The UN’s senior human rights official delivered a stark warning to parties in Sudan’s devastating civil war on Friday, telling them the world is documenting their crimes and accountability is inevitable.
The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced nearly 13 million and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
The violence has escalated dramatically in recent weeks, when the paramilitary seized control of the key town of El Fasher in north Darfur, prompting reports of atrocities and mass killings.
“All those involved in this conflict should know: we are watching you and justice will prevail,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said at a special Human Rights Council session convened to address the rapidly deteriorating situation.
The special session – requested by the UK alongside Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway, and backed by 23 council members and 31 observer states – met the threshold required for urgent action as the bloody war in Sudan continues.
States have adopted by consensus a resolution for a fact-finding mission on reported mass killings during the fall of the Darfur city to the RSF. It was the last stronghold of Sudan's army in the vast western region.
The fact-finding mission will seek to identify the perpetrators of violations and investigate alleged atrocities in El Fasher.
"My staff are gathering evidence of violations that could be used in legal proceedings," said Mr Turk. "We have deployed several missions to areas where civilians are fleeing, and are sending more. The International Criminal Court has indicated that it is following the situation closely."
Mr Turk called on the international community to ensure that civilians from El Fasher and the surrounding areas have access to the humanitarian aid and protection "they so desperately need".
According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 90,000 civilians have fled El Fasher since it fell into paramilitary control.
The IOM said heavy shelling and ground assaults in and around El Fasher in the past two weeks have forced families to flee through unsafe routes with "almost no access to food, water or medical assistance".
Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped inside the city, surviving in famine-like conditions as hospitals, markets and water systems collapse, the organisation said.
Mona Rishmawi, member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, said "much of El Fasher is now a crime scene".
"Our fact-finding mission has interviewed witnesses and collected evidence of unspeakable atrocities: deliberate killings, torture, rape, abductions for ransom, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, all at a mass scale," she told the special session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Rival forces in Sudan's war have been accused of committing atrocities and war crimes by the UN. This year, the US imposed sanctions against the head of SAF and Sudan’s de facto leader, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, saying that the army had used chemical weapons.
'No military solution'
The UAE said that "the horrors on the ground only confirm there is no military solution to this civil war".
"The Quad's joint statement — achieved thanks to US leadership — provides a definitive roadmap to end this conflict: a humanitarian truce leading immediately to a permanent ceasefire, and a transition to an independent civilian-led government not controlled by either warring party," said Jamal Al Musharakh, the permanent representative of the UAE to the UN Office in Geneva, addressing the special session.
The Quad countries include the US, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. They mapped out a plan for Sudan in September: a three-month truce, to be followed by a ceasefire and a political process to determine the country’s future leadership.
Last week, the paramilitary group led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo said that it was ready to commit to a three-month humanitarian truce. The army rejected the US proposal for a ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio lashed out on Wednesday at the RSF, accusing them of announcing an agreement on a humanitarian ceasefire, “but they don’t intend to comply with it".
"The UAE condemns attacks against civilians by the RSF in El Fasher, and by the two warring parties across Sudan. We urge the SAF and the RSF to immediately cease all attacks against the civilian population," said Mr Al Musharakh, calling on warring parties to halt their obstruction of humanitarian access.
In October, the UAE announced $100 million in humanitarian support specifically targeting the crisis in El Fasher. The Emirates has provided the Sudanese people with $784 million in aid since the outbreak of the war in 2023, according to the Foreign Ministry.
“The only way that the [aid] situation will improve on the ground is if the parties to the conflict adhere to international humanitarian law and commit to a humanitarian truce,” Mr Al Musharakh told The National in an interview in Geneva.
“There are pledges made by the UAE and other countries. There are efforts being made by the relevant agencies. And all of this will only be possible if a humanitarian truce occurs, if a ceasefire occurs,” he added. “At the end of the day, it's the Sudanese people who will gain from this if access is granted, but they will also suffer more if it's not.
"The efforts through the Quad, which the UAE is a member of, have specifically placed priority on the humanitarian angle.”
UAE's call
A Sudanese representative and some NGOs repeated during Friday's session accusations against the UAE of backing the RSF. The Emirates strongly rejected these claims.
"The Sudanese Armed Forces continue to exploit every available platform to spread falsehoods against my country, in a desperate attempt to mislead the international community and obscure their responsibility for the devastation inflicted upon Sudan," said Mr Al Musharakh.
"Instead of directing their efforts toward ending the civil war they themselves ignited, they channel their energy into disinformation and defamation campaigns." He reaffirmed his country's "full support for all calls for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire".
