicities in Sudan. 


 

 

 

Based on over 300 interviews with victims and witnesses, the U.N. human rights office concluded in a report in February 2024 that rapes in Sudan are war crimes. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that rape has been systematically used as a weapon of war in Sudan. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan’s office said in a report to the U.N. Security Council on July 13, 2023, that it is investigating “allegations of sexual and gender-based crimes, including mass rapes… and violence against children.”  


Genocide Watch recommends: 


  • Ethnically targeted rape is an act genocide under Genocide Convention, Article II (b) (Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group), (c) (Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part), and (d) (Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group). (ICTR Akayesu case) Leaders of genocide must be prosecuted. 

  • Reported cases of rape should be investigated and arrest warrants issued by the ICC and Sudanese courts. 

  • RSF and SAF rapists and traffickers must be arrested and tried. 

  • Survivors of sexual violence must receive immediate medical care and protection. 

  • International donors should fund clinics to provide medical and psychological care for survivors of rape. 

  • The Sudanese government must permit emergency medical care without requiring police or legal reports. 

  • Safe escape routes for civilians should be established by agreements with RSF and SAF commanders. 

  • A strong UN/AF Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan should be authorized by the UN Security Council. 






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