SOUTH DARFUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: UN AND NGOS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 000756 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/SPG, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/26/2016 TAGS: PGOV KWMN PHUM SU SUBJECT: SOUTH DARFUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: UN AND NGOS VIEWS REF: KHARTOUM 755 Classified By: Charge a.i. Andrew Steinfeld, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) an d (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On March 19, Charge Steinfeld traveled to Nyala to urge local government officials to implement the Plan of Action (reftel). While in Nyala, the UN and NGOs briefed the Charge on the status of violence against women (VAW),highlighting that the State Committee had done little to halt its prevalence. Furthermore, severe deficiencies remain in reporting, recording, and prosecuting cases. End Summary. UN and International NGOs VAW Briefing -------------- ¶2. (C) UNMIS representative, Huma Kon, told Charge that, although there was high-level representation on the State Committee to Combat GBV, there was a lack of implementation on the ground. She added that in the last four months UNMIS had registered over one hundred cases of GBV, and in Menawashi town alone there were about fifty cases; however, the police had registered only one case of rape there. Kon added that it was the responsibility of the victim to bring proof of rape to the police for investigations. Stephanie Swartz, representative of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF),added that one third of GBV survivors are under the age of eighteen, and that there is sexual exploitation taking place within internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. While rape by the Janjaweed is acceptable to discuss, rape within the camps is still a taboo subject, she said. Gladdis Antiga, United Nations Food and Population Agency (UNFPA) representative, added that the use of Form 8 places health providers in the precarious position of determining whether or not a rape had occurred; only violent rape could be proven medically. The representative from Medecins du Monde (MDM) commented that if a victim could not prove rape, she could then be prosecuted for illegal pregnancy or adultery. The representatives raised the December 23 case in Kass town of a woman who was raped by a member of the military who had left his military ID at the scene of the crime. The police were reluctant to investigate the case, and did not register it. After the UN followed up the cases, the judge ordered the officer's arrest; however, the military refuses to process the case. Local NGO,s in Nyala -------------- ¶3. (C) The Charge also met with three local organizations working with GBV victims, the Amal Center, Bakita Organization, and the Good Will Organization. The Amal Center assists GBV victims by providing legal aid and registering their cases with the police. The representative stated that they had filed at least fifty cases of rape in 2005 and are representing four girls charged with murder during an attempted rape by militia men in uniform. Women face many obstacles when reporting a case to the police, such as ridicule by the police officers and lack of investigation of government-affiliated perpetrators. The representative from Baketa Organization said that the State Committee to Combat GBV was not active and did not involve or consult with civil society. The representative from the Good Will Organization said that the IDP's had no confidence in the African Union, because it only monitors and reports, rather than seeking to prevent sexual assaults. Overall, the local representatives did not believe the State Committee to Combat Violence Against Women was currently effective. ¶4. (SBU) Comment: Post is monitoring the case of the four girls charged with murder during an attempted rape and the case of the military man accused of rape. Poloff contacted Dr. Attiyat, head of the Committee to Combat Violence Against Women in Sudan, who said that she would speak with the Under Secretary of Justice about the murder case. SIPDIS STEINFELD