Geneva / Human Rights Council
3 October 2025
During the ongoing 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Sudanese human rights organizations delivered a powerful statement under agenda item 9, drawing urgent attention to systematic racist violations committed by the Sudanese army and allied militias. The statementhighlighted atrocities such as mass arrests, ethnic cleansing campaigns, the denial of humanitarian assistance, and the targeting of ethnic communities based on tribal and racial identity, read as follows:
Mr. President,
The Sudanese army and its allied militias, such as the Al-Baraa bin Malik Battalions and the Sudan Shield Forces, bear direct responsibility for systematic racist violations, including mass arrests, ethnic cleansing campaigns, denial of humanitarian assistance, and the targeting of specific ethnic groups based on their tribal and racial backgrounds. This was exemplified in Wad Madani and the Kanabi areas in January 2025, where a horrific massacre was committed involving deliberate killings and mass executions, resulting in the death of 146 civilians, the injury of hundreds, and the displacement of thousands.
Mr. President,
These violations represent a widespread pattern of systematic crimes perpetrated or facilitated by the Sudanese army, amid official and military rhetoric that incites hatred and sustains policies of exclusion and marginalization. Such practices threaten the unity of Sudan and undermine the prospects for peace and national reconciliation.
Mr. President,
We call upon your esteemed Council to unequivocally condemn these racist practices, to strengthen the mandate of the International Fact-Finding Mission and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and to impose sanctions on those responsible for ethnic cleansing and all violations based on racist practices. We further call for ensuring the protection of survivors and witnesses, and for ending all forms of impunity and lack of accountability.
Thank you, Mr. President.
This intervention exposed the Sudanese army’s direct role in orchestrating and enabling racist violations that amount to ethnic cleansing, including the January 2025 massacre in Wad Madani and Kanabi. By demanding international sanctions, accountability, and protection for survivors, Sudanese human rights groups sent a strong message to the Human Rights Council: impunity must end, and justice for victims of racial persecution in Sudan can no longer be delayed.