Last week, a UN fact-finding mission for Sudan called for an independent and impartial forceto be deployed “without delay” to protect civilians. Its case would not have been harmed by reports this week of a new set of grave human rights violations in the country. In southeastern Sennar state, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were accused of killing 40 people in artillery strikes on local markets and residential areas, while in North Darfur’s famine-stricken Zam Zam displacement site, the RSF reportedly tightened a siege and arrested traders trying to supply the camp.
New reporting also emerged of earlier abuses, including the killing by the RSF and allied militias of over 70 civilians in the North Darfur town of Kutum in June 2023, and there was renewed concern about damage to Sudan’s cultural identity amid the looting of tens of thousands of precious artefacts from museums. The war began in April 2023 and has produced the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises. Recent mediation efforts have failed, with the army refusing to turn up and the RSF using its attendance to try to launder its terrible image.
From The New Humanitarian, Sept. 13. Some internal links added.
Map: PCL
UN renews mandate of Sudan fact-finding mission
The UN Human Rights Council on Oct. 7 renewed the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, stressing its condemnation of the ongoing conflict between the parties and its concern about the humanitarian crisis in the country.
The resolution was adopted by a recorded vote of 23 to 12, an uptick from last year’s 19 to 16. The mandate was established in 2023 in response to the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan. The first report published by the mission last month found that the two warring parties are responsible for the large-scale violations that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report recommended deploying an independent and impartial force to protect civilians and establishing a separate international judicial mechanism working in tandem with the International Criminal Court to provide access to justice for the victims. The report further recommended that all states and entities expand the existing arms embargo in Darfur to ensure the ceasing of arms flow to both the rival parties in the Sudan conflict.
The power struggle between the rival parties–the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)–erupted into a large-scale conflict in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in April 2023. The conflict has left almost 25 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and displaced more than 8.1 million people, making this one of the world’s largest internal displacement crises. (Jurist)