A UN investigation into suspicions of “sexual slavery and ethnic attacks” in detention centers in Sudan

A new UN team to investigate suspected violations committed during the ongoing war in Sudan announced on Tuesday that it is verifying reports of sexual slavery in a detention center and ethnic attacks against civilians.

The recently established independent international fact-finding mission of the United Nations received “credible reports on numerous cases of sexual violence committed by the warring factions,” according to what its head, Mohamed Chandi Othman, told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He said, "Women and girls have been and continue to be subjected to gang rape, kidnapping, and forced marriage," stressing that the team is investigating "reports of sexual slavery and sexual torture in detention centers, including of men and boys."

The conflict that broke out in Sudan between April 2023 between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than nine million people, according to the United Nations.

The UN Human Rights Council established a fact-finding mission six months after the outbreak of the conflict to investigate suspected violations, but the nucleus of the team was not formed until December, and a liquidity crisis at the United Nations and a hiring freeze “led to a delay of several months,” according to Othman.

Nevertheless, the team has begun its work and has so far conducted about 80 interviews with victims and witnesses of violations. Othman expressed “deep concern about the continuation of fighting with tragic consequences and enormous suffering for the civilian population.” He also highlighted reports of widespread recruitment of children, In particular for participating in “direct combat and committing violent crimes.”

He said that the team is deeply concerned about the intense fighting and the RSF's siege of El Fasher, the only city in the Darfur region outside their control. He stressed that "previous attacks on other areas increase our fears," noting that the team is "currently investigating previous large-scale attacks against civilians on the basis of their ethnic affiliation in other areas of Darfur."

He said that these attacks included "murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture, forced displacement, and looting," and pointed out that the investigation also includes "ethnic attacks" in other places, including in other parts of the Darfur region and the Gezira state.

Both sides of the Sudanese conflict are accused of committing war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate bombing of residential areas, and preventing the entry of humanitarian aid despite warnings that the risk of famine threatens millions.