The United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) issued a report on Tuesday that documents widespread conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan since hostilities began in April 2023, and its profound long-term impact on victims, families, and communities. The report finds that sexual violence has accompanied the geographic spread of the conflict and widespread displacement, consistently being used as a tactic to terrorize and traumatize the civilian population.
“There were at least 546 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan between April 15¸ 2023, to mid-April this year, affecting at least 838 victims - according to our own verification. But these figures represent only the tip of the iceberg, as most cases go unreported,” OHCHR spokesperson Seif Magango told journalists in Geneva on Tuesday.
From the beginning of the conflict to mid-April this year, the UN Human Rights Office has verified incidents of conflict-related sexual violence in 16 of Sudan's 18 states, affecting at least 539 women, 284 girls, eight men, and seven boys. The persistent underreporting obscures the full scale of the prevalence of sexual violence.
“Almost a quarter of the incidents documented involved gang rape. In one case, a girl was gangraped by at least ten men. Other acts that have been committed, besides rape and gang rape, include sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced prostitution, sexual torture, and trafficking for the purpose of sexual violence,” Magango said.
OHCHR has documented at least 85 cases of women and girls being held in sexual slavery, forced to perform domestic labor, and required to generate income. The report also documents the deaths of at least thirteen women, men, and children, most of which occurred after brutal gang rapes.
The youngest victim of these rapes was nine years old. Many more suffered from serious medical complications, which were exacerbated by the absence of functioning health facilities. At least 59 women and girls became pregnant or gave birth as a result of rape.
The report warns that, unless patterns and impacts of conflict-related sexual violence are addressed through justice and victim-centered responses, as well as efforts to tackle stigma and discrimination, peace and social cohesion in Sudan will be undermined for years to come.
Most of the verified violent incidents were attributed to men in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms, their affiliates, and Arab militias. Incidents have also been attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), affiliated security actors, the Joint Forces, other armed movements, and armed militias.
The report states that in Sudan’s Darfur region, there are reasonable grounds to believe that some acts of sexual violence committed in the context of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population may amount to crimes against humanity.
According to OHCHR, sexual violence has been perpetrated as retaliation based on perceived affiliation with specific parties, in addition to ethnically motivated attacks. Many ethnic Masalit victims from West Darfur report that their attackers asked about their tribe before raping them.
"As I warned at the end of my mission to Sudan in January, sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war. This is a war crime and, if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, a crime against humanity," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker TĂĽrk in a statement on Tuesday.
He called for timely, independent and impartial investigations into acts of sexual violence committed during the conflict, in order to ensure accountability.
“Persistent impunity is clearly deepening harms and reinforcing cycles of violations and abuses,” Türk said.
“All perpetrators, including those exercising command responsibility, must be held fully accountable, and victims must be guaranteed access to effective remedy, including reparation.”
The report calls on the parties to the conflict to take concrete and verifiable measures to prevent sexual violence. It also urges the international community to ensure that justice and accountability remain central to their support of ceasefire and conflict resolution efforts.
The widespread use of sexual violence documented by OHCHR reflects a broader pattern of harm to civilians during the conflict. Since fighting erupted more than three years ago, attacks on civilians, mass displacement, and the collapse of essential services have fueled a deepening humanitarian emergency across Sudan.
Nearly 34 million people require humanitarian assistance and protection
Intense fighting broke out on April 15, 2023, between the SAF and the RSF in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum. The violence quickly spread across Sudan, forcing millions to flee their homes. The conflict, which began as a power struggle between the SAF and the RSF, has resulted in the collapse of healthcare, food systems, and civilian protection nationwide.
This war is being waged with a new level of brutality against civilians, especially in Darfur and Kordofan. The RSF, in particular, has been implicated in mass killings and rape as a means of warfare. However, both warring parties have been accused of grave war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Tens of thousands have been targeted based on their ethnicity, resulting in death, injury, abuse, and exploitation. This has forced more and more people to flee the violence. Conflict-driven displacement remains at extremely high levels, with nearly 14 million people displaced due to ongoing warfare and earlier conflicts.
The scale of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan is unprecedented. An estimated 33.7 million people — nearly two-thirds of Sudan's population — currently require humanitarian assistance and protection. Among those in dire need are over 20 million children.
The destruction of civilian infrastructure, including markets, health facilities, water systems, and agricultural assets, has severely limited food production and access to essential services across Sudan.
Around 40 percent of health facilities are nonfunctional, and an estimated 21 million people require health assistance. Additionally, approximately 17 million people lack access to clean drinking water, and 24 million lack access to adequate sanitation.
The lives of millions of Sudanese people remain at risk as the world continues to close its eyes to the enormous humanitarian emergency facing this war-torn country, which is experiencing the world's largest human-made catastrophe.