On the morning of April 15, 2023, residents of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, faced the shock of fighting breaking out in their city, which rapidly spread to other parts of the country. Two years on, Sudan’s conflict, which pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and a multitude of armed groups and militias allied to these forces, has ravaged the country. The lives of tens of millions have been shattered, while tens of thousands of civilians have died.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies have committed crimes against humanity and widespread war crimes, including as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur. The SAF and their allies have also committed war crimes. Both sides have hampered aid, contributing to famine. Their leaders should be held to account.
Below are major Human Rights Watch reports documenting some of the serious civilian harm in the conflict and three of our key recommendations aimed at addressing the country-wide atrocities.
Given the scale of atrocities committed over the last two years, concerted action is needed to ensure:
Protection of Civilians, Including Through the Deployment of a Mission to Protect Civilians
Given the scale of the atrocities across the country, the warring parties’ complete disregard for the basic laws of war, the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces from Darfur before the conflict, and the ongoing aid access restrictions and attacks on local responders, the need for robust actions to protect civilians, including through the deployment of a mission to protect civilians, remains essential.
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Respect, Expansion of the Arms Embargo
Warring parties have acquired apparently new foreign-made equipment produced by companies registered in China, Iran, Russia, Serbia, and the UAE —including armed drones, truck-mounted multi-barrel rocket launchers, drone jammers, and anti-tank guided missiles—and used them in regions of Sudan including Darfur, where a UN arms embargo is still in effect. Human Rights Watch documented incidents in which such equipment is being used in apparent unlawful attacks. The United Nations Security Council should ensure compliance with the existing arms embargo, expand its restrictions on the Darfur region to all of Sudan and hold violators to account.
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Justice for Ongoing Violations
Impunity for crimes in Sudan has emboldened rights abusers to commit further grave crimes during the current fighting. UN member states, the African Union, and the European Union, should back the International Criminal Court’s ongoing Darfur work and an expansion of its jurisdiction to the entire country, support the establishment of an internationalized justice mechanism for Sudan, and encourage universal jurisdiction cases, which allow other countries to prosecute the world’s worst crimes regardless of where they took place.
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