The world remains shocked by the mass rapes of women and girls by soldiers of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Tabit, Darfur, Sudan on October 31- November 1, 2014. And, the world is once again appalled by the impunity of the Sudanese government’s continued use of rape as a weapon in the ongoing genocide of the Darfuri people, its repeated denial of access to Tabit to UNAMID, its intimidation of the victims and witnesses, and the lack of proper medical and psychosocial care for the victims.
The victims, their families and the world are outraged by yet another failure of UNAMID to protect civilians in Darfur, its apparent incompetence in investigating the crimes, and its findings and communications with SAF commanders that are tantamount to collaborating with the perpetrators. Even the UN Security Council stated publicly it does not trust UNAMID’s report, issued so soon after the UNSC investigation into UNAMID’s dismal performance in Darfur and its failures to make accurate reports.
Mr. President, though the State Department has issued a statement of concern and warning to the Sudan government, words alone are not sufficient to help the people of Sudan who have suffered decades of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities perpetrated by their government against its own citizens. The American people, including members of the Sudanese diaspora in the United States, ask that you and the UN Security Council order a prompt independent investigation, to report both publicly and to the UN Security Council, into the acts by the SAF in Tabit, the government of Sudan’s subsequent actions, and all related UNAMID actions, communications on the ground, to the UN and to the public.
Mr. President, for far too many years the government of Sudan has continued to commit grave violations of human rights and has ignored the repeated demands of the UN Security Council. By failing to impose consequences for these violations, the U.S. and the UN Security Council are sustaining an environment of impunity and undermining international peace and security, not only in Sudan, but also far beyond Sudan’s borders. We urgently ask you to act for Sudan, now.
Download the PDF of this Appeal here.
Subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.