Report: Sexual Violence in Sudan Civil War is Widespread

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Facts

• A report from Human Rights Watch released on Monday claims that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), actors in Sudan's civil war fighting the Sudanese military, are responsible for widespread acts of sexual violence. The report focuses on instances of sexual violence in Khartoum.^[1]
• Khartoum first saw conflict break out between the paramilitary RSF and the government Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023. The report claims that in Bahri and Omdurman, victims of sexual abuse ranged from ages 9 to 60, and abuse was perpetuated by both sides in the conflict.^[2]
• The report contains accounts from 42 medical personnel and other service workers from September through February of this year. 18 of those say they have provided direct care to a total of 262 victims of sexual violence.^[3]
• The Sudanese military was also accused of cutting off humanitarian aid to the RSF-held region, which exacerbated the impact of sexual violence. Men and boys have also been victimized by sexual violence, the report alleges.^[4]
• The authors of the report say that the allegations made are 'a serious violation of international humanitarian law,' and that the UN Security Council must step in.^[3]
• The war in Sudan has left 14K dead and displaced 11M, the most in any conflict zone. Last month, experts warned that 755K are facing famine in Sudan in the near future and that 8.5M are facing food shortages.^[4]

Sources: ^[1]Reuters, ^[2]Human Rights Watch, ^[3]CNN and ^[4]NBC.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The New Humanitarian. The war in Sudan has become a forgotten conflict, and every day that passes without intervention is a mark of shame that must be addressed by the international community. The evidence for egregious human rights abuses continues to mount, and the UN has enough grounds to act and sanction perpetrators and help restore order. This must be done to avoid further suffering and avert a looming famine on the ground.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by New York Times. The crisis in Sudan is partially the fault of the world community, as they incentivize armed groups to take part in peace talks that they have no plans on upholding. In Sudan, much-needed reforms were put on the back burner in order to secure a cessation of fighting, which created a powder keg situation in the country. The 'rules-based order' has to rethink how we engage with violent groups and put civilians first.

Predictions