Sudan: civil society calls for a UN Human Rights Council special session on El Fasher

In a letter released today, civil society calls on the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special session on Sudan to address the situation in and around El Fasher, North Darfur, and ensure urgent investigations. 

“In light of the situation in and around El Fasher, which after 18 months of siege fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with credible reports that crimes under international law are being committed, including in the form of targeted ethnic violence, and with risks of further atrocities in North Darfur and throughout Sudan, the UN Human Rights Council should urgently convene a special session,” the signatories write. 

They urge the Council to task the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan to prepare a flash report to document atrocities being committed in and around El Fasher, adding that the report should include recommendations to all parties to the conflict and assess the role of external actors, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

They also stress the need for accountability. The FFM should be asked to share all relevant information with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to inform its investigations.  

Finally, the signatory organisations emphasise that all resources necessary should be allocated to the FFM to implement Sudan-focused resolutions adopted by the Council, to allow the FFM to collect and preserve evidence in support of accountability processes. They stress that a special session should start with presentations by Sudanese voices, including a victim, survivor and/or witness, and at least one Sudanese civil society speaker, as well as international and regional human rights experts. 

(As of 3 November 2025.) 

  1. African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
  2. AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network)
  3. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  4. Burkinabè Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CBDDH)
  5. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
  6. Coalition for Genocide Response
  7. Committee for Justice (CFJ)
  8. CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
  9. Darfur Advocacy Group
  10. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  11. Fikra for Studies and Development (FikraSD)
  12. Geneva for Human Rights – Global Training & Policy Studies (gva4HR)
  13. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
  14. Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD)
  15. Humanists International
  16. Human Rights Watch
  17. The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
  18. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
  19. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
  20. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  21. Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) – Sudan
  22. Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l’Amitié entre les Peuples (MRAP)
  23. Network of the Independent Commission for Human rights in North Africa (CIDH AFRICA)
  24. PAX
  25. The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA)
  26. Sudanese Human Rights Monitor (SHRM)
  27. Sudanese Women’s Rights Action
  28. Sudan Human Rights Defenders Coalition (SudanDefenders)
  29. Sudan and South Sudan Forum e. V.
  30. Women Deliver

(On 4-5 November 2025.) 

MORE NEWS:

“They won’t silence the people”: The right to peaceful protest in Africa in 2025

Protesting is part and parcel of the human experience. Across the world, people protest against injustice, discrimination, and power abuse. They protest for justice, human rights, and accountability. Thinkers such as Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. stressed that everyone carries a moral duty to resist unjust systems and unfair laws. This remains true.
In Africa, as elsewhere, people demonstrate to defend their rights and the rights of others, or to push for change. Since progress can only be achieved if ideas circulate freely, people should be able to express even controversial, non-conformist views. Those holding positions of power should not silence critical voices or prevent them from peacefully assembling and organising themselves. This is particularly important as historically marginalised groups, who have often been excluded from political decision, seek to express grievances and set issues on the political agenda by protesting.

Ryota Jonen’s Front-Row View of DefendDefenders

There are individuals who have watched – from a front-row seat vantage point – the evolution of DefendDefenders, from its inception 20 years ago to the present day. World Movement for Democracy’s former director, Ryota Jonen, is among those close and trusted allies who have stood the test of time. He recalls how a much younger DefendDefenders made a lasting impression on him at the 2009 “Jo’burg +10” event.

Bi- Annual Report MAY- OCTOBER 2025

DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) welcomes the opportunity offered by the 85th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereafter “the Commission”) to highlight the most pressing human rights issues in the East and Horn of Africa sub-region for the period May to October 2025.

DefendDefenders and AfricanDefenders Statements at ACHPR85

DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project) welcomes the opportunity provided by the 85th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to present an overview of the state of democracy, rule of law, and human rights in the East and Horn of Africa.

SHARE WITH FRIENDS: