A/HRC/40/CRP.1 to be correct or indeed an underestimate.632 One witness told the Commission that it was to be expected that more rape cases were reported in November than before because a biometric registration took place during that time and people were coming from villages to Bentiu. 633 The Commission also verified additional allegations of rapes in the close vicinity of the Bentiu PoC site and the Bentiu-Nhialdiu-Guit triangle. This leads it to conclude that there have been even more instances of rape in the area since November 2018 than were reported by MSF. Many of the survivors of these attacks are living in villages which are inaccessible by road and requesting them to travel by foot to meet with the Commission would have put survivors at risk of again being attacked. As a result of the media coverage that followed the MSF Statement and the stigma attached to sexual violence, the Commission used alternative means of gathering evidence in those instances where it was not possible to get direct access to witnesses. The Commission reiterates that investigations of human rights violations and international crimes, including sexual violence, should follow basic principles including the “Do No Harm” principle. The Commission received information that such principles were not followed in December 2018 by some actors on the ground and recalls that the security, safety and well-being of victims must guide such investigations.634 A women’s community leader told the Commission how she and her group provides psychosocial support to survivors of rapes committed within the Bentiu-Guit-Nhialdiu triangle but that many survivors feel ashamed and do not report what has happened to them. She went on to explain that during food distribution, rapes are more numerous because there are more women travelling from the villages to collect food. She added that the population was shocked at the authorities’ reaction following the MSF Statement. 635 One elder to whom the Commission spoke about abduction and rapes of women and girls, said that when he went to his village located between Bentiu and Nhialdiu in December 2018, he saw several groups of armed youth on the way. When he arrived in his village, he met with two women and two adolescent girls who had been raped on their way to the village from Bentiu. Three of them were so traumatised that they could not talk. The fourth one said that the attackers, who were speaking Nuer language and wearing civilian clothes, also stole the SSP 37,000 she was carrying to buy Christmas clothes for her children. The elder, accompanied by youth, some of them armed, went to the location of the attack, where he discovered a camp where about 30 women were being held captive as well as other stolen objects. The attackers fled when they saw the elder and his escort. Some of the women told the elder that they had been raped, in addition to their money and belongings being stolen. Despite the attackers covering their faces, one of the women recognised a youth from Koch County. In other incidents, youth from Guit County were recognised. 636 The incident was reported to SPLA-IO (RM) who informed the SPLA Commander in Bentiu. 637 One witness told the Commission how towards the end of November 2018, a young lactating mother was raped when she was coming back from aid registration in Bentiu to her village in the Nhialdiu area. This witness added that in January a pregnant woman was held captive the whole day and raped at the same location by four men. On a different occasion, a woman who could not reach the MSF clinic during opening hours was brought to the police by her family who alerted the authorities. 638 Once, a group of women brought a man along thinking his presence would protect them. When they were attacked, the assailants beat him very badly.639 One woman who came to the Bentiu PoC site for security reasons in 2014 was raped in December 2018 when she went out to fetch firewood. She was attacked by five Nuer men wearing civilian clothes, carrying AK-47 weapons and covering their faces with a mask. 632 Witness 1111, ERN 102220-102225; Witness 1112, ERN 102226-102231; Confidential Meetings, 17, 18, 20, 22 and 23 January 2019. 633 Witness 1112, ERN 102226-102231. 634 Confidential Meetings, 17, 18, 27 January 2019. 635 Witness 1112, ERN 102226-102231; Witness 1113, ERN 102216-102219. 636 Witness 1095, ERN 102211-102215. 637 Witness 1095, ERN 102211-102215. 638 Witness 1112, ERN 102226-102231; Confidential Meeting, 27 January 2019. 639 Confidential Meeting, 27 January 2019. 92