The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
35th Ordinary Session

Banjul, The Gambia 21 May-4 June 2004

Madam Chairperson, Honourable Commissioners, Colleagues from NGOs and other human rights institutions,

On behalf of Anti-Slavery International and the human rights NGOs and institutions 1 associated with this statement, please allow me to express our deep concern over the serious deterioration of human rights and security in Darfur, western Sudan. As the Commission is aware, the conflict that continued through out the last decade between the Sudanese Government and militias allied to it and two rebel groups namely, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) seriously escalated last year. The conflict has worsened the human rights situation in the region and brought the lives of hundreds of thousands people into serious risk.

According to UN officials 2, the humanitarian crisis and gross violations of human rights committed in Darfur have been described as one of the worst in the world, the effects of which are particularly devastating to women and girls.

The government-allied militia, namely the Janjaweed, is accused of committing a range of human rights atrocities against the indigenous sedentary tribes of the region, such as the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, as a systematic way of depopulating the region of its indigenous inhabitants. The Janjaweed, backed by the government army, repeatedly raids villages, destroys houses, murders civilians and abducts women and children in a fashion disturbingly similar to the slave raids that have plagued and traumatized southern Sudan for decades.

As the Commission is aware, the recent raids in Darfur have displaced over one million people, while some 110,000 others have fled to neighbouring Chad. It was reported recently that the Janjaweed have raided the Internally Displaced Peoples' camps around larger towns as well as the refugee camps inside Chad, killing, raping women and girls, as young as seven years old, and looting and steeling property and livestock.

There are numerous allegations that the government-backed militias are using gang rape as a weapon of war against women and girls from the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa communities. A UN source 3 reported on 5 March 2004 that "Details have also emerged of a militia attack on Tawilah on 27 February [2004] in which 41 schoolgirls and teachers were raped, a number of them by up to 14 men and in front of their families. At least 67 people were also killed and 16 schoolgirls abducted".

In his report of 7 May 2004 as a result of a fact-finding mission to the region, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has stated that 4 "Other violations frequently reported to the mission .... included sexual violence, and particularly rape. In the opinion of the mission, these allegations of rape were credible."

We hereby call upon the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights to act promptly to protect the people of Darfur, western Sudan by strongly encouraging and supporting the following recommendations:

• The call upon the Government of Sudan to immediately disarm and disband the Janjaweed militias in Darfur and withdraw them from those parts of Darfur they have occupied during the recent conflict.
  
  
• The conduct of prompt, impartial and independent investigations of abuses by the Janjaweed militia forces and the Sudanese armed forces in Darfur, prosecute alleged perpetrators in accordance with international fair trial standards, and provide reparations for the victims of such abuses, including the return of their looted properties.
  
  
• The call for an immediate establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry to collect evidence regarding allegations of ethnic cleansing, abductions and other gross human rights abuses in Darfur, western Sudan.
  
  
• The call upon government forces and government-supported Janjaweed militias to immediately cease their campaign of attacks on civilians and civilian property in Darfur.
  
  
• The call upon the Government of Sudan to facilitate the full, safe and unimpeded access of humanitarian personnel and human rights observers and the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance to all populations in need in Darfur and to make sure that all affected people have equal access to it.
  
  
• The call upon the Government of Sudan to take immediate and effective measures to enable the voluntary return of refugees, abductees and displaced persons to their homes in safety and dignity.
  
  
• The call upon the Government of Sudan to facilitate the establishment of, and fully and unconditionally co-operate with, a UN human rights monitoring mission, and an international commission of inquiry to investigate and reach conclusions on the evidence concerning crimes against humanity, war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties in the conflict in Darfur.
  
  
• The call to take immediate measures, including through the adoption of a resolution, that seek to end and reverse "ethnic cleansing" in Darfur to ensure the protection of civilians at risk, create an environment conducive to the voluntary return in safety and dignity of all refugees and internally displaced persons.
  
  
• The establishment of a human rights monitoring mission with field offices in Darfur and Khartoum mandated to report in a public and periodic manner on human rights and humanitarian law violations.
  
  
• The call to rapidly deploy a cease-fire commission and cease-fire observers to Darfur and ensure that they are mandated to report publicly and periodically on all violations of the cease-fire agreement.

Thank you Madam Chairperson.