IN THE last 2 years, civilians of Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa ethnic groups in the Darfur region of Sudan have been systematically killed, raped, starved, and displaced as their villages are destroyed. Because of a lack of access to portions of the region, which is the size of France, estimates of the number of deaths vary, ranging from 100,000 to 300,000. Although tens of thousands have died from violence, reportedly many more have perished from disease and starvation. They are dying a slow death. The tragedy that many have referred to as the worst humanitarian disaster on the planet is called by some a genocide by attrition.
Although the Darfur conflict has historical roots, it has steadily escalated since early 2003, when rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLAM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), who are largely composed of Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa people, sought to end their marginalization by demanding power sharing within the Arab-controlled Sudanese state.
In early 2003 in a disproportionate response to a violent insurgency on the part of Darfurian rebel forces who demanded greater political representation in Khartoum, the government and their proxy force, the Janjaweed, launched a massive widespread attack on non-Arab villages throughout the region. Through coordinated land and air attacks-the burning of homes and crops; the rounding up of livestock; the destruction of wells, granaries, and irrigation works; the uprooting of trees; and the theft of all possessions-the government acting in concert with the Janjaweed have displaced well over a million people. An additional 200,000 Darfurians have crossed the eastern border of Sudan, seeking refuge in politically and economically unstable Chad.
In April 2004 the US government and the European Union facilitated a negotiated ceasefire between the rebels and the government of Sudan. The ceasefire has repeatedly been broken, resulting in more deaths and more people forced from their homes. Since summer 2004 the United Nations Security Council has passed 3 resolutions on Darfur calling for disarmament of the Janjaweed and threatening economic sanctions against Khartoum in the event of noncompliance with the various demands of the resolutions. To date the government of Sudan has blatantly disregarded Security Council resolutions, and the humanitarian situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate.
In Darfur, rape, not unlike in Rwanda and Bosnia, has been used as a weapon of war. There is ample evidence compiled by human rights organizations and media reports indicating that the Sudanese government has used rape as part of its overall strategy to accomplish political and military aims in Darfur. The strategy includes creating a sense of fear that will restrict movement and economic activity: women are afraid to go outside the confines of the village, commerce halts, resources dwindle and resistance diminishes. Mass rape disrupts village ties, tears apart communities and families, and thus makes decisions to return more difficult. Moreover, reports are replete with statements by Janjaweed perpetrators suggesting their intent to pollute the tribal bloodline as a way of destroying a separate ethnic entity.
A recent US State Department-funded survey found 16% of the Darfurian refugees interviewed say that they were raped or knew someone who had been raped. One Darfurian nongovernmental organization has documented over 9,000 cases of rape. Other observers on the ground argue that the number is closer to double that figure.
Unless there is presence of an armed force that can protect women, including when they are forced to leave their settlements to fetch needed water and firewood, it will continue unabated. Regrettably, the mandate of the current African Union monitoring force does not include the protection of civilians. The AU force needs to have the power to intervene to protect civilians from attacks.
In a report, "The Use of Rape as a Weapon of War in the Conflict in Darfur, Sudan,"1 the authors contend that after security, the most urgent priority for rape survivors is to provide them with humanitarian essentials, food, water, and medicine. Women, already physically and emotionally traumatized, need proper medical care that includes obstetric and gynecological services, along with counseling. Short-term employment opportunities and income-generating projects are critical to allow rape victims and others to contribute to the welfare of their families and provide survivors with a sense of control. An effective system for documenting and reporting sexual violence is required to define ongoing needs of the survivor population and support accountability and justice initiatives.
Rape as an instrument of war is going on still, in many camps and settlements, and no one is doing anything to rein in the men that are carrying on what in other recent settings and recent times the world has called a war crime.
For more information about Physicians for Human Rights' work related to the genocide in Darfur please refer to PHR's Web site http://www.phrusa.org.
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