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OHCHR documents grave violations of human rights in Sudan

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: OHCHR
10 Sep 2024 20:15

Both sides of the conflict in Sudan have committed violations of IHL and human rights, OHCHR investigations found.

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A man walks by a house hit in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 25, 2023. (AP)

Nada al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke of grave violations of human rights in Sudan amid the ongoing infighting between the government's Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the insurgent paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country.

At the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Sudan, 57th session of the Human Rights Council, al-Nashif said that the respective allied armed movements and militias of the two sides are conducting the war "with total disregard for international law."

Al-Nashif said that her office and designated experts documented "violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses by all parties to the conflict."

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) was "particularly alarmed" by the employment of "sexual violence as weapons of war" in Sudan.

"We have documented 97 incidents involving 172 victims, predominantly women and girls – which is a gross under-representation of the reality," al-Nashif revealed.

It said that the RSF and its allies committed 81% of these incidents, while credible reports indicated that SAF troops and allies committed similar acts.

Al-Nashif also warned of "ethnically motivated attacks and hate speech," especially targeting the Masalit community in western Darfur.

The official said that the RSF and allied militias committed multiple summary executions, sexual abuse, and forced displacement against the community, throughout the period of the war.

"This senseless conflict has had a devastating impact on economic and social rights, in particular the rights to food, to housing, and to education," al-Nashif explained.

She said that over 20% of the Sudanese population is displaced, 10.7 million of which are displaced internally and 2.1 million have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

"Sudan faces critical levels of food insecurity, with an imminent risk of famine and more than half of its population – 25.6 million people – in acute hunger," the OHCHR official warned.

"Our Office remains ready to engage with all parties and actors to support concrete measures to uphold human rights and effectively protect civilians," al-Nashif's statement concluded.

The conflict in Sudan, which erupted on April 15, 2023, was sparked by an insurgency led by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), under the command of Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. This move came after the breakdown of a power-sharing agreement between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), derailing the country's fragile transition towards civilian rule.