In a letter released today, over 90 Sudanese, African, and international non-governmental organisations urge states to address Sudan’s human rights crisis by supporting the convening of a special (emergency) session of the UN Human Rights Council.
On 15 April 2023, violence erupted in Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). As of 25 April 2023, at midnight, a 72-hour ceasefire has been announced. The death toll, however, is estimated at over 400 civilians, with thousands injured. Actual figures are likely to be much higher. The fighting has spread to other cities and regions, including Darfur, threatening to escalate into full-blown conflict.
“In line with the Council’s mandate to prevent violations and to respond promptly to human rights emergencies,” the signatories write, “States have a responsibility to act by convening a special session and establishing an investigative and accountability mechanism addressing all alleged human rights violations and abuses in Sudan.”
To ensure swift operationalisation of the new mechanism, the signatories suggest to request the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to urgently organise an independent mechanism, whose work would complement the work of the existing “designated Expert” on Sudan.
The independent investigative mechanism should complement, consolidate and build upon the work of the designated Expert and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), undertaking investigations, establishing the facts, circumstances and root causes of violations and abuses, collecting and preserving documentation and evidence, and identifying those responsible. It should also, the signatories suggest, support accountability efforts to break the cycle of impunity in Sudan. It should engage with Sudanese parties and all other stakeholders, including African bodies and mechanisms.
While efforts to stop the fighting by the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and other regional and international actors are welcome, there is no time to lose to address the human rights dimensions of a crisis that threatens to destabilise not only Sudan, but the whole sub-region and beyond, and that puts millions of lives at risk.
Read the full letter: English / français / اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ.
- Act for Sudan
- Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in the Central African Republic (ACAT-RCA)
- African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
- African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
- AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network)
- Algerian Human Rights Network (Réseau Algérien des Droits de l’Homme)
- Amnesty International
- Angolan Human Rights Defenders Coalition
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Atrocities Watch Africa (AWA)
- Beam Reports – Sudan
- Belarusian Helsinki Committee
- Burkinabè Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CBDDH)
- Burundian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (CBDDH)
- Cabo Verdean Network of Human Rights Defenders (RECADDH)
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
- Cameroon Women’s Peace Movement (CAWOPEM)
- Central African Network of Human Rights Defenders (REDHAC)
- Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) – Mozambique
- Centre de Formation et de Documentation sur les Droits de l’Homme (CDFDH) – Togo
- CIVICUS
- Coalition of Human Rights Defenders-Benin (CDDH-Bénin)
- Collectif Urgence Darfour
- CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
- DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
- EEPA – Europe External Programme with Africa
- Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC)
- FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)
- Forum pour le Renforcement de la Société Civile (FORSC) – Burundi
- Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED) – Ghana
- Gisa Group – Sudan
- Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- Horn of Africa Civil Society Forum (HoA Forum)
- Human Rights Defenders Coalition Malawi
- Human Rights Defenders Network – Sierra Leone
- Human Rights House Foundation
- Institut des Médias pour la Démocratie et les Droits de l’Homme (IM2DH) – Togo
- International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
- International Commission of Jurists
- International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI)
- International Service for Human Rights
- Ivorian Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CIDDH)
- Jews Against Genocide
- Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) – Sudan
- Justice Africa Sudan
- Justice Center for Advocacy and Legal Consultations – Sudan
- Libyan Human Rights Clinic (LHRC)
- Malian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COMADDH)
- MENA Rights Group
- Mozambique Human Rights Defenders Network (MozambiqueDefenders – RMDDH)
- NANHRI – Network of African National Human Rights Institutions
- National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders – Kenya
- National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders – Somalia
- National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders-Uganda (NCHRD-U)
- Network of Human Rights Journalists (NHRJ) – The Gambia
- Network of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in North Africa (CIDH Africa)
- Never Again Coalition
- Nigerien Human Rights Defenders Network (RNDDH)
- Pathways for Women’s Empowerment and Development (PaWED) – Cameroon
- PAX Netherlands
- PEN Belarus
- Physicians for Human Rights
- POS Foundation – Ghana
- Project Expedite Justice
- Protection International Africa
- REDRESS
- Regional Centre for Training and Development of Civil Society (RCDCS) – Sudan
- Réseau des Citoyens Probes (RCP) – Burundi
- Rights Georgia
- Rights for Peace
- Rights Realization Centre (RRC) – United Kingdom
- Salam for Democracy and Human Rights
- Society for Threatened Peoples
- Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Southern Defenders)
- South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN)
- Sudanese American Medical Association (SAMA)
- Sudanese American Public Affairs Association (SAPAA)
- Sudanese Women Rights Action
- Sudan Human Rights Hub
- Sudan NextGen Organization (SNG)
- Sudan Social Development Organisation
- Sudan Unlimited
- SUDO UK
- Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC)
- The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA)
- Togolese Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CTDDH)
- Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH)
- Waging Peace
- World Council of Churches
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
- Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
ActionAid
Belgrade Centre for Human Rights
Borderline-Europe – Menschenrechte ohne Grenzen e.V.
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Africa
New Sudan Council of Churches
Stop Genocide Now
Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA)
The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)