The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention concerning the following situation in Sudan.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, that on 31 May 2005, five women from Kalma IDP camp were attacked by five armed Janjaweed militia men. The armed men reportedly killed one of the women, raped two of the women, and wounded the other two.

According to the information received, the women were attacked while fetching fire wood outside the Kalma IDP camp. The following are the names and injuries sustained:

1. Fatima Abdella Abdel Kareem , killed;
2. The two names of the women who were raped were withheld;
3. Hawa Senen (22) and Khadeeja Soulieman Ahmen (24), wounded.
The families of these women reported the incident to African Union Forces inside the Kalma IDP Camp and to officers at the Belail police station.

According to the information received, the women who were raped and wounded are currently being treated at SOAT’s partner organisation in Nyala, the Amel Centre for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims.

OMCT condemns sexual violence and attacks on women and urges all parties to the conflict in Darfour to cease perpetrating violence against women, and stop violations of the ceasefire agreement and subsequent agreements. OMCT recalls that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in Article 4(c), states that States should "exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons."

Requested Action:

Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:

i. Ensure the physical and psychological integrity of the four women;
ii. Launch prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into the attack on these five women, in order to find those responsible for any violations of human rights and to bring them to justice and apply the penal and/or adminstrive sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Ensure women the right to be free from discrimination, including violence, in line with the international laws and standards;
iv. Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
v. Guarantee respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses:

* His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, President' s Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 783223

* Mr. Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 788941

* Mr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affair, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 779383

* Dr. Abdelmuneim Osman Mohamed Taha, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan. Fax: + 249 183 770883

* His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Mohamed Al- Hassan Ahmed Al-Haj, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, Avenue Blanc 47, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, E-mail: mission.sudan@bluewin.ch

Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

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