Urgent UN Security Council Action Needed to Protect Civilians in Sudan

To Members of the United Nations Security Council,

We are a group of 118 feminist, women’s human rights, and human rights groups and organizations, and we write to express our grave concern about the mass atrocities and conflict-induced famine in Sudan. We call on the members of the Security Council to take concrete measures to protect civilians, including women and girls, where violations of International Humanitarian Law amounting to crimes against humanity are taking place by both warring parties of the war, namely the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Civilians, in particular women and girls, are bearing the brunt of this cruel war, under the world’s watch. We remind the Security Council members, as signatories to the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, of their responsibility to protect civilians in Sudan.

In this war, approximately 10.5M citizens have been displaced, a majority of which are women and children. According to latest estimations, 2.5 million could die of starvation by September. In the last year, 30,000+ civilians lost their lives, and 24M+ currently face human-made famine, especially women and children. There are 97+ women missing. More than 80% of hospitals are out of service either due to destruction and targeted shelling, or their take-over and transformation into military bases by warring parties. Power cuts are jeopardizing the lives of 219,000+ pregnant women who rely on the services of midwives.  Many women have lost their lives. In addition, “hundreds of women and girls died of lack of medications, SGBV survivors have no access to medical support or rape kits, and hundreds of cases of rape were confirmed from Khartoum, Darfur, and other conflict areas within the last year where numbers confirmed do not represent the actual numbers (since) the security conditions and stigma prevent many women from reporting these crimes. On the other hand, dozens of women and girls are stranded in fighting areas, facing increasing life-threatening risks (where) almost 100% of women groups in Sudan lost all their belongings and (are currently) working with minimum capacity”.

Sudan is currently experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises globally. The continued fighting in El Fashir, despite warnings from the international community, is threatening the lives of over 3M people, mostly women and children. The massacre and ethnic cleansing of the Masalit in El Geneina of west Darfur last year is about to be repeated against civilians in El Fashir of North Darfur. Millions are trapped in the city without access to food or a safe route to leave conflict areas. In Khartoum, Kordofan and Aljazeera, civilians are trapped in vicious cycles of violence and hunger. The belligerents’ obstruction of humanitarian aid and use of starvation as a weapon of war have led to a looming human-made famine in conflict areas of Sudan. In Kalma, children are dying of hunger in IDP camps, according to local leaders.  

Women’s groups and local response initiatives, including health workers, bear the responsibility of providing SGBV victims and survivors with emergency support, opening public kitchens to address the current famine, documenting atrocities and crimes perpetrated, and calling for an immediate ceasefire. At the same time, they get arbitrarily arrested, threatened, have their houses looted, are smeared as traitors by the warring parties, and even killed. Moreover, “various reports from multiple sources that specifically address the situation of Sudanese women indicated that the RSF carried out kidnappings, detention, slavery, and various forms of sexual abuse, in addition to electronic threats and harassment, mass rapes, and assassinations.” 

The war in Sudan is fueled by the continuous supply of weapons and financial resources from other member States of the United Nations. It is well documented that the UAE has provided support to RSF while other countries including Iran and Russia have supported SAF. The UN Security Council (UNSC) must take action to end all forms of weapon supplies to the warring parties. The cost of inaction by the UNSC on the situation in Sudan is prolonging the suffering and increasing the number of lives lost to violence and hunger.  

Therefore, we urge the UN Security Council to take prompt measures to:

• Urge the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law
• Protect civilians and protect women and girls under the UNSC Resolution 1325 specifically addressing women’s human rights in conflict and create a monitoring and reporting mechanisms on the widespread conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in the Sudan war
• Create a mechanism to guarantee immediate and unconditional access for humanitarian aid across fighting lines and borders
• Create safe corridors for humanitarian aid organizations and groups, ensure the ability of humanitarian relief groups and organizations to operate safely and provide the direly needed support for the Sudanese people, especially women and children
• Immediately restore telecommunications across the country 
• Ensure that accountability is guaranteed against warring parties, namely both SAF and RSF, for the war crimes committed and genocide perpetrated against certain tribes in Darfur during this brutal and indiscriminate war
• Extend the arms embargo on Darfur to all of Sudan and create effective monitoring and reporting mechanisms to ensure the implementation of the embargo
• Refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) so that the ICC’s jurisdiction is extended to include all conflict areas in Sudan where war crimes and crimes against humanity were allegedly committed. 

