Alarming reports about the systematic rape of hundreds of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights by the government-backed armed militia, the ‘Janjawid’, are coming from the region of Darfur in western Sudan.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

“Amnesty International has received countless reports of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls being raped by the Janjawid militia, and being abducted to be used as sexual slaves or domestic workers.

“The long term effects of these crimes can be seen in countries like Rwanda where Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and Children's rights remain traumatised and many are living with sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, following the systematic rape during the genocide 10 years ago.

“The government must give immediate access to humanitarian agencies and international human rights monitors. This must include monitors who are trained to deal with issues relating to sexual violence.”

Residents and humanitarian aid workers, including the UN, have reported the systematic rape of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and schoolChildren's rights in villages in the Tawila area.

The former Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Mukesh Kapila said:

“All houses as well as a market and a health centre were completely looted and the market burnt. Over 100 Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights were raped, six in front of their fathers who were later killed.”

It was also reported to the UN that in Mornei, western Darfur, up to 16 Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights per day were being raped as they went to collect water. Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights had no choice but to continue to go to collect water despite the threat of rape, because they feared that their men would be killed if they went instead.

The extent of systematic rape of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and girls has yet to be established. One refugee woman in Chad told an Amnesty International researcher:

“Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights will not tell you easily if such a thing happens to them. In our culture it is a shame, and Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights will hide this in their hearts so that the men do not hear about it.”

Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights are the majority of internally displaced people and as such often come under the control of the Janjawid and government forces, putting them at continued risk of sexual attacks.

Kate Allen concluded:

“Humanitarian access and protection of civilians must not be conditional on developments in the peace talks in Ndjamena. The international community must put added pressure on the Sudan government to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to all areas of Darfur and to allow the deployment of international human rights monitors to the region.”

Amnesty International is also concerned that the UN fact finding mission headed by Bacre Waly Ndiaye, head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York, has not been granted access to Darfur, suggesting that the government is not serious about addressing the human rights crisis in the region.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court makes rape a war crime and a crime against humanity. Sudan signed this statute and the international community must ensure that it abides by its international legal obligations.