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| April 8, 2008 |
Mon 7 Apr 2008, 17:59 GMT
KHARTOUM, April 7 (Reuters) - Widespread rape, mostly committed by pro-government forces, is going unpunished in Sudan's Darfur region and peacekeepers are unable to protect victims as young as 11, a rights group said on Monday.
New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Sudan's government to pass and enforce laws immediately to prosecute rapists and protect victims in Darfur, racked by five years of conflict.
"The victims of these horrific attacks have little or no hope of redress in Darfur's current climate of impunity," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director of the group.
"By failing to prosecute the perpetrators, the government is giving them a licence to rape."
The rights group said the numerous rapes it documented in its 44-page report were only a fraction of those in Darfur because most go unreported. Victims are often prosecuted for adultery or treated indifferently by Sudanese police.
"The Sudanese government has declared `zero-tolerance' for sexual violence, yet has done almost nothing to protect these victims," Gagnon added.
Soldiers from all groups were responsible for rape, the group said. Pro-government militia, Sudanese army, rebels and former rebels who signed an unpopular peace deal with Khartoum are all guilty.
"The government of Sudan has failed to rein in the abuse, much of which is carried out by their own soldiers and allied militia," the report said.
Sudan's government was not immediately available to comment on the report but regularly denies any widespread rape in Darfur. International experts estimate some 200,000 have died since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for a Sudanese minister and allied militia leaders for alleged war crimes. Sudan says the West has exaggerated Darfur and refuses to hand the suspects over to the world court.
Human Rights Watch urged the joint U.N-African Union peacekeeping mission which took over in Darfur at the beginning of this year to appoint more trained female officers to deal with rape and increase patrols to accompany women searching for vital firewood in the Darfur countryside, when many rapes happen.
"Neither government security forces nor international peacekeepers have provided sufficient protection for women and girls, who remain extremely vulnerable to rape and other abuses ... even in periods of relative calm," the report said.
The peacekeeping mission has not received thousands of much-needed extra troops, as many of those pledged do not yet meet strict U.N. standards. Commanders from the force have pleaded with the world body to send troops, even without their full equipment, as quickly as possible to relieve the overworked 7,000 soldiers struggling on the ground.
The force should eventually be around 20,000 soldiers with some 6,000 police. (Editing by Charles Dick)
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