Geneva – Human Rights Council, 30 September 2025
On the sidelines of the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva,
the Sudanese Human Rights Organizations Coalition presented a comprehensive report
titled “Human Rights Violations Since the Outbreak of the Armed Conflict in Sudan (April
2023 – September 2025).” The report documented in detail the war crimes and grave
violations committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied militias against civilians,
stressing that these atrocities amount to crimes against humanity and represent an
unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
The report revealed that over 150,000 civilians have been killed since the conflict began on
April 15, 2023, while more than 9.8 million people have been internally displaced, and
nearly 4 million others have fled Sudan to neighboring countries. This humanitarian
disaster has been compounded by sieges on residential areas, widespread food insecurity, and
the deprivation of millions of people from essential health and educational services.
According to the findings, the Sudanese army has carried out indiscriminate aerial and
artillery bombardments targeting residential neighborhoods, markets, and mosques,
resulting in horrific massacres in regions such as West Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue
Nile. The report also documented the use of internationally prohibited weapons, including
chemical weapons in January and May 2025, against civilians, causing hundreds of deaths
and severe injuries such as suffocation and disfigurement.
The report emphasized the systematic use of sexual violence, stating that mass rape has been
deliberately employed as a tool of terror against women and girls, alongside extrajudicial
executions, widespread torture, and arbitrary arrests of thousands of civilians. It also
highlighted the forced recruitment of children, including school students, who have been
exploited as fighters in clear violation of international humanitarian law.
Furthermore, the report warned of the use of mercenaries and tribal militias to bolster
military operations, stressing that these practices have expanded the scope of the war and
turned it into a regional conflict threatening international peace and security. The Sudanese
Armed Forces were also accused of deliberately destroying infrastructure, including electricity and communications networks, as part of a strategy of collective punishment
against civilians.
In its conclusions, the Sudanese Human Rights Organizations Coalition called on the
Human Rights Council and the international community to:
Refer the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court without delay.
Expand the mandate of the International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan to
include all crimes and violations committed since the outbreak of the war.
Impose targeted sanctions on military leaders responsible for atrocities,
particularly Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Guarantee unhindered humanitarian access and ensure the protection of civilians
from systematic attacks.
The coalition stressed that the continuation of these crimes in the absence of accountability
reflects a moral failure of the international system, and that the Sudanese people will not
achieve peace and dignity without ending impunity and ensuring comprehensive justice.