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Sudan: UN calls for transparent investigations into harassment, sexual violence and rape of female protesters by security forces 

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News briefing 

Translated and edited by: Committee for Justice

Geneva: December 26, 2021

The spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Liz Throssell, confirmed that she had received alarming reports of sexual violence and harassment by security forces during demonstrations in Khartoum on Sunday, December 19.

Throssell said in a media briefing published by the Media Center of the Human Rights Council in Geneva: “Our Joint Human Rights Office in Sudan has received allegations that 13 women and girls were victims of rape or gang rape. We have also received allegations of sexual harassment by security forces against women who were trying to flee the area around the Presidential Palace on Sunday evening.”

The UN spokesperson urged a prompt, independent, and thorough investigation into the allegations of rape and sexual harassment, as well as the allegations of death and injury to protesters as a result of the unnecessary or disproportionate use of force, in particular the use of live ammunition.

She added that the perpetrators must be identified and prosecuted, noting that with more protests planned for this weekend and the coming weeks, security forces must guarantee and protect the right to peaceful assembly and act with full respect for international laws and standards regulating the use of force.

Throssell noted that the Sudanese Attorney General had established a committee of senior prosecutors to investigate all human rights violations and other incidents since the military coup on October 25, calling on national authorities to publish the findings of this commission of inquiry publicly, with maximum transparency, with a view to holding those responsible for human rights violations and abuses accountable, including through criminal investigations.

Two protesters were shot dead, and about 300 others were injured, some from the use of live ammunition, some were hit with tear gas canisters or beaten by security forces, and others with breathing difficulties from inhaling the tear gas during the demonstrations. The Sudanese capital, Khartoum and major cities witnessed demonstrations on December 19, in which tens of thousands of people participated, to commemorate the third anniversary of the protests that began in December 2018, and eventually led to the overthrow of the government of President Al-Bashir in April 2019.

For more information and media requests or inquiries, please get in touch with us (+41229403538 / media@cfjustice.org)

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