DNHR expresses serious concern over the situation of women detained in Nyala, South Darfur State. Reports continue to indicate that large numbers of women, including activists and women human rights defenders, remain in detention.

The Scale of Detentions

DNHR has received information and statistics showing that the cumulative number of women detained and imprisoned in Nyala has reached approximately 1,371. This figure covers the period since the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city and large parts of Darfur. DNHR continues to verify these numbers, along with the circumstances and grounds for detention and the current status of women who may remain in custody.

DNHR has also received reports that some detained women were pregnant, and that a number gave birth while in detention. These reports raise serious concerns about access to adequate healthcare for pregnant women, mothers, and newborns. They also raise questions about detention conditions and whether these meet international human rights standards.

Release of 196 Women

According to available information, RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, reportedly ordered the release of all women held at a detention facility in Nyala during a visit to the site. Reports indicate that authorities released 196 women, and that each woman reportedly received USD 1,000.

DNHR welcomes any measure that restores liberty to arbitrarily detained women and reunites them with their families. However, the release of one group does not, on its own, address potential violations connected to their arrest and detention. It also does not remove the obligation to establish the fate and whereabouts of all detained women, clarify the legal basis for their detention, and investigate any violations they may have experienced. Financial assistance should never substitute for victims’ rights to truth, justice, accountability, and reparation.

Concerns Over Women Human Rights Defenders

DNHR is particularly concerned by reports that activists and women human rights defenders are among those arrested or detained. Authorities may not detain women because of their civil society or human rights activities, their views, their documentation of violations, or their assistance to local communities; doing so may constitute arbitrary detention and a violation of fundamental rights. Women activists and human rights defenders must be able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of arrest, intimidation, retaliation, or violence.

Rights of Women in Detention

Regardless of which party controls a detention facility, authorities must respect the dignity and fundamental rights of all women deprived of their liberty. They must protect these women from torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence, and other forms of gender-based violence. Detention facilities must also provide adequate access to food, clean water, healthcare, medicines, and gender-specific health services, with particular attention to pregnant women, mothers, and children born during detention. In addition, authorities must allow detainees to communicate with their families and access legal assistance, and must disclose their places of detention and the reasons for their arrest.

DNHR’s Urgent Call for Action

DNHR calls on the RSF and the de facto authorities in areas under their control to take the following steps:

1. Immediately release all women arbitrarily detained in Nyala and elsewhere in Darfur.
2. Disclose the total number, identities, whereabouts, and legal status of all women currently detained, along with the grounds for their detention.
3. Allow families, lawyers, and independent humanitarian and human rights actors appropriate access to detainees, in line with international standards.
4. Ensure immediate and adequate healthcare for pregnant women, mothers, and children, and investigate the circumstances in which women reportedly gave birth while in detention.
5. Protect activists and women human rights defenders from arbitrary arrest, intimidation, and retaliation over their legitimate work.
6. Conduct independent and impartial investigations into allegations of torture, ill-treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, and other violations during arrest or detention.
7. Guarantee victims’ and survivors’ rights to truth, justice, accountability, and reparation.

DNHR further calls on the United Nations, the African Union, and relevant international and regional human rights mechanisms to urgently address the situation of women detained in Darfur. These bodies should work to ensure independent monitoring and protection mechanisms have access to places of detention.

DNHR Position

The release of 196 women marks an important development for those concerned and their families. However, it raises an urgent question: how many women remain in detention, where are they being held, and what treatment have they experienced while deprived of their liberty? DNHR stresses that protecting women in situations of armed conflict requires more than release from detention. It also requires preventing further arbitrary detention, investigating alleged violations, holding those responsible to account, and ensuring victims’ and survivors’ rights to justice and effective remedy.