Sudan rejects UN experts' call for 'impartial' force deployment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
8 Sep 2024 15:59
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Sudan’s Foreign Ministry dismisses the panel of experts’ recommendations as "a flagrant violation of its mandate."

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Men and Sudanese army soldiers carry bags of food supplies to help people stranded in an inundated area in Tokar in the Red Sea State, following recent heavy flooding in eastern Sudan, on September 5, 2024. (AFP)

Sudan has rejected a recommendation from UN experts calling for the deployment of an "independent and impartial force" to protect civilians displaced by over a year of conflict.

Since April of last year, the ongoing war between Sudan's army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has claimed tens of thousands of lives and sparked one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises.

On Friday, independent UN experts reported uncovering "harrowing" violations committed by both sides, suggesting that these acts "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity." They urged the immediate deployment of an independent force with the mandate to safeguard civilians.

In response, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, aligned with the army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued a statement late Saturday, saying that "the Sudanese government rejects in their entirety the recommendations of the UN mission."

The Ministry criticized the UN Human Rights Council, which had established the fact-finding mission last year, labeling it "a political and illegal body" and dismissing the panel’s recommendations as "a flagrant violation of its mandate."

The UN experts highlighted that eight million civilians have been displaced internally, while two million others have fled to neighboring countries. Additionally, more than 25 million people—over half of Sudan's population—are now facing severe food shortages.

During a visit to Sudan on Sunday, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed that "the scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict and respond to the suffering it is causing."

Speaking from Port Sudan, where both government offices and the UN have relocated due to the intense fighting in Khartoum, Tedros urged the "world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it is living through."

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry’s statement also accused the RSF, led by Burhan's former deputy Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, of "systematically targeting civilians and civilian institutions." It reiterated that "the protection of civilians remains an absolute priority for the Sudanese government" and urged the UN Human Rights Council to support Sudan’s "national process, rather than seek to impose a different exterior mechanism."

Furthermore, the Ministry rejected the experts' recommendation for an arms embargo.