Darfur - Increase in Crimes Against Women

When nations go to war, it is expected that the participating nations will adhere to the rules of war which including the utilization of appropriate weaponry, the proper treatment of prisoners of war and safe guarding the passage of civilians, ensuring that no harm come to them from the opposing forces.

When there is internal conflict in which various ethnic groups fight amongst themselves it always happens that the rule books are thrown to the wind. As we have seen in numerous internal conflicts over the last sixty years, countries that have undergone tumultuous regime changes have done so at the expense of its civilian population. From Cambodia to Bosnia, internal conflict has resulted in mass genocide with the culprits brought before various international criminal tribunals. This only happens once the hostile regime has been overthrown and a new democratic government installed.

It is the destruction of the civilian population and the unabashed refusal of regimes to adhere to the Geneva Conventions surrounding the stated protection of the civilian population that must be addressed by the international community if the growing episodes of genocide are to be stopped.

Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the Secretary General of UN announced on Saturday, April 5th that violence towards the civilian population in Darfur had deteriorated to new levels. The use of sexual violence towards women and young girls has increased dramatically over the last six months. The newly deployed UN-AU Hybrid Force is not providing the appropriate levels of security for women or young girls and therefore the Sudanese government forces and sponsored militia are basically free to carry out these horrendous crimes against innocent civilians.

One can only imagine the effects that these crimes have on their victims. The long term, mental issues that are associated with rape and other forms of abuse are known to have a detrimental affect not only for the victim, but for the immediate family. The feelings of guilt, lack of trust towards other human beings can and often does lead to early death, either at the victims own hand or through the decline of the physical person.

As a man, a husband and a father, I loath the thought of harming another human being. In Darfur, the female section of the community is solely responsible for collecting firewood and other items that require them to travel, on foot, outside the refugee camps. The reason for this is the fact that if men are to undertake these tasks, their lives are placed in immediate danger, so it is considered wiser to let women and young girls be raped and mutilated rather than have the men killed.

While attending a conference at the UN during the latter stages of 200, I heard first hand accounts from women that had been sexually violated in other conflict areas, primarily Darfur, Bosnia and Burma. They were ostracized from their communities, they felt that they had become worthless, because having lost their virginity, they were considered spent, unclean and no good to a man who might previously have been considered a suitable husband.

The worst situations concern those victims that become pregnant after being raped. They must bring a child into the world and watch that child grow up only to be reminded every day, for the rest of their lives, that the child’s father is the perpetrator of the most vicious crime that can be committed against women. According to the witnesses who spoke at the UN conference, when the victim is ostracized from her community, she will often go in search of the perpetrator so that she may stay with him, because no one else will have her. This can also result in a ready made army for future conflicts, with the child from an early age being told stories of how its mother’s tribe didn’t want her and how that child must grow up to take revenge. It is a cycle that we in the developed world are not too familiar with.

While the focus of Darfur has drifted to the back pages of our daily newspapers, due to the increase of media attention on Tibet, Kosovo and other growing concerns, this has allowed the Sudanese government to step up its actions in Darfur, as the old saying goes “while the cat’s away, the mice will play.” This is the situation that Mr. Ban blames for the upsurge in violence against women.

I would like to invite you to take a moment to reflect on the situation in Darfur. During your time of reflection, think of the innocent men, women and children who face a horrific future if we don’t do something to change the course of their lives.

The International Alliance For Human Rights, together with Hope for Humanity will stage the largest concert of its kind in New York City. This concert, to be held in the coming months, will help to raise awareness of the situation in Darfur and it will also call on the international community to take action to stop what can only be described as a nightmare.

For more information, please call 212.695. 7022, ext. 315 or email dnolan@spinmillgroup.com. (http://iafhr-darfur.blogspot.com)