Geneva – Human Rights Council, 30 September 2025
As part of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Sudanese
Human Rights Organizations Coalition and its international allies submitted a written
statement (A/HRC/60/NGO/92) exposing the horrific violations and crimes committed by the
Sudanese Armed Forces and allied militias against civilians. The statement stressed that these
crimes amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity and urgently require the
activation of international criminal justice mechanisms.
The statement revealed that since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, the Sudanese Armed
Forces have led a campaign of systematic violence, including ethnic massacres in West
Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile states, the use of chemical and internationally
banned weapons against civilians, and the targeting of medical and educational facilities as
well as civilian shelters.
It further emphasized that mass rape and sexual violence have been
deployed as deliberate tools of terror against communities, alongside sieges of cities and
villages and the obstruction of humanitarian aid—causing famine and depriving millions of
civilians of the basic means of survival.
The statement highlighted the critical role of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, stressing that the
documentation of crimes and accurate identification of perpetrators are essential to ensure
accountability and end the entrenched culture of impunity. It warned that failure to support
these mechanisms would undermine the international community’s ability to save lives and
deter further atrocities.
The coalition called for launching a comprehensive international accountability process,
including referral of the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court, ensuring that
victims are included in the design of transitional justice mechanisms, and providing urgent
psychosocial, medical, and legal support to victims—particularly survivors of sexual
violence. It also underscored the need to counter hate speech and incitement propagated by
the army and its allies through media and digital platforms.
In its conclusion, the coalition urged the Human Rights Council to strengthen cooperation
with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Fact-Finding Mission,
secure dedicated funding for their work, and support the establishment of independent
institutions capable of addressing violations. It further called for mobilizing international and
regional support to impose strict sanctions on those responsible for atrocities in Sudan.
The coalition affirmed that the situation in Sudan represents a defining test for the
international system’s ability to protect civilians and uphold justice, stressing that sustainable
peace for the Sudanese people will only be achieved through ending impunity and holding
perpetrators accountable.