US Envoy to UNSC: ‘America does not support any party in Sudan war’

The USA does not support either side in this war. Both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan, Deputy Permanent Representative of the USA to the UN Security Council (UNSC) emphasised during her remarks to the council during the meeting held in New York on Monday to hear the latest briefing by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan KC, on the situation in Darfur.

US Chargé d ’Affairs ad interim, Ambassador Dorothy Shea, added that “the egregious actions of both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) demonstrate the importance of a swift and durable negotiated end to the conflict.”

Ambassador Shea called for an end to the violence committed by the warring parties, and stressed the need for all parties to allow the flow of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Sudan. She said that it is time to stop the killing and enable the Sudanese people to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future. She stressed that the USA will continue to lead efforts to end this conflict.

‘It is time to stop the killing and enable the Sudanese people to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future…’

“The backdrop to this discussion is an ongoing siege by the RSF on El Fasher and the suffering of civilians trapped by armed groups,” Shea said.

“At the outset, the United States condemns the recent attacks targeting the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, that reportedly killed 70 Sudanese civilians and injured dozens more. There has been terrible suffering inflicted upon innocent civilians in Sudan in this conflict.

‘The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys – even infants – on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence…’

“Since the renewed outbreak of hostilities in April 2023, combatants have directed shocking cruelty and violence toward defenceless Sudanese. The brutal conflict has resulted in the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe, leaving 638,000 Sudanese experiencing the worst famine in Sudan’s recent history, over 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and tens of thousands dead,” Shea enumerated.

“The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys – even infants – on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence.

“Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies.

“The other belligerent, the SAF has also committed war crimes in Sudan. The SAF has committed lethal attacks on civilians, including widespread bombing of civilian infrastructure including schools, markets, hospitals, and they’ve committed torture and extrajudicial executions. The SAF is also responsible for the routine denial of humanitarian access. Its repeated targeting of civilian infrastructure and attacks on civilians have brought unimaginable suffering to vulnerable communities and underscores that the SAF is not a credible representative of the Republic of Sudan.

“The United States does not support either side in this war. Both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan. The egregious actions of both the RSF and the SAF demonstrate the importance of a swift and durable negotiated end to the conflict. Those responsible for these terrible crimes must be held accountable. Many responsible for atrocities over 20 years ago in Sudan remain at large.

“We urge the international community to work to bring those individuals to trial so they can be publicly held to account for their alleged crimes. The failure to achieve accountability decades ago is one reason conflict continues to burn.

“Several of the current conflict’s leading actors and their affiliated groups were also directly engaged in criminality in Darfur in 2003 and 2004. The very same victims, especially non-Arab groups, are again being victimized.

“Those responsible for alleged international crimes have used this ongoing volatile environment to shield themselves from accountability.

“We too have seen reports of ethnic and sex-based violence as described in the report presented today. It is important that states support evidence collection and analysis efforts. The United States will continue to lead efforts to bring this conflict to an end.

“The horrific acts of violence committed by the SAF and the RSF must end. The warring parties must allow humanitarian [assistance] to flow to Sudan’s civilian population. It is long past time to halt the killing, and to empower the Sudanese people in their pursuit of a peaceful and prosperous future,” the ambassador concluded.

As reported yesterday by Radio Dabanga, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has called on the government of Sudan for concrete action to be taken in relation to the warrants issued by the ICC in relation to former President Omar Al Bashir, Ahmed Haroun, and Abdelrahim Hussein.

The SAF and the RSF have both been approached for comment on the US ambassador’s remarks.