UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has charged the Sudanese government with downplaying the severity of the sexual abuse being endured by women in the Darfur region. Sudan has admitted to the presence of rape, but denies that there is any systematic plan or program of rape, instead charging women with exaggerating their stories.

Arbour says the government is disconnected from the reality that exists on the ground in Darfur. The Darfur region of the Sudan has been subject to violent rebel disturbances for the past 19 months. The US government has called the situation "genocide," a classification that the UN has resisted so far. JURIST's Paper Chase has background on Darfur here. The Sudan Tribune has more.