Michigan - The American Center for Justice (ACJ) said that violations committed against women were still the most prominent human rights violations in most countries of the world - especially - those witnessing internal conflicts and disturbances, in light of the continued impunity, silence and stigma against women and girls in conflict areas, more particularily in the Middle East and Africa.

In its statement on the International Women's Day, the ACJ confirms it has continuously monitored dozens of multiple and complex violations against women in countries witnessing internal wars such as Yemen, the Palestinian territories, Syria, Sudan and other countries. The Center also stressed that these violations and dangerous practices had profoundly affected women’s enjoyment of their fundamental rights in their countries, as these conflicts are still there and with the absence of any political signs or international will to resolve these years-long crises. This raises the ACJ'S fears of future violations that may affect a larger segment of women, for the situation in these countries remains the same. 

For example, the aggression launched by the Israeli army against the Gaza Strip 152 days ago resulted in the killing of 8,896, the injury of more than 10,000 women, and the displacement of a million women, since women and children constituted 75% of the total victims in the Strip until this moment. The Israeli war also deprived pregnant women of special medical care, and women who have recently given birth face the risk of serious complications due to the lack of medicines, their internal displacement towards places that are not medically equipped, and other multifaceted violations that women face in the Palestinian territories. 

The situation wasn't different in Syria, as the Syrian Network for Human Rights said that about 29,000 women had been killed in Syria since March 2011, most of whom were killed by the regime’s security services. The network also explained in its annual report on women that at least 28,926 women were killed in Syria during the aforementioned period, 117 of them due to torture, while 11,203 women were still under arrest or detention. 

Sudan also joins the countries where women suffer from serious and complex violations, especially after mid-April 2023. Sudan embroiled  into armed conflict between the two largest military components in the country, which resulted in the death and injury of thousands, the displacement of five million and 800 thousand people, and the spread of rape crimes against women in several Sudanese cities and villages. Reports indicate that women and girls have been subjected to sexual violence at the hands of fighters. 

As for violations against women in Yemen, the American Center for Justice reviewed disturbing numbers that showed an escalation in violations against women in Yemen during the 9-year- long war. More than 5,053 cases of violation were recorded by the end of 2023, including murder, physical injury, arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, torture, and prevention of movement. The Houthi group topped the list of parties violating women's rights with a rate of 70%, followed by forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, followed by forces loyal to the legitimate government and some other parties. These violations included the deliberate killing and severely wounding civilian women and activists, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

(ACJ) indicates that it observed similarities in the methods to which women are exposed to in conflict areas, including: loss of dignity, oppression, and deprivation of the most basic rights, in addition to the grave violations against women such as killing, injury, violence, arrest, sexual harassment, and the displacement of thousands of women. During the period of wars, women in countries of conflict, especially Yemeni women, were subjected to direct and indirect targeting, due to the weakness of state institutions and the lack of security oversight, in addition to illegal detentions, denial of demonstration and expression of opinion, and obstruction of women from obtaining their rights to education and health care. 

On this special occasion, the American Center for Justice emphasizes that what women are exposed to in conflict zones constitutes a clear violation of many of the agreements that guarantee and provide special protection for women, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic Social Rights, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination against Women and others, which guarantee many basic rights for women and even criminalize any attack on those rights or even derogation from them. 

The American Center for Justice (ACJ) calls on the international community and international organizations to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and duties and to intervene urgently in order to provide full protection and immunity for women in conflict areas and to pressure all violating parties in order to stop their repeated violations and develop a clear plan of action that ensures the implementation of this protection, foremost of which is bringing perpetrators of violations to fair trial for their crimes that violate human rights, especially women’s rights.