Translated text: 🔴 Victims on the margins of the war: children and girls in care homes After the death of a young girl who was killed inside one of the care homes in Kassala State last year, and the accusation of a young woman without family support of killing her amid suspicions that a case was fabricated against her to cover up a crime committed by a police officer at the home— The Kassala Ministry of Social Welfare continues to violate the rights of children without support by arranging marriages for underage girls in order to rid itself of responsibility for them. In doing so, the ministry becomes a direct partner in the crime of raping girls under the guise of the law. A week ago, both the ministry and the care home violated the rights of another girl, breaching her childhood by contracting her marriage to a man from Kassala, in a blatant violation of children’s rights. Her wedding is scheduled to take place in the coming days. Demands: - Immediate and urgent action to stop the child’s marriage as quickly as possible, arrest the perpetrators and those involved in coordinating these legalized rape crimes against the girls in the home, and conduct investigations with all officials who allowed such a crime to occur under their watch. - Immediate protection for the remaining children in the home from all violations, including child marriage, enforced disappearances, and physical, sexual, and psychological exploitation. - The immediate transfer of the care home from Kassala State to a state that has the tools to deal with children fairly and humanely, given the clear inability of the state to bear responsibility for the children or the home and its grave failure to protect them. - Opening transparent investigations with those responsible for these atrocities and the ministry officials, and holding all participants accountable—whether from the home, the ministry, or the police—in a manner proportionate to the severity of their involvement. - Immediate justice for the unsupported girl imprisoned since last year in connection with the case suspected to have been fabricated against her; determining her current place of detention immediately; arresting the real suspect; and conducting a fair, transparent investigation to uphold justice. - Creating close, transparent monitoring systems and involving international children’s organizations in the details of investigations and protection measures. Children without support are the responsibility of us all and a mirror of our moral standing as a society. “So as for the orphan, do not oppress him.” “And when the buried infant is asked: for what sin was she killed?” All Sudanese have suffered in this war, but these children suffer doubly—without family, support, or aid. The events clearly show that there are people who fully benefit from trafficking children and shedding responsibility in this way, which robs them of their childhood and places them at the mercy of husbands and families who exploit their domestic labor and, for men, their bodies. It is our duty—as women and men, mothers and fathers, young and old, feminists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and citizens—to protect them. Therefore, we Sudanese citizens call on the Government of Sudan to take immediate action to stop this disgrace. #أنقذوا_الأطفال_فاقدي_السند_من_ولاية_كسلا #اوقفوا_اغتصاب_الطفلات_المقنن