Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) Statement for Women, Peace, and Security Week 2025

Women, Peace, and Justice in Sudan: 25 Years of 1325

As the international community marks the 25th anniversary of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), the Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) wants to take this occasion to reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that women are not merely protected in times of war but are empowered as agents of peace, justice, and transformation.

Resolution 1325 remains one of the most visionary frameworks for global peace and gender equality. It recognizes that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in decision-making, and without the protection of women and girls from gender-based violence in conflict. Yet, in Sudan, where a brutal genocide at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that began in April 2023 continues to devastate millions, its implementation remains dangerously incomplete.

Today, Sudan’s women and girls bear the heaviest burden of a conflict that has killed thousands and displaced over 13 million people. They are targeted for sexual violence, forced displacement, and famine, yet they remain the backbone of resilience. According to UN Women, women and girls account for more than half of Sudan’s 12 million displaced persons and perform the vast majority of unpaid care work; from providing food and water to caring for children, the sick, and the elderly, even as they are excluded from peace and decision-making processes. They are the first responders, community organizers, and protectors of human dignity amid destruction, yet their protection and participation are repeatedly denied.

As DWAG’s Founder and President, Niemat Ahmadi recently emphasized during her remarks at the UN’s Women, Peace, and Security Week

“They (the women of Drafur) have time and time again risen beyond their circumstances, despite being the most impacted and the most under attack, rising again to be frontline workers and defenders. And we are still expecting them to survive and talk about their resilience despite them being humans just like me and you, who have been under siege for over two years.”

The horrors of this week have once again proven that Resolution 1325’s promises remain unfulfilled. In El Fasher, women and girls have been slaughtered, raped, and left to die in silence as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carry out systematic attacks on civilian neighborhoods and displacement camps. Reports from the ground and humanitarian monitors confirm that hundreds of women and children have been killed or gone missing amid mass executions and drone strikes. Hospitals have been destroyed, pregnant women left without care, and survivors face unspeakable sexual violence under siege conditions. These atrocities are not isolated—they represent a continuation of the RSF’s campaign of gendered terror that has defined the war in Sudan since its beginning.

The roots of this suffering trace back to the Darfur genocide that began in 2003, where rape was used systematically as a weapon of war. Those same patterns now define the current war. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), evolved from the Janjaweed militias responsible for earlier atrocities, continue a campaign of terror, bombarding displacement camps, hospitals, and markets. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), rather than defending civilians, have carried out indiscriminate air and drone strikes that devastate homes and infrastructure.

According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR 2025), 228 cases of conflict-related sexual violence were verified in just the first six months of 2025, the vast majority perpetrated by RSF forces. These are conservative estimates, as our own organization’s efforts have documented 300 cases much higher than the official reports. These acts are a part of a broader, deliberate strategy to terrorize and annihilate communities through starvation, displacement, and gender-based violence; acts that constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Despite their indispensable role leading in community-level relief, advocacy, and peacebuilding efforts, Sudanese women continue to be excluded from formal peace negotiations, including the Jeddah Talks (2023), the AU High-Level Panel (2025), the London Conference (2025), and the Geneva Talks (2024). Such exclusion undermines the credibility and sustainability of any peace process. DWAG reaffirms that 1women’s participation is not optional; it is a requirement for justice and durable peace.

This WPS Week, DWAG joined its partners in marking the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda by drawing global attention to the plight of women and girls in Sudan, who continue to endure genocide, sexual violence, and displacement in silence. DWAG’s President and Founder, Ms. Niemat Ahmadi, represented Sudanese civil society at two high-level events organized by DWAG partners, including the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (NGOWG-WPS) briefing to the UN Security Council on October 31, 2025. During these events, Ms. Ahmadi expressed outrage over the recent genocidal attacks in El Fasher and urged the Council and Member States to take concrete, coordinated action to end the ongoing atrocities and save civilian lives in Darfur. Her participation reaffirmed DWAG’s mission to ensure that Sudanese women’s voices are heard at the highest levels of global decision-making and that their calls for justice, protection, and accountability are no longer ignored.

As we commemorate this milestone year for Resolution 1325, DWAG calls on UN member states, regional bodies, and international partners to move beyond rhetoric and deliver concrete action:

Protection of civilians with emphasis on protection of women and girls from conflict-related sexual violence, abduction, and displacement, and ensure accountability for all perpetrators of gender-based atrocities.
Guarantee women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in all peace negotiations and governance mechanisms, including those addressing Sudan’s ongoing war.
Provide flexible and general support funding to women human rights defenders and their organizations, which are often the only lifelines for besieged communities in Darfur, Kordofan, and Khartoum.
Uphold Resolution 1325 and its successors (1820, 1888, 1960, 2467) as binding obligations, not aspirations, and ensure that WPS commitments translate into policy, resources, and protection for women in conflict zones.
Sudan needs gender-responsive atrocity prevention approaches that start with civilian protection, justice for the victims, and accountability for those responsible to pave the way for lasting peace.

The women of Sudan are not silent victims; they are peacebuilders, survivors, and leaders. As they stand on the frontlines of one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, the international community must stand with them, not just in words, but through protection, inclusion, and unwavering pursuit of justice.

With Gratitude,

Niemat Ahmadi,

Founder and President, Darfur Women Action Group

1629 K St. NW Suite #300

Washington, DC 20006, United States