Don't forget women and girls in Sudan! Sanctions against the UAE!

On the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns of systematic sexualized and ethnically motivated violence against women and girls in Sudan and calls on the German government to take action.

"The RSF are waging a war specifically against the civilian population. Women's rights organizations in Sudan report that this war is being fought on women's bodies. It is shameful that there has been no response from the international community, even though the UN calls these acts genocide and the International Criminal Court has documented crimes against humanity. Politicians around the world express regret about these conditions, then move on to the next item on the agenda, and nothing changes for the women in Darfur and the states of Kordofan in central Sudan," says Sarah Reinke, head of human rights work at the STP.

“The German government must finally take action. The UN's genocide allegations and the daily atrocities require effective sanctions against the United Arab Emirates as a first step. The UAE continues to supply the RSF with weapons and, through its role in the gold trade, ensures the continued financing of the war,” says Reinke. The United Arab Emirates acts as a central hub for the smuggling and refining of Sudanese gold. By concealing the origin of the gold, sanctions are deliberately circumvented.

“Sudan is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman today. Nevertheless, it is mainly women who are fighting for women's rights, peace, and reconciliation in the midst of war,” says Reinke. “Our partner organization, the Bana Group for Peace and Development, organizes aid for women in refugee camps both inside and outside Sudan and offers psychosocial support, among other things.” These civil society initiatives must be specifically supported.

The recently published UN report on the capture of the city of El Fasher after an 18-month siege by the RSF describes in detail the cruel violence against civilians during the RSF's latest offensive against El Fasher. This violence was directed particularly against the Fur and Zaghawa communities. The STP had already raised allegations of genocide in 2024 due to the massacres against the Masalit in El Geneina and documented the crimes in a report in German.