Geneva – Human Rights Council, 30 September 2025
On the sidelines of the 60th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Sudanese Human Rights Organizations Coalition and its international allies presented a comprehensive report entitled “Monitoring Violations of International Law and War Crimes in the City of Wad Madani”, documenting the involvement of the Sudanese Armed Forces in war crimes and grave human rights violations committed after their takeover of the city in January 2025.
The report revealed horrific abuses, including the indiscriminate shelling of residential neighborhoods with artillery and heavy weapons, which resulted in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries, among them women and children. It further documented field executions of individuals suspected of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces, in blatant violation of the right to life and the guarantees of fair trial.
According to the report, the Sudanese Army carried out arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances targeting political activists, journalists, and ordinary civilians without any legal justification. It also highlighted widespread looting and destruction of property in Wad Madani neighborhoods, including the burning of homes in Kombo Tayba and the plundering of civilian belongings. Witness testimonies and documentation confirmed that women and girls were subjected to systematic sexual violence by army personnel, acts that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report stressed that these atrocities are not isolated incidents but rather part of a deliberate and systematic policy led by the Sudanese military leadership aimed at humiliating the civilian population and dismantling the social fabric, in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
In its conclusions, the coalition and its allies called for:
• Independent and impartial investigations to document the crimes and identify those responsible.
• Referral of the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• Immediate protection for civilians and stronger international pressure on the Sudanese Army to halt its abuses.
• Comprehensive support for victims, including medical, psychological, and social assistance.