NEW YORK: UN independent human rights experts on Thursday called on the international community to combat what they described as alarming levels of trafficking, sexual violence, and child recruitment in and around El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.
The experts said they were deeply troubled by mounting evidence of abuses following the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ takeover of the city and surrounding areas.
Specialists included Siobhan Mullally, the UN special rapporteur on trafficking in persons; Tomoya Obokata, the special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery; Mama Fatima Singhateh, the special rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children; and Paula Gaviria, the special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
“We are deeply concerned at the alarming reports of human trafficking since the takeover of El-Fasher and surrounding areas by the Rapid Support Forces,” the experts said in a joint statement.
“Women and girls have been abducted in RSF-controlled areas, and women, unaccompanied and separated children are at elevated risk of sexual violence and sexual exploitation.”
