The warring parties in Sudan have committed an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes, including many that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, United Nations-appointed experts said on Friday. They called for the immediate deployment of an "independent and impartial force" with a mandate to protect civilians.
Sudan's civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began on April 15 last year, has killed and injured tens of thousands of people, resulted in widespread atrocities and caused record displacement, with more than 10 million people forced to flee their homes.
The war has also created the world's largest humanitarian crisis, the world's largest internal displacement crisis, and the world's worst hunger crisis.
In an initial report released on Friday, the UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan said both the SAF and RSF, as well as their respective allies, were responsible for patterns of large-scale violations. These included indiscriminate and direct attacks by air and artillery against civilians, schools, hospitals, communication networks and vital water and electricity supplies.
The independent experts found that the warring parties also targeted civilians - as well as those who assisted survivors or documented violations - through rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment. These violations may amount to war crimes involving violence to life and person and outrages upon personal dignity.
“The gravity of these findings underscores the urgent and immediate action to protect civilians,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission.
“Given the failure of the warring parties to spare civilians, it is imperative that an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay,” Othman said.
He added that the “protection of the civilian population is paramount, and all parties must comply with their obligations under international law and immediately and unconditionally cease all attacks on the civilian population.”
The report also found reasonable grounds to believe that RSF and its allied militias committed the additional war crimes of rape, sexual enslavement and pillage, as well as ordering the displacement of civilians and the recruitment of children under the age of 15 to participate in hostilities.
The horrific assaults carried out by RSF and its allies against non-Arab communities - particularly the Masalit in and around El Geneina, West Darfur - included killings, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, destruction of property and looting.
According to the report, there are also reasonable grounds to believe that acts committed by RSF and its allied militias amount to numerous crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual enslavement and other forms of sexual violence of comparable gravity, persecution based on ethnicity and gender, and forcible displacement.
Since the beginning of the war, at least 10.6 million people - including more than 5 million children - have been displaced by the ongoing conflict. While more than 8.2 million people - Sudanese and refugees already living in the country - have been forced to flee within Sudan, more than 2.4 million women, men and children have sought refuge in other countries.
The war, which has spread to 14 of the country's 18 states, is being waged with new levels of violence and brutality against civilians, especially in the states of Darfur. The RSF, in particular, has been accused of committing mass atrocities on a widespread scale in Darfur. However, both parties to the conflict have been accused of serious war crimes.
More than half of Sudan's population - some 25 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection as a result of the war. Among those in need are more than 14 million children. According to the experts' report, the warring parties have exacerbated the crisis by obstructing humanitarian access.
A recent food assessment revealed that 25.6 million people, or half the country's population, face acute hunger, and while 13 areas are at risk of famine, the IPC's Famine Review Committee has declared famine in the Zamzam camp near El Fasher in North Darfur. The 14 areas either in famine or at risk of famine are mostly located in Darfur, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Al-Jazira.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 15 million people need urgent health assistance to survive. Less than 25 percent of health facilities are functioning in the Sudanese states most affected by the war, and only 45 percent of such facilities are fully functional in other states.
“The people of the Sudan have suffered unimaginable tragedy,” said Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, expert member of the Fact-Finding Mission.
“A sustainable cease-fire must be prioritized to halt the fighting in which the civilian population is caught and enable the effective delivery of badly needed humanitarian assistance to all those in need, regardless of their location.”
Recent cease-fire talks in Sudan brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia have failed to end the country's 16-month conflict, but have succeeded in securing greater humanitarian access to millions of people who have been deprived of food, medicine, and other essential aid for many months.
The report recommends that the existing arms embargo in Darfur under Security Council resolution 1556 (2004) and subsequent resolutions be extended to all of Sudan in order to stem the supply of arms, ammunition and other logistical or financial support to the warring parties and to prevent further escalation.
Those supplying arms may be complicit in serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law, the experts warned.
Because the Sudanese authorities' efforts to investigate and prosecute those responsible for international crimes have been marred by a lack of willingness, characterized by selective justice and a lack of impartiality, bringing accountability to the victims will be a major challenge.
The report also called for the establishment of a separate international justice mechanism to work alongside and complement the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“These findings should serve as a wake-up call to the international community to take decisive action to support survivors, their families and affected communities, and hold perpetrators accountable,” said expert member Mona Rishmawi.
“A comprehensive approach to transitional justice is vital for addressing the root causes of the conflict and ensuring accountability.”
Applauding the various efforts undertaken to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table, Othman said “the people of Sudan deserve a future marked by peace, prosperity, and respect for human rights.”
“The international community must support the Sudanese aspiration for an inclusive and representative civilian government that respects the rights of all citizens,” Othman said. "This support is essential for fostering a path toward equality, justice, and sustainable peace in Sudan."
The UN Human Rights Council established the Fact-Finding Mission in October 2023 through resolution A/HRC/RES/54/2. However, it took a considerable amount of time before the President of the Human Rights Council appointed Mohamed Chande Othman as Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission and Joy Ngozi Ezeilo and Mona Rishmawi as members in December.
The report is based on investigations conducted between January and August 2024. This included visits to Chad, Kenya and Uganda; first-hand testimony from 182 survivors, family members and eyewitnesses; extensive consultations with experts and members of civil society; and the corroboration and analysis of additional information provided to the Fact-Finding Mission.
Further information
Full text: Report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan (A/HRC/57/23)
issued on September 6, 2024
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session57/advance-versions/A_HRC_57_23_AdvanceUneditedVersion.docx
Website: Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan
https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/ffm-sudan/index