Rapists stalk displaced camps in Darfur
By Anaclet Rwegayura
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June7, 2005 (PANA) — Zam Zam camp of internally
displaced Darfurians in western Sudan is rife with rape, but, for
fear of vengeance, the victims would rather suffer and bear it
than put the finger on offenders.
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A young girl listens to women talking in a counselling tent at Abushouk camp near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state November 7, 2004. The camp is home to more than 45,000 people who have fled fighting in western Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, where sexual violence against women is common. (Reuters). |
Located about 10 km from El Fasher, capital of North Darfur
province, the camp shelters around 30,000 people, the majority
being women and children.
They live on a desolate land, covered with sand and scanty
vegetation. Already traumatised by the bloodshed that has torn
the Darfur region apart, their survival remains turbulent.
“The fear of vengeance keeps our mouths shut. Women and girls are
raped every day but nobody can dare seek redress,” says Hamdan
Ali (not his real name).
According to the elderly, who declined to mention his own name to
a visiting delegation of the African Union (AU), taking legal
action against a rapist would be an invitation to more serious
trouble for the victim and whoever appears to stand up for her.
Camps of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the three
administrative provinces of Darfur — North, South and West —
have been hotspots of sexual violence since the outbreak of the
war between rebel movements and the Government of Sudan two years
ago.
Some tribal chiefs among the IDPs, who spoke out about the rape
menace, accused elements of the Sudanese military, police and
militia as being responsible for the rape terror.
“Cases of rape and sexual molestation are still being reported
from IDP camps, but they seem to be decreasing,” Commissioner
Anand Pillay, head of the civilian police under the AU Mission in
Sudan (AMIS), said last week.
He confirmed that the victims fear the Sudanese police. His unit,
however, is handicapped by the lack of executive powers to deal
with crime.
“When we seize alleged rapists or thieves, we hand them to the
GoS (Government of Sudan) police,” Pillay said.
None of the reported cases, including those handed to the
Sudanese police by AMIS, has been prosecuted. Suspects are
deliberately set free with no case to answer.
Under its ongoing enhancement programme, AMIS will deploy at
least 1,560 civilian police (women and men) from other African
countries in Darfur by the end of September 2005. Meanwhile, 30
AMIS police stations, one at each IDP camp, are being set up.
AMIS activities on the ground include regular patrols to promote
confidence among the local population.
Of late, AMIS came up with a strategy, in coordination with
humanitarian NGOs operating in IDP camps, to patrol specific
areas in order to curb the incidents of rape. This has had a
positive but limited effect.
At Zam Zam IDP camp, for instance, AMIS police are on the beat
from 07:00 am till 07:00 pm daily. For the rest of the night only
GoS police are on the watch.
Very often women and girls were raped when they went out of the
camps to fetch firewood, but the victims did not want to be
identified because they were scared, Commissioner Pillay added.
Whether individual members of the Sudanese police force and those
of the numerous, armed militia groups in Darfur act on their own
to commit offences or not, what is clear is that internationally
acceptable police standards are lacking.
In addition, government police based in Darfur do not have women
officers to deal with gender-based violence.
“To them, this is a new phenomenon,” Pillay observed, explaining
that previously rape cases were not reported to the police.
AMIS police is planning a workshop to enlighten Sudanese police
on such issues as human rights and gender dimensions.
Though AMIS is willing to help them improve their performance,
Pillay said: “We will assist GoS police in training but at their
own request. We don’t want them to look inferior.”
The announcement on 6 June 2005 by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) at The Hague that it was launching an intensive
investigation into war crimes in Darfur has come a bit too late.
However, the court’s move should give the rape victims in IDP
camps and remote homesteads in the region renewed hope of justice
and a sense that, beyond their dusty horizon, the world cares for
their rights.