Signatories:

• Abolition Feminism for Ending Sexual Violence, UK
• Action Transformation Network
• African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies
• African Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders
• Africans Rising
• Almostgball for Enlightenment and Development
• ALTSEAN-Burma
• Amplifying Impact
• Anuradha
• Association for Progressive Communications – APC
• Association pour la soridalite au Travail
• AWID
• BLAST Frst Ltd
• Bloom
• CAISO: Sex and Gender Justice
• Centre for Women’s Awareness and Development
• CHOICE for youth and sexuality
• CIVICUS
• Coalition for Genocide Response
• Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders CSHRDs www.cshrds.org
• Community Development and Sustainability Organization (CDS)Kenya
• CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
• Dada Yangu
• Delete Nothing
• Delta Football Club, Pakistan
• Democracy Without Borders-Kenya Chapter
• DIWA
• Dristi Nepal
• Eagles Empowered to Soar Inc
• Egyptian Front for Human Rights
• El Nadeem Center
• Equality Fund
• Femena
• Feminist antimilitarist collective, Sarajevo
• feminist consulting collective
• Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO)
• Feminist Dissent
• Feminitt Caribbean
• FHC
• Global care for health support initiative
• Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
• Global Fund for Women
• Good Health Community Programmes
• Governance Programming Overseas – Sudan (GPO)
• Helping hands Foundation
• HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
• Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
• International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
• International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
• International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
• International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
• Intervention Council for women in Africa
• Jagriti Mahila Mahasangh
• Kenya Human Rights Commission
• Let’s Talk Period!
• Mahila Janachetana Kendra
• Mexiro AC
• Mudra Social Welfare Society
• Nairasha Legal Support
• Nassawiyat
• National institute of public administration
• Nforjeu Limited
• NOOR
• Nora organization for combating violence against women and girls
• One Love Ethiopia Tour
• Pan African Positive Women’s Coalition-Zimbabwe
• PAX – Netherlands
• Polycom Girls
• Population and Development Initiative
• Realizing Sexual and Reproductive Justice
• Rights for peace
• Rise Initiative for Women’s Right Advocacy-RiWA
• Rural Development Association
• Gender Justice & Health Thematic Group, PHM
• SEWA Nepal
• She Impacts
• SITABICHA DREAM SHG.
• Social Welfare and Agricultural Development Organization
• Society for women’s Education and Awareness Development
• Spring of Wellness
• Sudanese Women Rights Action (SUWRA)
• SUKUAMIS
• Sustainable Human Empowerment SHE Associates
• Sustainable Translations
• Syrian Female Journalists Network (SFJN)
• Tagoloan Gender Advocacy Group (TAGAD)
• Taskeen Health Initiative
• Tawonga Community Based Organization
• The Circle
• The Menstrual Project
• The Missing Third Project
• The Progressive
• The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in Southwest Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA Coalition)
• The Stella Nyanzi Foundation
• The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA )
• Think Africa Ltd
• UN Program, Occidental College
• United Funding and Development for Underage Mothers (UFDUM), Inc.
• UNITED PEOPLE GLOBAL ORGANISATION
• Universitas Gadjah Mada
• Urgent Action Fund Latin America and the Caribbean
• UTTHAN
• Wilde Ganzen Foundation
• WILPF
• Women Development Fund (WODEF)
• Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC)
• Women in Black Against War
• Women Living Under Muslim Laws
• Women Now for Development
• Women on Web
• Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling – Palestine
• Women’s International Peace Centre
• Women’s Regional Network
• Women4GlobalFund
• Young Feminist Solidarity with Palestine
• التحالف الديمقراطي للمحامين السودانيين – Democratic Coalition of Sudanese Lawyers
• منظمة أندي للتنمية وحقوق الإنسان – Andy for Development and Human Rights