Women Caucus Call for Ceasefire and Hostilities in Sudan

The Women Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament in a draft resolution on the current war in Sudan has called for the immediate cessation of the hostilities, and the implementation of de-escalation measures to restore peace and security within the country.

They condemned, in the strongest terms, all forms of violence against women in general and called on Member States to provide financial and logistical support to the country during these difficult times.

In a six points draft resolution, the Women Caucus proposed to send a delegation on a joint fact-finding mission, including the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Gender, Peace, and Security, the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and partners to: access the peace and security situation, especially for the women and girls; collect information and prepare resolutions and recommendations to be presented and adopted by the Parliament and submitted to the next African Union Summit; and provide support and humanitarian assistance to the women and girls who are deeply affected by the war.

 

The draft resolution further encouraged the two warring factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to engage in dialogue with necessary stakeholders.

 

The Women Caucus reiterated that it is imperative for the parties to comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law and to permanently silence the gun in the supreme interest of the people of Sudan.

 

They stressed the urgent need for the international community to combine their efforts strongly and expeditiously in collective action, to express solidarity with the Sudanese people, in particular women and girls, for peace democracy, and development.

 

“We call upon all Organs of the African Union, the United Nations Security Council, as well as the International Community to impress upon the parties involved to establish humanitarian corridors, return to political dialogue and negotiation towards the establishment of an inclusive civilian-led government, and strongly rejected all forms of external interference while committing to coordinate, collaborate and harmonize joint international action on Sudan,” the draft resolution demanded.