Social Development Ministry Affirms Commitment to Combat Sexual Violence against Women

The Minister of Social Development, Ahmed Adam Bakhit, has affirmed the state’s commitment to putting an end to sexual violence related to the conflict in Sudan, indicating that the transitional government is making serious efforts to provide a safe and protective environment for women and girls.

At the regular news forum of Sudan News Agency (SUNA) Saturday, the minister saluted the victims of sexual violence at the dispute areas in Darfur, the Blue Nile and South Kordofan as well as the women and girls all over Sudan on the occasion of the International Day for Elimination of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence.

Bakhit said that the ministry has made wide strides in this regard, starting with the approval of the national plan for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Women, Security, and Peace), which he said that there was no previous political will to implement it over the past 20 years, and the joint framework agreement signed with the United Nations to eliminate violence. in conflict areas, in addition to approval of the common standard procedures to address and respond to cases of gender-based violence, CEDAW and the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa which is attached to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Maputo),

He pointed out that the Ministry of Social Development is expediting efforts for ratification of the Act for Combat of Violence Against Women as the first law of its kind in Sudan, pointing to the challenges posed by tribal disputes in some areas that cast affect the opportunities for transit and movement, as well as the coronavirus pandemic which constitutes a burden on the transitional government.

On his part, the Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Sudan, Massimo Diana stressed that sexual violence against women is completely rejected, especially when it is used as a means to prolong the conflict.