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MONTHLY ACTION POINTS ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security has released the February 2025 edition of Monthly Action Points (MAP) on Women, Peace and Security for the UN Security Council.

This MAP offers analysis and advocacy points on country situations and thematic issues relevant to the Security Council’s agenda for the coming month.  These concise notes are intended for Security Council Members, civil society organisations, Member States and UN entities and are widely distributed.

 

MAP FOR THE SECURITY COUNCIL: February 2025

In February, while China holds the presidency of the UN Security Council, the MAP provides recommendations on the situation in Sudan and other countries.

Sudan

Sudan’s civil war has had a devastating impact on civilians, particularly women and girls. UN and international experts have documented widespread violations of international law by all warring parties, some of which could amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis; further, ongoing conflict and humanitarian access restrictions have also created the world’s largest hunger crisis, escalating rapidly with famine conditions in Darfur and the Western Nuba Mountains, and approximately half the population facing acute food insecurity. These conditions exacerbate pre-existing gender inequalities, with women eating last and least and often compelled to adopt harmful coping strategies that increase protection risks and the risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

Widespread SGBV enabled by the proliferation of arms has been a hallmark of the conflict, particularly conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) including kidnapping, rape, sexual slavery and sexual exploitation. Women and girls from non-Arab tribes have been targeted based on their ethnicity, which could constitute an act of genocide. Women activists, peacebuilders and human rights defenders (HRDs), including those documenting rights violations, have been targeted and intimidated for their work. With the near collapse of health infrastructure and continued attacks on providers and medical facilities, survivors have limited access to health care, including sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care and psychosocial support. Rates of maternal and newborn death have also risen dramatically. Emergency response rooms and local organizations, including women-led organizations, play a pivotal role in delivering assistance to those unreachable by international actors and must be included in humanitarian coordination mechanisms and decision-making fora.

The Security Council should:

  • Demand all parties fully comply with Resolution 2736 (2024), including by:
    • Immediately halting the siege of El Fasher, seeking an immediate cessation of hostilities and complying with their obligations under international law by stopping attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including ending all acts of SGBV and ensuring accountability for such violations and services for survivors;
    • Calling on external actors to refrain from interfering in the conflict, including by supplying arms to the warring parties in violation of the arms embargo;
    • Demanding that all actors, including the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy on Sudan, the African Union and the League of Arab States, ensure the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of diverse women in all efforts to build peace;
    • Ensuring rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access into and throughout Sudan and the protection of humanitarian personnel, including local and national women-led organizations.
  • Urgently identify options for civilian protection, including but not limited to options elaborated by the Secretary-General.
  • Call on Member States to urgently fund gender-responsive multi-sectoral response, including the humanitarian and refugee response plans, and support neighboring countries and host communities.
  • Expand the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to cover the entire territory of Sudan. Strengthen the existing sanctions regime to include SGBV as a stand-alone designation criterion.
  • Provide increased, flexible, sustainable and direct funding to diverse local civil society and humanitarian organizations, including women-led and LGBTIQ-led organizations. Ensure that disaggregated data, intersectional gender analysis and SGBV risk mitigation assessment inform all aspects of the crisis response.
  • Strengthen the UN Country Team’s capacity to monitor, document and report on human rights violations, including reprisals against women HRDs, including by establishing Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Arrangements on CRSV.