UAE urges UN to factor escalating sexual violence in Sudan sanctions

The UAE has urged the UN Security Council to include conflict-related sexual violence as a factor in sanctions against Sudan.

In a statement made during the Security Council briefing on Sudan on Thursday, the UAE’s permanent representative to the UN, Mohamed Abushahab, added that there are 221 verified cases of sexual violence that included children under the age of one.

He also highlighted the need to urge Sudanese warring parties to return to the negotiation table and allow humanitarian aid to enter the country.

The war in Sudan broke out after a power struggle between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) over integrating the forces in April 2023 that has left more than 12 million people displaced and ten of thousands killed. 

For 699 days, the people of Sudan, including its women and girls, have endured a relentless nightmare, with unimaginable trauma scarred upon an entire generation.

At today’s UNSC briefing on Sudan, the UAE urged the Council to:

➡️ Include conflict-related sexual violence as a… pic.twitter.com/p2C9J33bWr

— UAE Mission to the UN (@UAEMissionToUN) March 14, 2025

UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council on Thursday that the number of women and girls – and increasingly, men and boys – at risk of sexual assault has increased by 80 per cent over the last year.

"All perpetrators of conflict-related sexual violence, in Sudan and around the world, must be held accountable. The UAE unequivocally condemns, in the strongest terms, all forms of sexual violence," Abushahab said. 

"Those who have endured such horrors must have access to necessary care, including mental health and psychosocial support, and as was said by Executive Director Russell, this will be needed long after the guns are silenced."

The representative also called for the international community to apply pressure on the warring Generals to begin political negotiations for a permanent cessation of hostilities. 

Abushahab urged the RSF and the SAF to allow unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance to civilians by allowing the flow of aid through Sudan's borders.