United Nations: Sexual violence in Sudan may amount to war crimes

June 24, 2026 (PEN) A report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented the “brutal and unprecedented” use of sexual violence in Sudan as a weapon of war, affecting 16 out of 18 states since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023.

UN Human Rights Office spokesman Seif Magango told a briefing in Geneva on Tuesday that the office had recorded at least 546 incidents affecting 838 victims, stressing that these figures represent only "the tip of the iceberg" because most cases go unreported.

Magango added that the office's investigations attributed most of the incidents to the Rapid Support Forces and groups allied with them, while some incidents were attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces and security agencies and militias allied with them.

He stressed that some of these crimes "may amount to war crimes," noting that there are reasonable grounds to believe that acts of sexual violence in Darfur, as part of widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, may amount to crimes against humanity.

The report explained that nearly a quarter of the documented cases were gang rapes, and the violations also included sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced prostitution, sexual torture, and human trafficking for sexual purposes.

The report documented the killing of at least 13 victims, and the pregnancy of 59 women and girls as a result of rape.

The report concluded that sexual violence was carried out, in some cases, as an act of revenge based on presumed political affiliation and ethnic motives, as survivors from one tribe in West Darfur reported that the attackers inquired about their tribe before assaulting them.

The report warned that peace and social cohesion will remain threatened for years unless patterns of violence are addressed through justice and victim-centered approaches.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in a statement issued Tuesday, called for immediate and independent investigations and for all perpetrators, including leaders, to be held accountable, stressing that impunity "exacerbates the harm and perpetuates cycles of abuse."

The conflict in Sudan began in April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, before turning into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, amid a security breakdown and increasing violations against civilians.