The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention concerning the following situation in Sudan.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, of a series of incidents in which women have been abducted, attacked and raped in Darfur.

According to the information received, on 16 September 2005, armed militias in military uniform, allegedly the Janjaweed, attacked and raped one girl (17 yrs, name withheld) and a woman (30 yrs, name withheld) 2 km West of Kalma Internally Displaced (IDP) Camp in Nyala. During the attack, the women were flogged before being raped.

On 13 September 2005, armed militias, allegedly the Janjaweed, raped six women (names withheld) from Kalma IDP Camp. The women were raped whilst fetching firewood outside the Camp at 11.00am.

On 13 September 2005, at 1.30pm, ten women were kidnapped whilst they were fetching firewood outside Kalma IDP Camp. The whereabouts of the abducted women are unknown. The incidents have been reported to the African Union Observers and to police officers at Beliel police station. The details of the kidnapped women whose whereabouts are unknown as follows:

• Alawea Ibrahim Mohamed
• Asha Yahya
• Hussneya Omer Khatir
• Osman Zakarea Musa
• Halima Yahya Adam
• Hawa Musa
• Asha Kitir
• Hajja Ahmed Mursal
• Hawa Ibraheam Mohamed
• Halima Yahya Adam
  
  

On 11 September 2005, a mother (45 yrs) and her daughter (17 yrs) were attacked by armed militias, allegedly the Janjaweed, 1 km outside Kalma IDP Camp in Nyala. They were collecting firewood outside the camp. The militias flogged the IDPs, beat them with the butt of their guns and raped the 17 year old girl. The incident has been reported to Beliel police station.

On 06 September 2005, three armed men abducted an 18 year old female (name withheld) from Nyala. The men took the young woman to West of Nyala where they raped her. The incident was reported to the police who sent her to the police hospital for medical examination. The medical report confirmed that the woman had been raped. The perpetrators which include one member of the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) have been arrested and remain in police detention at Nyala.

In a separate incident on 11 September 2005, armed militias, allegedly the Janjaweed kidnapped six men from outside Kalma IDP Camp. The IDPs, who were travelling in their carts to the north of the Camp, were taken to a remote area near the Camp and subjected to severe beatings by the militias. The IDPs were beaten with sticks, flogged all over their bodies, and their carts were stolen.

The details of the men are as follows:

• Yahya Souleiman Mohamed
• Ali Haroun Soulieman
• Salah Ishag Ahmed
• Abdel Razig Sideag Ahmed
• Abubaker Ahmed Mohamed
• Yousif Soulieman Alhaj.
  

OMCT strongly condemns these attacks and recalls that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in article 4(c), states that States should "exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons."

Requested Action:

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

1. immediately locate the whereabouts of the missing women, abducted on 13th September, and ensure the physical and psychological integrity of all the above-mentioned victims;
2. launch prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into these events, in order to find those responsible for any violations of human rights and to bring them to justice and apply the penal and/or adminstrive sanctions as provided by law;
3. ensure women and girls the right to be free from discrimination, including violence, in line with the international laws and standards;
4. ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
5. guarantee the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
   
   

Addresses:

• His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, President' s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 783223
• His Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit, First Vice President, People's Place, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 771025
• His Excellency Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, First Vice President, People's Place, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 771025
• Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 788941
• Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affair, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 779383
• Dr. Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 770883
• His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Al- Hassan Ahmed Al-Haj, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, E-mail: mission.sudan@bluewin.ch
  
  

Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.

Geneva, 23rd September 2005