UN official: The terrible crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher are a disgrace
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, confirmed that the horrific crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher are a disgrace on the record and history of the international community, noting that the atrocities unfolding in El Fasher were expected, and their occurrence could have been prevented – but they were not prevented, stressing that they constitute “the most serious crimes.”
According to the United Nations Information Centre, the High Commissioner said: His office has issued repeated warnings about the situation in the North Darfur capital over the past year, so no one should be surprised that since the RSF took control of El Fasher, there have been mass killings of civilians; tribally targeted executions; sexual violence including gang rape; kidnappings for ransom; widespread arbitrary arrests; attacks on health facilities, medical staff and humanitarian workers; And other horrific atrocities.
The High Commissioner said that the pattern of crimes had been repeatedly documented in the conflict in Sudan. He added: “While the bloodstains on the ground in El Fasher were photographed from space, the stigma recorded in the history of the international community remains less clear but no less condemning.”
Turk said: The international community has a clear duty to ensure that civilians in El Fasher have access to humanitarian assistance and protection, and to address these atrocities – which represent “a stark display of the cruelty used to subjugate and control an entire people.” He also stressed the need for concerted efforts to hold accountable all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in the context of the conflict in Sudan. He pointed out that his office is collecting evidence of violations, and that the International Criminal Court is closely monitoring the situation, and said: “All those involved in this conflict should know: We are watching you, and justice will prevail.”
Turk urged: The international community called on the international community to take action against individuals and companies that fuel the war and benefit from it, and called on the Security Council to urgently refer the situation in Sudan as a whole to the International Criminal Court.
The High Commissioner stressed that Sudan is based on the diversity of its people, but the war is tearing apart its social fabric, and the consequences of this will extend for generations. He called on all parties to the conflict to put their country and people first, engage in serious peace negotiations, humanitarian truces, and transition to comprehensive civilian rule. He urged them to fulfill their obligations under international law to ensure the protection of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
For her part, a member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission in Sudan, Mona Rishmawi, said: A large part of the city of El Fasher has now become a “crime scene,” adding that a comprehensive investigation is required to clarify the full picture, “but what we already know is devastating.”
Despite repeated warnings, “the worst scenario has now come true,” she said, adding that the crimes committed are not hidden, but rather “portrayed, circulated, and even glorified.” “Rashmawi” added: A fact-finding mission is currently investigating similar atrocities in Kordofan, where civilians are besieged, aid is prevented, and famine begins to emerge “threatening another outbreak.”
Rashmawi confirmed that The Sudanese people have suffered indescribable suffering during this ongoing conflict, adding: “What they need now, and what international law requires, is to put an end to the bloodshed, provide immediate protection, and provide a reliable path to justice.”
In turn, the African Union Special Envoy on the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, Adama Dieng, said that the African Union called on the international community to redouble its efforts to silence the guns in Sudan. During a comprehensive dialogue and effective diplomatic engagement.
He called for an immediate halt to the flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan, which he said directly contributes to the systematic targeting of specific identity groups, and to the exacerbation of the already deteriorating situation in the country. He added that this session represents a turning point, and a rallying call for human solidarity and common duty.
The Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in and around El Fasher, in the context of the ongoing conflict in Sudan. In the resolution adopted without a vote, the Council strongly condemned the escalation of violence and reported atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces and associated and collaborating forces in and around El Fasher, following their attack on the city, including widespread atrocities such as ethnically motivated killings, torture, summary executions, forced conscription, and arbitrary detention of civilians, as well as the widespread use of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon in The resolution requested the independent international fact-finding mission on Sudan to urgently investigate, consistent with its mandate, the recent violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law allegedly committed in and around El Fasher.
The resolution also requested the fact-finding mission to identify all officials who have reasonable grounds to believe they are responsible for alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law in and around El Fasher, where possible, and to support efforts Aiming to ensure accountability for perpetrators of alleged violations and abuses.
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