U.N. humanitarian chief attends event in Sudan to raise awareness about violence against women

The United Nations humanitarian chief stressed on Monday the organisation "must do better" to support people in Sudan as he attended an event in the war-wrecked nation to raise awareness about violence against women.

"It is your voices that we need the world to hear," Tom Fletcher told crowds gathered at an event in Port Sudan launching the UN's annual 16-days of Activism against gender--based violence campaign, which this years is using the slogan 'You are not alone'.

“We must do better. We must make sure that these words, 'You are not alone', are not just words that people say into a microphone when they visit you, but they become the core of our work," he urged.

Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital of Khartoum and spread to other regions.

Since then, more than 20,000 people have been killed in the conflict, according to the UN.

Some 14 million people — 30% of the population — have been forcibly displaced, either to other parts of the country or abroad in what the U.N. says is one of the world’s worst displacement crises.

Human Rights Watch has accused the paramilitary group fighting against the military of rampant sexual violence against women, including gang rape and forced marriages of girls.

The international rights group also accused the military of sexual violence.

"Gender-based violence is nothing new. But with the war and since the war erupted in April last year and launched Sudan into one of the biggest protection and GBV (Gender-based violence) crises, there is an increase in gender-based violence cases, especially in conflict zones," said Shaza Ahmed, the Executive Director of Nada Elazhar, a female-led organization which helps victims of gender-based violence, as she attended the UN event on Monday.

The launch of the event has coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.