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Zainab Bangura, the UN Special Representative on sexual violence in conflict. has concluded her visit to South Sudan but not before warning that the country may be haunted for years by the spectre of rape that became a feature of the brief civil war earlier in the year.
“I have come to South Sudan to demand that all parties of conflict end the raping and the violence,” Bangura said.
“If allowed to continue, these rapes will haunt South Sudan for generations to come,” she said, adding that they will also “undermine the peace that South Sudan has fought for.”
UN officials in South Sudan have said since April that radio stations have been used to broadcast messages inciting ethnically-charged sexual violence and murder.
In one particular incident, such incitement led to the killing of hundreds in the city of Bentiu, capital of Unity State.
UN spokesperson Joseph Contreras previously told the media that commanders from the Nuer tribe, which largely runs the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, told their troops to rape non-Nuer women (likely Dinka) during the Bentiu killings and that a radio station was used to encourage fighters to target people based on their ethnicity.
The Nuer fighters are allied with former Vice-President Riek Machar, who was accused by President Salva Kiir – a member of the Dinka tribe – of orchestrating a coup.
On December 15, 2013, it was reported that members of the Presidential Guard loyal to Machar engaged in a gun battle with security forces supporting Kiir.
Hostilities erupted when other supporters of the two men, from rival tribes, clashed in the capital Juba, which has since been stabilised by the South Sudan Army loyal to Kiir.
By February, fighting had spread to over 30 towns throughout South Sudan.
Since then, Bangura says, there have been widespread violations taking place.
“These included rapes, gang rapes, rapes with guns and bullets and sexual slavery. After being raped, some victims were mutilated and disgraced. Some were killed or died of the injuries sustained,” she said.
She urged South Sudanese authorities to bring those accused of sexual violence and ethnic targeting to justice.
“It is the rapists who should be shunned and shamed, not those who were raped,” she said. “What happened to you was not your fault. You are not alone.”
Source: Agencies
