UN Reports a 25% Rise in Conflict-Related Sexual Violence Worldwide Last Year
The tragic reality of sexual violence in conflict zones saw a stark rise of 25% last year, as the U.N. highlighted grave situations in places like the Central African Republic, Congo, Haiti, Somalia, and South Sudan. This chilling report, unveiled on Thursday by the United Nations, paints a grim picture of the escalating violence.
Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General, shared in his yearly report that over 4,600 individuals endured sexual violence throughout 2024. Although armed factions were largely to blame, government forces were not entirely innocent. Guterres emphasized that these figures, verified by the U.N., only scratch the surface of a far more extensive issue.
Intriguingly, the report identifies 63 government and non-government entities across a dozen nations alleged to be responsible for such heinous acts, including Hamas militants. The October 7, 2023, incident in Israel, which ignited the Gaza conflict, was also highlighted.
Shockingly, more than 70% of those listed have remained on the report’s blacklist for at least five years, failing to take meaningful action against this violence, as noted by Guterres.
This year, the report took a groundbreaking step by naming two parties warned of potential inclusion in next year’s blacklist, pending preventative actions: Israeli military and security forces (over alleged abuses of Palestinians, mostly in detention) and Russian forces with their affiliates (for offenses against Ukrainian prisoners of war).
Reacting to a letter from Guterres highlighting these warnings, Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon dismissed the allegations as “biased publications” and urged the U.N. to direct its attention towards addressing the atrocities committed by Hamas and freeing hostages.
Russia’s response, or lack thereof, was notably silent regarding Guterres’ cautionary note.
Within the 34-page document, “conflict-related sexual violence” is defined by acts such as rape, sexual slavery, and forced marriage, disproportionately affecting women and girls, although men and boys are not immune.
Guterres stated that 2024 witnessed a dangerous mix of proliferating conflicts, staggering displacement, and increased militarization. Amidst this chaos, sexual violence was wielded as a war tactic, an instrument of torture, and a means of political repression. The myriad crises—political, security, and humanitarian—only deepened these hardships.
Women and girls faced attacks in their homes, along travel routes, and in their workplaces, spanning ages from infants to the elderly. In Congo and Myanmar, the horrifying trend of summary executions post-violation continued.
The report further indicated that armed factions used sexual violence strategically to solidify control over territories and precious resources. In regions like the Central African Republic, Congo, and Haiti, sexual violence targeted women and girls affiliated with opposing armed groups.
Disturbingly, detention centers in Israel, Palestinian territories, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen became sites of sexual violence, often as a tool of torture, the report revealed.
Boys and men primarily suffered these gruesome acts while in detention, echoing past years, with threats and acts of rape, as well as genital torture, being reported.
The U.N.’s peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic uncovered cases impacting 215 women, 191 girls, and seven men, involving rape, gang rape, forced marriage, and sexual slavery.
In the mineral-laden eastern Congo, peacekeepers recorded nearly 800 incidents last year, cataloging rapes, gang rapes, sexual slavery, and forced marriages—often marred by extreme violence. Cases involving the M23 rebels, who now control Goma, spiked from 43 in 2022 to 152 in 2024.
In the war-torn lands of Sudan, service providers reported 221 rape cases affecting 147 girls and 74 boys in 2024 alone, with a heart-wrenching 16% involving children under five years old, including four infants.
So there it is—a sprawling scourge of human suffering and resilience, a wretched manifestation of conflict’s darkest corners that demands not just attention but actionable resolve from the world community.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
