UN report documents widespread sexual violence in Sudan conflict

A new Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report issued on 23 June 2026 details the brutality and scale of conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan since the conflict began in April 2023. The findings were released by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, according to a press release. The report concludes that sexual violence has been used consistently as a tactic to terrorize and traumatize civilians. It documents profound, long-term impacts on victims, families, and communities. UN High Commissioner Volker Türk warned that such acts constitute war crimes and, potentially, crimes against humanity.

The report notes that sexual violence has accompanied the geographic spread of the conflict and displacement journeys across Sudan. In Darfur, there are reasonable grounds to believe some acts, committed in the context of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians, may amount to crimes against humanity. Most verified incidents were attributed to men in Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniforms, its affiliates, and Arab militias. Incidents were also attributed to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), affiliated security actors, the Joint Forces, and other armed movements and militias. Persistent underreporting has obscured the full prevalence of these crimes.

The UN Human Rights Office verified 546 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence in 16 of Sudan’s 18 states from the start of the conflict to mid-April this year. These incidents affected at least 838 victims, including 539 women, 284 girls, eight men, and seven boys. Almost a quarter of incidents involved gang rape, with one attack involving at least 10 perpetrators who raped a girl. Documented forms include rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced prostitution, sexual torture, and trafficking. At least 85 women and girls were held in sexual slavery and compelled to undertake domestic labor and generate income.

The report records the deaths of at least 13 victims, mostly following brutal gang rapes, with the youngest aged nine years old. At least 59 women and girls became pregnant or bore children from rape. Many ethnic Masalit victims from West Darfur reported that attackers asked about their tribe before raping them, with some told in 2023, “This year, all of you Masalit girls will deliver our children,” and “If you are Masalit, we will slaughter you today”.

“As I warned at the end of my mission to Sudan in January, 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 Türk.

He stressed that persistent impunity is deepening harms and reinforcing cycles of violations.

Türk called for timely, independent, and impartial investigations into acts of sexual violence committed during the conflict to ensure accountability. He emphasized that all perpetrators, including those exercising command responsibility, must be held fully accountable. Victims must be guaranteed access to effective remedy, including reparation. The report calls on parties to the conflict to take concrete and verifiable measures to prevent sexual violence. It also urges the international community to keep justice and accountability central to efforts toward a ceasefire and resolution of the conflict.