Breaking News

UN experts call for ‘impartial force’ to protect civilians in Sudan

Khartoum September 6—United Nations-backed human rights experts have called for an “independent and impartial force” in Sudan and the widening of an arms embargo to protect civilians in the escalating conflict.

The warring parties had committed “harrowing human rights violations and international crimes, including many which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity”, the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan said in its first report on Friday.

It urged that the force be deployed “without delay”, but did not specify who might participate.

The conflict that started in April last year pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has spread to 14 of 18 states, killing tens of thousands of people and displacing millions.

The mission’s 19-page report, based on 182 interviews with survivors, their family members and witnesses conducted between January and August 2024, said both the SAF and the RSF were responsible for attacks on civilians “through rape and other forms of sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as torture and ill-treatment”.

The three-member team, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in October 2023, found evidence of “indiscriminate” air attacks and shelling against civilian targets including schools and hospitals as well as water and electricity supplies.

They charged the RSF and its allied militias with committing “numerous crimes against humanity”, including “murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, other sexual violence of comparable gravity, persecution on the basis of ethnic and gender targeting, and forcible displacement”.

The experts also called for an expansion of an arms embargo on Sudan’s long-restive western Darfur region to the entire country, stating that fighting would stop “once the arms flow stops”.

There should be an immediate end to funnelling weapons, ammunition and other support to any side, they said.

The mission did not say which countries might be complicit in the crimes through their backing of rival sides. Sudan’s military has accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the RSF, a claim the Gulf country has denied.

In August, the United States convened talks in Switzerland aimed at ending the war, achieving progress on aid access but not a ceasefire.

It also announced visa sanctions on an unspecified number of individuals in South Sudan, including government officials accused of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid for 25 million Sudanese facing severe hunger.

Friday’s report said Sudanese authorities should cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC), surrendering all indicted people, including former President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown in 2019.

Efforts by the Sudanese authorities to investigate and prosecute those responsible for international crimes had been “marred by a lack of willingness characterised by selective justice and a lack of impartiality”, it said.

Mona Rishmawi, a member of the mission, said the report “should serve as a wake-up call to the international community to take decisive action to support survivors, their families and affected communities, and hold perpetrators accountable”.

Related posts

TOP SPORTS BIG BREAKING NEWS

Dean Lubowa Saava

Canada declares Uganda Ambassador “Persona non grata”

ndiwalanakiwa@gmail.com

UCDA Merger: NRM Caucus, Museveni Meet to Finalize Plans

Dean Lubowa Saava

Minister Mpanga Commends Buganda Land Board, Urges Support for Kabaka’s 70th Birthday Celebration Run

Cathy Mirembe

Kampala Archdiocese Mourns Loss of Monsignor Expedito Magembe

Ssekanyumiza Amansa Bwino

Dr. Frank Nabwiso, Renowned Scholar, Historian, and Politician, Passes Away at 84

Barbra Zeka

Drought hit Namibia to kill more than 700 elephants, hippos to feed people

ndiwalanakiwa@gmail.com

Kiteezi Landfill Fire Sparks Emergency Response Amid Methane Concerns

Barbra Zeka

Uganda’s Health Sector Faces Crisis Amid U.S. Foreign Aid Cuts A Call for Immediate Action

Barbra Zeka

Museveni Transfers RCC Kitambula for Blocking His Visit to Bataka’s New Headquarters in Mengo

Barbra Zeka

Leave a Comment