Four women gang-raped in North Darfur

On Saturday four women were raped by militiamen in the area of Konjar in North Darfur. A relative of one of the women told Radio Dabanga the four women, two of them minors, were collecting firewood in the area of Konjar, 2km west of Tawila, on Saturday afternoon. “Government-backed militiamen seized them and gang raped them for four hours.”Earlier today, the Secretary-General of Kalma camp for the displaced in South Darfur stressed the need for treatment and psychological support of rape victims and abductees, as well as the importance of finding an alternative for firewood, “in order to diminish the chances of the displaced being attacked”. Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict At the conclusion of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, held from 10 to 13 June in London, the participants stressed that sexual violence is “an atrocity of the first order and there must be no safe haven for perpetrators anywhere”.“At the Summit, we united in our determination to tackle sexual violence in conflict, just as previous generations joined forces to put an end to slavery and landmines. This is a matter of our common humanity. We pledged our support for engendering a global shift in attitudes towards sexual violence, causing a lasting and profound shift, transforming world opinion.” The London summit, co-hosted by actress Angelina Jolie and British Foreign Secretary William Hague, was attended by activists, diplomats, and rape survivors from all over the world. The organisers said that 155 countries signed a declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict, and many, including the USA and the United Kingdom, pledged funds to support the cause. During the Summit, visited by US Secretary of State John Kerry, an International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict was launched. The Protocol sets out international standards on how to collect the strongest possible information and evidence, whilst protecting witnesses, in order to increase convictions and deter future perpetrators.Visa withheldWomen in Sudan, and in particular in Darfur, welcomed the outcome of the Summit. They criticised the Sudanese government for not taking part in the Summit, and its refusal to sign the declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict.A Darfuri woman activist in Khartoum told Radio Dabanga that they also denounced the government’s refusal to grant Angelina Jolie permission to enter the country and attend an event on ending violence against women in Sudan. File photo: Women carrying firewood near Kubum in South Darfur (Paul Jeffrey) Related:South Darfur woman raped and murdered (11 June 2014) 39 rape victims in two months at South Darfur’s Kalma camp (5 June 2014) South Darfur’s Kalma camp registers 19 rape cases within 12 days (1 May 2014) Gunmen kill Darfur displaced women resisting rape (25 April 2014)Women call for end to systematic rape in Darfur (16 April 2014)