UN report: ‘Sudan peacekeeping mission imperative’ amid ‘appalling, harrowing human rights violations and crimes’

The first report by the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, published on Friday, accuses Sudan’s warring parties of “an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes…” and calls for “an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay”. The Sudanese government has “completely rejected” the report, and reiterated its refusal to cooperate with the mission.

The first report by the mission, that was established in October 2023 – that it intends to present at the 57^th session of the council next week, asserts that “Sudan’s warring parties have committed an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes, including many which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity…”

‘Sudan’s warring parties have committed an appalling range of harrowing human rights violations and international crimes, including many which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity…’ – UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan

Both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as their respective allies, were found to be responsible for patterns of large-scale violations, including indiscriminate and direct attacks carried out through airstrikes and shelling against civilians, schools, hospitals, communication networks and vital water and electricity supplies, the mission’s report finds.

The warring parties also targeted civilians – as well as those assisting survivors or documenting violations – through rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment. These violations may amount to war crimes related to violence to life and person and committing outrages upon personal dignity, the report found.

‘Given the failure of the warring parties to spare civilians, it is imperative that an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay…’ – Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan

“The gravity of these findings underscores the urgent and immediate action to protect civilians,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission.

“Given the failure of the warring parties to spare civilians, it is imperative that an independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay,” Othman said. “The protection of the civilian population is paramount, and all parties must comply with their obligations under international law and immediately and unconditionally cease all attacks on the civilian population.”

Sudan govt rejects report

Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement yesterday denouncing the report by the mission. It describes the mission’s publication of the report before the UN Human Rights Council session as “a lack of professionalism and independence […] and proving that it is a political body and not a legal one, which reinforces the position of the Sudanese government that has rejected it since its formation…”

‘The [UN mission’s] recommendations exceed the limits of its mandate…’ – Sudan Foreign Ministry

“Its recommendations exceed the limits of its mandate, in line with actions witnessed in the international arena by forces known for their hostility to Sudan.”

The ministry’s statement asserts that the pre-publication of the report amounts to “propaganda work before the start of the council’s deliberations aims to influence the positions of member states to achieve certain political goals, most notably extending the mission’s work.”

Geneva Institute for Human Rights (GIHR)

Nazar Abdelgadir, human rights lawyer, and executive director of the Geneva Institute for Human Rights (GIHR) told Radio Dabanga on Friday that one of the most important recommendations made by the report is to send a peacekeeping force to protect civilians in implementation of a number of resolutions issued by the UN Security Council.

“The [mission’s] recommendation come within the framework of the insistence of both parties to continue the war and the continuation of serious human rights violations that, according to the report, amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said. “The importance of these recommendation is that they will be by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to the UN General Assembly, which in turn will refer the report and the recommendations to the UN Security Council to issue a new resolution regarding the situation in Sudan.”

Historical precedents

Abdelgadir expects two decisions to be taken in the upcoming conference session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva: “The first will be the extension of the fact-finding mission’s mandate, and the second will refer the file to the UN secretary-general in New York, who in turn will refer it to the Security Council.

“This is not the first time that an UN mission is investigating the human rights situation in Sudan,” he said, and recalled the war in Darfur where a fact-finding mission recommended referring the entire file to the International Criminal Court in The Hague in early 2005.

He expects that the UN Security Council will pass a resolution concerning the protection of civilians and rules out that China and Russia will use their veto right.

“They will not oppose such a resolution, given historical precedents, which indicate that neither of them has ever used the veto power regarding Sudan. In some cases they abstained from voting. The best evidence of their position is the recent resolution regarding a ceasefire in El Fasher.”

The lawyer further said he expects the upcoming peacekeeping mission “will be hybrid again. Understandings will be reached with the African Union to make it a hybrid mission between the UN and the AU, which is also confirmed by historical evidence, given that the AU is primarily concerned with the situation in Sudan.

‘No need for Sudanese government approval’

He concluded by saying that the protection of civilians does not require the approval of the Sudanese government, “if it would have been recognised as a government”, because the UN is currently dealing with two parties as the de facto authorities are represented by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and there is no need to obtain the consent of these parties to deploy a UN or hybrid force to protect civilians”.

UN peacekeepers

On July 31, 2007, more than four years after civil war erupted in Darfur, the joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was established, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1769. The mission was tasked with protecting civilians in the region, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance, mediate between the Sudanese government and rebel movements, and provide support to community conflict mediation, in conjunction with UN country team.

In 2020, Sudan’s then transitional government of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, asked the United Nations Security Council to establish a Special Political Mission/Peace Support Operation to assist in the peace process and help Sudan to mobilise international financial assistance. This resulted in the formation of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), which was in operation until it was finally wound down in February this year.

This followed months of friction between the junta and the mission, during which former UNITAMS head Volker Perthes, had a tenuous relationship with the Sudanese military government, especially since the start of the hostilities between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.

Perthes, who was interviewed by Radio Dabanga in May last year, resigned in September, citing ongoing pressure on his person from the Sudan junta, including being declared persona non grata, which made is position untenable. The UN said at the time that the junta declaration was contrary to the obligations of States under the Charter of the United Nations.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres voiced his candid frustration regarding Sudan at a press conference in New York at the time. Guterres lais the blame for the ongoing war and humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan squarely at the feet of “two generals that completely disregard the interests of their population”.