Sudan
23.09.02
Urgent Interventions
OMCT submits alternative report on violence against girls in Sudan to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
PRESS RELEASE
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) expresses its concern regarding violence against girls in Sudan at the Thirty-first Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Geneva, 23 September 2002
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) welcomes the examination by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child of Sudan’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 24 September 2002. In its alternative country report entitled "Violence against Girls in Sudan ", which has been submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, OMCT expresses its grave concern at the widespread violence against girls in the private and community spheres as well as at the hands of state officials.
Despite Sudan’s Constitution and its ratification of international and regional human rights instruments which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, the subordination of women and girls continues to be part of the law and customs which are strongly based in male dominance. Illustrative is the fact that women in Sudan have throughout their lives a guardian: before marriage a close male relative and after marriage her husband. The subordinate position of girls and women compared with men has led to violence against women, and violence against women has proven to be an essential mechanism by which girls and women are forced into a subordinate position.
Girls in Sudan, because they are married off at a very young age (as young as ten years old), are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence. Also the payment of bride price, which has become more and more commercialised and is strongly related to early marriages, may have the effect of increasing the vulnerability of girls to violence at the hands of their husbands and parents-in-law, as it may be felt that the husband and his family have “purchased” the wife and may therefore treat her in whichever way they see fit.
In the report, OMCT also expresses its serious concerns about the widespread practice of female genital mutilation in Sudan, which violates the right to life, physical integrity, and the right to health of girls. It is estimated that 89.2% of the women and girls in Sudan have undergone FGM and that 82% of women have undergone infibulation, the most severe form of FGM. Infibulation involves the amputation of the clitoris, the labial minora are shaved off and incisions are made in the labia majora to create raw surfaces. These edges of the labia majora are brought together and made to fuse using thorns, poultices or stitching, and the girl’s legs are tied together for two to six weeks. The healed scar creates a “hood of skin” which covers the urethra and parts or most of the vagina and acts as a physical barrier to intercourse. As a result of dirty razors and un-sterile needles and stitching, HIV-infection has become also substantial problem in Sudan. Moreover, recent statistics show that the maternal mortality rate is over 550 per 100,000 of childbirths, with one of the main causes of this high maternity mortality rate being female genital mutilation and its complications.
In its report, OMCT also expresses concern over the adverse impact of the ongoing armed conflict on the human rights situation in the country, and in particular on the rights of women and children. According to various reports, abduction and slavery continue to be practiced by all parties to the civil war in Sudan. After abduction, many of the girls become victims of rape, forced pregnancy and other human rights violations. Girls who are left orphaned by the civil war are particularly at risk of becoming victims of the slave trade in Sudan and they are often forced into prostitution.
OMCT also expresses deep concern at the extent of the use of the most cruel forms of corporal punishment in contradiction with human rights norms and standards. Women and girls in Sudan are particularly vulnerable to such punishments. For example, due to evidentiary requirements, women and girls are at greater risk than men for being convicted for adultery for which penalties vary from stoning to death to flogging.
Overall, OMCT’s report concludes that while Sudan has a duty under international law to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish all forms of violence against girls, irrespective of whether this violence is committed by public or private individuals, this obligation has not been adequately implemented at the national level.
For copies of the alternative report on violence against girls in Sudan or for further information on OMCT’s programme on Violence against Women please contact the Women's Desk on + 41 22 809 4939 or jb@omct.org.
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) expresses its concern regarding violence against girls in Sudan at the Thirty-first Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Geneva, 23 September 2002
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) welcomes the examination by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child of Sudan’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 24 September 2002. In its alternative country report entitled "Violence against Girls in Sudan ", which has been submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, OMCT expresses its grave concern at the widespread violence against girls in the private and community spheres as well as at the hands of state officials.
Despite Sudan’s Constitution and its ratification of international and regional human rights instruments which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, the subordination of women and girls continues to be part of the law and customs which are strongly based in male dominance. Illustrative is the fact that women in Sudan have throughout their lives a guardian: before marriage a close male relative and after marriage her husband. The subordinate position of girls and women compared with men has led to violence against women, and violence against women has proven to be an essential mechanism by which girls and women are forced into a subordinate position.
Girls in Sudan, because they are married off at a very young age (as young as ten years old), are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence. Also the payment of bride price, which has become more and more commercialised and is strongly related to early marriages, may have the effect of increasing the vulnerability of girls to violence at the hands of their husbands and parents-in-law, as it may be felt that the husband and his family have “purchased” the wife and may therefore treat her in whichever way they see fit.
In the report, OMCT also expresses its serious concerns about the widespread practice of female genital mutilation in Sudan, which violates the right to life, physical integrity, and the right to health of girls. It is estimated that 89.2% of the women and girls in Sudan have undergone FGM and that 82% of women have undergone infibulation, the most severe form of FGM. Infibulation involves the amputation of the clitoris, the labial minora are shaved off and incisions are made in the labia majora to create raw surfaces. These edges of the labia majora are brought together and made to fuse using thorns, poultices or stitching, and the girl’s legs are tied together for two to six weeks. The healed scar creates a “hood of skin” which covers the urethra and parts or most of the vagina and acts as a physical barrier to intercourse. As a result of dirty razors and un-sterile needles and stitching, HIV-infection has become also substantial problem in Sudan. Moreover, recent statistics show that the maternal mortality rate is over 550 per 100,000 of childbirths, with one of the main causes of this high maternity mortality rate being female genital mutilation and its complications.
In its report, OMCT also expresses concern over the adverse impact of the ongoing armed conflict on the human rights situation in the country, and in particular on the rights of women and children. According to various reports, abduction and slavery continue to be practiced by all parties to the civil war in Sudan. After abduction, many of the girls become victims of rape, forced pregnancy and other human rights violations. Girls who are left orphaned by the civil war are particularly at risk of becoming victims of the slave trade in Sudan and they are often forced into prostitution.
OMCT also expresses deep concern at the extent of the use of the most cruel forms of corporal punishment in contradiction with human rights norms and standards. Women and girls in Sudan are particularly vulnerable to such punishments. For example, due to evidentiary requirements, women and girls are at greater risk than men for being convicted for adultery for which penalties vary from stoning to death to flogging.
Overall, OMCT’s report concludes that while Sudan has a duty under international law to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish all forms of violence against girls, irrespective of whether this violence is committed by public or private individuals, this obligation has not been adequately implemented at the national level.
For copies of the alternative report on violence against girls in Sudan or for further information on OMCT’s programme on Violence against Women please contact the Women's Desk on + 41 22 809 4939 or jb@omct.org.