29/10/2025
Statement by Voices of Women Defenders in Sudan’s Transition on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in El-Fasher, North Darfur, and Bara, North Kordofan
The Voices of Women Defenders in Sudan’s Transition (VWDST) expresses its strongest condemnation of the grave violations against women and girls in the cities of El-Fasher, North Darfur, and Bara, North Kordofan, where there has been a dramatic rise in sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) amid the ongoing armed conflict.
Reports indicate that women and girls are being subjected to mass r**e, abduction, sexual enslavement, and systematic abuse during attacks on residential areas by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and affiliated armed groups. These acts are being deliberately used to terrorize communities and destabilize society, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions (1949), the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
These crimes also constitute direct violations of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888, and 2467 on Women, Peace, and Security, which require all parties to prevent sexual violence, protect women and girls, and ensure their meaningful participation in peace processes.
The continued impunity for these crimes emboldens perpetrators and undermines prospects for lasting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Sudan.
Guided by principles of justice and human dignity, VWDST calls for urgent and coordinated action:
1. Immediate international intervention, led by the United Nations and African Union, to protect women and girls in El-Fasher and Bara;
2. Opening safe humanitarian corridors under UN supervision, providing medical, psychosocial, and social support to survivors of sexual violence;
3. Establishing an independent international investigation to hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence accountable;
4. Deploying UN monitoring teams in North Darfur and North Kordofan to document violations and protect civilians;
5. Integrating the Women, Peace, and Security agenda into all ceasefire efforts and political mediation processes.
The organization emphasizes that real peace begins with the protection of women, justice for survivors, and accountability for perpetrators. It also calls on the international community and humanitarian actors to strengthen support for local women’s organizations working courageously under extreme conditions.
End sexual violence — Protect women and girls -Justice is the path to peace.
Voices of Women Defenders in Sudan’s Transition (VWDST)
29 October 2025
