A surge in sexual violence in South Sudan’s Unity state targeting victims as young as eight years old has underlined the need for urgent measures from the Government to protect them and bring perpetrators to justice, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.
Despite the signing of a peace deal between belligerents last autumn, UN investigators found that at least 175 women and girls have been raped or suffered other sexual and physical violence between September and December 2018. The actual level of violence is likely to be considerably higher, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists in Geneva Friday (15 Feb).
Despite the signing of a peace deal between belligerents last autumn, UN investigators found that at least 175 women and girls have been raped or suffered other sexual and physical violence between September and December 2018. The actual level of violence is likely to be considerably higher, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists in Geneva Friday (15 Feb).
“Obviously (it is) not the whole picture, but they found 174, 175, women girls who had been either raped, gang-raped or sexually assaulted or physically harmed in other ways,” he said. “And 49 of those girls who were raped were children.”
According to a joint report by OHCHR and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), attacks against women have decreased significantly since the peace accord was signed on 12 September.
Nonetheless, it warns that such incidents are “endemic” in northern Unity state, on the border with Sudan, creating a sense among communities that it is normal to be a victim of sexual violence. Citing the testimony of one victim, Mr Colville explained that many women are raped while out fetching firewood, food or water, often more than once, owing to a failure to protect them.
The surge in conflict-related sexual violence is attributed to many factors including the breakdown in the rule of law, linked to the destruction of livelihoods, forced displacement and food insecurity after years of civil war. But, one of the main reasons is the large number of fighters in the area, who have yet to be reintegrated into the national army, according to the peace deal.
Most of the attacks are reported to have been carried out by youth militia groups and elements of the pro-Taban Deng Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO (TD)) as well as South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF). In a few cases, attacks were perpetrated by members of pro-Riek Machar Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO (RM), the UN report says.
A key challenge is tackling the prevailing impunity throughout Unity state, which is linked to the volatility of the situation across the country, OHCHR maintains.
Among the practical measures taken to a bid to help vulnerable communities in Unity state, UNMISS has cleared roadsides to prevent attackers from hiding from potential victims. A mobile court system is also operational which has had “some success” in bringing perpetrators to trial, OHCHR’s Colville said, although “this is just a drop in the ocean”, he insisted~UNTV CH
