Urgent Action: Allegations of mass rapes in Tabit village in North Darfur, October 31, 2014 – PDF
Sudan Human Rights Network (SHRN) is deeply concerned about the media reports of an alleged mass rape of some 200 women and girls in Tabit, 45 km south-west of El Fasher, in North Darfur, Sudan, by members of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) on Friday, October 31, 2014. According to a press statement issued on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, The African Union-United Nations hybrid mission in Darfur (UNAMID) sent a verification patrol to Tabit on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. The patrol was denied access at the outskirts of the village by Sudanese military. Nine days after the incident, and five days after the initial verification patrol was denied access to investigate the mass rape of many women and girls in Tabit, the UN-AU peacekeeping mission team was granted access and had visited the village, accompanied by government officials, on Sunday, November 9, 2014.
The team spent several hours touring the village and interviewing a variety of Tabit’s residents. However, in a report published Monday, November 10 by Reuters; “A U.N. official familiar with UNAMID, who is not authorized to speak to the media, said in an interview the situation during Sunday’s investigation was not conducive to a proper examination of allegations of mass rape”. Added, that the Sudan military “were present in every house the UNAMID team visited to conduct interviews.”
SHRN strongly condemns attacks against civilians in Tabit and the obstruction of a transparent and impartial investigation. SHRN calls on the Government of Sudan, the joint African Union, and the UN Peacekeeping Mission to take immediate actions to protect the civilians in Tabit and all IDPs living in camps in Darfur.
SHRN calls on the African Union-United Nations hybrid mission in Darfur to stand up to their mandate and responsibility to protect vulnerable communities in Darfur, especially those living in the camps, put adequate security measures in place and caveats to ensure such attacks will not occur again.
SHRN calls for a thorough and fair investigation, and urges the United Nations Security Council to form a transparent public international commission in collaboration with international organizations and an independent expert on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan to probe all aspects of the African Union-United Nations hybrid mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
The UN estimates that some 385,000 people have been displaced by the conflict between the Government of Sudan and armed movements in Darfur since the start of 2014.
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