The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group is responsible for the majority of sexual crimes committed by warring parties in Sudan over the past three years, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday.
In a new trend analysis report on conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan since the outbreak of war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in April 2023, the UN found that rape, gang rape and sexual slavery have been used systematically as weapons of war, and warned that impunity risks entrenching cycles of violence for years to come.
Around 87 percent of verified incidents were attributed to men in RSF uniforms, its affiliates and allied Arab militias. Incidents were also attributed to the SAF, affiliated security actors, the Joint Forces and other armed movements.
The report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which covers the period from 15 April 2023 to 15 April 2026, documented 546 verified incidents affecting at least 838 victims, including 539 women, 284 girls, eight men and seven boys, across 16 of Sudan's 18 states.
"Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war. This is a war crime and, if committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack, a crime against humanity," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.
