Sudan’s military-led government has firmly rejected a United Nations fact-finding mission’s call for an international force to protect civilians amid the ongoing civil war. The UN report highlights “harrowing” human rights violations committed against civilians by the warring factions.
Since the resurgence of conflict in April 2023, thousands have lost their lives, and nearly eight million people have been displaced due to hostilities between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This turmoil originated from a fallout between the previously allied groups that had jointly executed a coup.
The UN mission’s lead, Chande Othman, emphasized the urgency of deploying an independent and impartial force to safeguard civilians, given the evident failure of the combatants to protect innocent lives. The mission further recommended an arms embargo targeting both sides of the conflict.
This comprehensive report was compiled based on testimonies from 182 victims, survivors, and witnesses. It also points to allegations against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for providing financial and military support to the RSF, which the UAE denies, while noting Saudi Arabia’s close connections with the Sudanese government.
In response, Sudan’s foreign ministry rejected the recommendations of the fact-finding mission entirely, branding the UN Human Rights Council as a “political and illegal body” and claiming that the recommendations infringe upon its mandate. The RSF has yet to issue a statement regarding the proposal.
In a related plea, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has urged the global community to take immediate action to alleviate the severe crisis in Sudan. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern for the dire situation during his visit to Port Sudan, which serves as the primary base for aid efforts after the government was displaced from the capital, Khartoum, by the RSF.
Dr. Tedros described the scale of the humanitarian emergency as shocking and criticized the lack of effective measures to mitigate the escalating conflict and the suffering it has caused. Recently, a UN-backed expert committee declared a famine in a camp housing approximately 500,000 displaced individuals near el-Fasher in Darfur, one of the regions most devastated by the ongoing war. Despite various mediation attempts by international parties, including Saudi Arabia and the US, efforts to resolve the conflict have thus far proven unsuccessful.
