UN rights chief calls for probe into Darfur rapes, disappearances

April 6, 2007 (GENEVA) — The U.N.’s top human rights official Friday called on the Sudanese government to investigate urgently allegations that its soldiers took part in the rape of women in Darfur last December.

A statement issued by the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, also said the alleged abduction in September of 19 men by the Sudan Liberation Army faction of rebel leader Minni Minnawi should be investigated.

Reports on the two incidents were compiled by a team of 30 U.N. human rights investigators working in Darfur. The investigators said that sexual violence, which reportedly took place in mid- and late-December in nine villages in the eastern Jebel Marra region of Darfur, involved at least 15 cases of rape and sexual assault at the hands of uniformed men.

“Victims were as young as 13 years old and at least two pregnant women were targeted in the violence,” the statement said.

“The attackers wore military uniforms and were described by the victims as soldiers,” it said, adding that based on the testimony collected by U.N. officials “it appears that rape during the December 2006 attacks was used as a weapon of war to cause humiliation and instill fear into the local population.”

The rapes were part of a wider assault on people belonging to the same ethnic group as some Darfuri rebels that resulted in civilian deaths and people being driven from their homes, it said.

The Sudanese government should carry out “an impartial, timely, and transparent investigation into the attacks, with particular focus on the allegations of rape and other gross violations of international human rights law,” Arbour’s office said.

Sudan has consistently denied assertions its forces have committed war crimes in the troubled region.

The Darfur region has been the scene of a bloody four-year conflict between government-backed militias and rebel forces that has so far seen more than 200,000 people killed and at least 2.5 million driven from their homes, according to U.N. estimates.

A report earlier this month by a group of experts led by U.S. Nobel laureate Jody Williams said the government of President Omar al-Bashir was responsible for orchestrating militia attacks on civilians, a charge Khartoum vehemently denies.

The report on the second incident, in which at least 19 men belonging to the Massalit group were allegedly arrested by soldiers belonging to Minnawi’s SLA faction in Geraida, in southern Darfur, on Sept. 29 last year, calls for the rebel group to immediately reveal the whereabouts of the men.

It says that eight of the men have reportedly been found dead, while the others remain missing.

Arbour called on Minnawi, whose group signed the Darfur Peace Agreement last May and who is now chairman of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority, to ensure the physical well-being of the detainees and allow U.N. human rights officials to meet them.

“If the captured persons are dead, there must be an independent, transparent and timely inquiry to identify those responsible and hold them accountable for crimes that may have been committed,” she said.

On Monday, gunmen believed to belong to Minnawi’s faction killed two African peacekeepers and critically wounded a third in Geraida, according to the African Union.

(AP)

The text of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the enforced disappearance of Massalit men arrested
in South Darfur

On 29 September 2006, soldiers of the Special Presidential Assistant and Chairman of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (SLA-Minnawi) arrested at least 19 Massalit men in Gereida, South Darfur. The arrests followed an armed attack on an SLA-Minnawi base by a group of Massalit dissidents of Gereida in the early morning of 29 September 2006 and were done in public; the men were taken from their houses, the market and the street.

In October 2006, Special Presidential Assistant Minnawi declared a general amnesty for all those arrested in relation to the attack. Since October, representatives of SLA-Minnawi in Gereida have repeatedly stated that they handed over all the detainees to the international community. However, only three of the men who were arrested on 29 September 2006 were subsequently released. All the other men who were arrested are still unaccounted for.

On 22 January 2007, the corpses of eight men exhumed by the Government in Rahad Al Udam were identified as amongst those arrested on 29 September 2006. There are also reports that some of the detainees were amongst a group of 25 corpses found under two trees in early October 2006 near Um Sunut—a location where a group of the arrested men were last seen by witnesses.

After extensive interviews with witnesses of the arrests, relatives of the victims and representatives of SLA-Minnawi, UNMIS raised the question of the fate or whereabouts of the detainees in a letter dated 22 February 2007 to H.E. Minni Arkoy Minnawi, Special Presidential Assistant and Chairman of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority. UNMIS has not yet received a response.

Following the discovery of corpses of former detainees and the absence of a comprehensive response from the authorities or new information in relation to the arrested persons OHCHR is extremely concerned about the fate of the men arrested on 29 September 2006 in Gereida. OHCHR calls on the Special Presidential Assistant Minnawi to provide an immediate explanation as to the fate and whereabouts of these men. OHCHR is also concerned about credible reports it has received from witnesses regarding the torture of detainees in the presence of SLA leaders, including one senior leader, at an SLA-Minnawi base on the southern side of Gereida as well in the Um Sunut detention facility.

OHCHR recognizes that the arrests followed an armed attack on a SLA-Minnawi base in the early morning of 29 September 2006. In that attack, three SLA soldiers were killed and several fighters from both sides were wounded. Nonetheless, the reported enforced disappearance, torture, and possible summary execution of those men arrested from Gereida are grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. No circumstances whatsoever may be invoked to justify enforced disappearances, torture or summary executions. Any person deprived of their liberty should be held in an officially recognized place of detention and promptly brought before a judicial authority. The Special Presidential Assistant Minnawi should give a detailed response to the above allegations and those responsible for human rights violations should be prosecuted.

Recommendations:

The Government of National Unity should conduct an independent inquiry into the September 2006 events so as to identify and prosecute those responsible for enforced disappearances, torture or summary executions and compensate victims. All forensic reports and other evidence should be made available and considered in the independent inquiry.

