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Background

Since early 2003, Sudanese government forces and government-backed ethnic militias known as “Janjaweed” have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity and ”ethnic cleansing” in the Darfur region of Sudan.¹ They have targeted for abuse civilians belonging to the same ethnic groups as members of two rebel movements, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). More than two million people of the region’s estimated population of 6 million have been directly affected by the conflict through attacks on villages, killings, sexual violence, looting of livestock and household goods, destruction of property, and other abuses. An additional two million people have been affected by the near total collapse of the region’s economy.

According to recent United Nations figures, the attacks have led to the deaths of at least 180,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million others.²  Most of the displaced people remain in Sudan as “internally displaced persons,” but an estimated 200,000 have sought refuge in Chad and are refugees as defined by the 1969 OAU Convention on the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa;³ many are also considered prima facie refugees⁴ who are entitled to the protections of the 1951 Refugee Convention until their status can be determined.⁵

Rape and sexual violence against women and girls has been a prominent feature of the “ethnic cleansing” campaign carried out by government forces and militias, both during and following displacement in Darfur.⁶ Once displaced into camps in Darfur, or into refugee camps in Chad, women and girls continue to suffer sexual and gender-based violence. As discussed below, rape and sexual violence have numerous social, economic and medical consequences, including increasing the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS as a result of the violence.

Although reported HIV prevalence rates in Sudan are currently low compared with neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Chad, the current estimation of 2.3% among the adult population is widely believed to be an underestimate based on poor sentinel surveillance and is likely to be significantly higher. The high levels of sexual violence and displacement which have been features of the Darfur conflict create a risk of increased transmission of HIV/AIDS, particularly as it is recognized that the combination of conflict, sexual violence and displacement offers fertile ground for the transmission of the disease.⁷

In February 2005, Human Rights Watch undertook two research missions, one to the refugee camps in Chad and another to the displaced persons camps in South Darfur, to conduct research on patterns of sexual and gender-based violence and the response of local and international actors.⁸ This document does not provide a comprehensive assessment of the many complex issues related to sexual and gender-based violence, nor does it evaluate the diverse response to date on the part of humanitarian agencies providing services in Chad and Darfur. Instead Human Rights Watch seeks to highlight some of the most important elements in the patterns of sexual and gender-based violence—including the urgent need for protection from ongoing violence—and stress the need for an appropriate response.

Despite the existence of clear standards for responding to sexual and gender-based violence, including in the context of conflict, Human Rights Watch’s research to date suggests that humanitarian agencies are not implementing these guidelines on a systematic basis in Darfur and Chad. It is vital that donors and humanitarian agencies give much greater emphasis—and more resources—to preventing sexual and gender-based violence and to responding to its medical, psychological, social and economic consequences.