Chad Donor Conference – Tackle Violence Against Refugee Women
(Brussels, 30 September) Two days ahead of the donors’ conference for the UN Mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (MINURCAT), co-organised by the European Commission, and hosted in Brussels, Amnesty International has published a report which details the extent to which violence against refugee women in eastern Chad remains a severe problem despite the presence of the very UN security forces that the donor conference is trying to raise money for.
The report, “No place for us here: Violence against refugee women in eastern Chad” details the horrifying extent to which Darfuri refugee women and girls face rape and other violence on a daily basis both inside and outside refugee camps in eastern Chad.
“These women fled Darfur, hoping that the international community and Chadian authorities would offer them some measure of safety and protection. That protection has proved to be elusive and they remain under attack” said Tawanda Hondora, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.
“Many people know that women who venture outside refugee camps in eastern Chad to collect firewood and water face harassment and rape,” he said.
“What people don’t realize is that there is little safety inside the camps for these same women. They face the risk of rape and other violence at the hands of family members, other refugees, and staff of humanitarian organizations, whose task it is to provide them with assistance and support.”
In a letter to the European Commission (available Download PDF attachement