Special Presidential Assistant Minnawi should disclose the fate or the whereabouts of those arrested in Gereida on 29 September 2006. The physical integrity of those detained must be assured and they should be promptly brought before a judicial authority. UNMIS Human Rights Officers should be provided access to persons detained in September 2006.

The Authorities should ensure that accessible, complete, accurate and fully up-to-date lists of detainees are kept, and shared with families of the detainees and with civilian authorities. All persons deprived of liberty must be released in a manner permitting reliable verification that they have actually been released and, further, have been released in conditions in which their physical integrity and ability fully to exercise their rights are assured.

April 2007

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The text of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the sexual violence during attacks on villages in East Jebel Marra, Darfur

This report focuses on accounts of widespread rape that took place during attacks by Sudanese armed forces and allied militia on villages in and around the area of Deribat, in eastern Jebel Marra, in mid to late December 2006. Women and girls, including at least two pregnant women were targeted. While some women were raped in the villages, others were abducted, raped, and later released. During the attacks civilians were also killed and displaced. The attacks, as has been previously documented in Darfur, were directed against an entire community perceived to be supporting rebels.

According to local sources, in mid to late December 2006, the village of Deribat and eight other villages along the road from Kutur to Deribat were attacked by air and land by government forces and allied militia. The attackers traveled on approximately 20 vehicles and on camel and horseback. Local sources reported that the attacks in December resulted in 36 civilian deaths. The number of casualties has not been independently confirmed. Male residents and children, as young as 3 years old, appeared to have been the target of gunfire. The attacks resulted in a dire humanitarian situation with reports of people dying due to cold weather and other hardships.

At least 15 cases of sexual assault, including rape, were reported to have occurred during the attacks perpetrated by groups of men in uniform, described by the victims as soldiers. Victims were as young as 13 years old. An interviewed survivor said that during the attack on Deribat, “Three of the attackers came to my house. They forced me on the ground. One of them held my legs, while the other two raped me.” The victim stated that the attackers wore khaki uniforms and that they threatened to kill her if she did not comply with their orders. A resident from Suni village recalled that she had gone to visit her relatives in Deribat on the day when the town was attacked. She reported that, “Two armed men came to the house. They were wearing green military uniforms. They beat me with a rope and both of them raped me.” A 13-year-old girl reported that she was outside her house when “Soldiers came in cars heading towards the hills. Three were in green military uniform and the fourth was in civilian clothes. All four of them were armed and all of them raped me.”

A 19-year-old woman reported that she and another 13 women were attacked by a group of about 20 armed men when they were attempting to return to the village after the attack occurred. The women were taken captive and kept for about a week. The victim reported that during that period she was raped everyday by groups of three to four men.

In addition to the above cases, several victims stated that the attackers asked if their husbands or relatives were rebels before proceeding to rape them. A 15-year-old girl was at her house with her relatives when two armed men with their faces covered entered. They accused a male relative of being a rebel and then shot him. The girl was beaten and then raped. A 30-year-old woman was raped by four armed men in camouflage uniforms when at her farm with her child in Deribat. The men asked her if her husband was a rebel, they then proceeded to grab the victim’s child from her back and one of the men raped her. After the rape, one of the assailants said, “We will take her rebel child away.”

Testimony was gathered from two 25-year-old pregnant women who alleged having been raped. One of the victims was at her house with her husband when a group of soldiers came in. The attackers wore green military uniforms and traveled in a Land Cruiser vehicle. The soldiers shot her husband and then proceeded to kick and beat her. A group of 10 men then raped her. She was three months pregnant and had a miscarriage as a result of the rape. The other victim stated that when the attack ensued she attempted to flee with her 20-month-old daughter. Her daughter was killed due to the bombing while she was caught by a group of armed men and kept for four days. The victim reported that she was raped by four men which led her to have a miscarriage. She was five months pregnant.

The High Commissioner is seriously concerned that rape and other sexual violence during the December 2006 attacks was used as a weapon of war to cause humiliation and instill fear into the local population. The systematic use of rape to punish and humiliate local communities is a war crime. It violates Common Article 3 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, to which the Sudan is a High Contracting Party, and is punishable by the International Criminal Court. The Government has a duty to hold perpetrators of rape accountable and provide protection from such a crime.

Recommendations to the Government of Sudan:

Immediately stop all attacks against civilians, women and children.

Issue immediate clear instructions to all forces under its command that rape and other forms of sexual violence will not be tolerated; that they are war crimes and those suspected of being responsible will be investigated and brought to justice.

Fulfill its responsibility to protect civilians and take action to implement its commitment to disarm the militia operating in the region.

Establish an independent and impartial body which has the trust of the parties and includes women investigators with primary responsibility for investigating sexual violence. This body should undertake a timely and transparent investigation into all gross violations of international human rights law with a particular focus on allegations of rape and other forms of sexualized violence. The investigation, with due regard to the need to ensure effective protection of victims, should aim to collect evidence to identify and prosecute those who planned, orchestrated, and/or conducted the attacks, in addition to those having committed the acts, including rapes and other forms of sexual violence. The results of the investigation should be made public. Effective legal measures should be taken to ensure that those found to be responsible are effectively prosecuted and do not enjoy impunity. The safety of victims and witnesses should be protected.

Ensure full reparations, including compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition for victims of human rights abuses, including rape and sexual violence, and for the relatives of those unlawfully abducted and killed.

Immediately ensure the respect for the right to health, and in particular facilitate access to the affected areas for delivery of medical and humanitarian aid, including psychosocial support for sexual violence survivors.

Respect their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

April 2007