Geneva / Human Rights Council
As part of the ongoing session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Federation of Sudanese Human Rights Organizations submitted an oral statement under item 5 expressing its deep concern over the grave and systematic violations committed by the Sudanese army and allied militias against civilians, stressing that these amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The statement highlighted the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where more than 30 million people face acute food insecurity, half of them women and children
The statement presented reads as follows:
Mr. President,
We wish to express to this esteemed Council our deep concern regarding the grave and systematic violations committed by the Sudanese army and allied militias against civilians, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly the so-called “Alsayad Force,” responsible for the use of chemical and internationally prohibited weapons against civilians.
The Sudanese army has carried out ethnic massacres, used internationally banned weapons, and deliberately targeted civilians and vital civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. Numerous reports have documented horrific violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, the besiegement of areas, and obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery, causing immense human suffering and the spread of famine that has reached catastrophic levels, according to United Nations reports for 2025, with over 30 million people facing acute food insecurity, half of them women and children.
Mr. President,
We stress the need to strengthen the work of the Independent Investigative Committee mandated to document violations. We also urge the Council to demand full cooperation by the Sudanese army with United Nations mechanisms, and to end impunity through the imposition of strict international sanctions. We further emphasize that achieving peace requires the activation of measures to ensure justice, the protection of civilians, and the end of the suffering of the Sudanese people.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The Federation’s statement does more than recount violations, it also frames them within international law as war crimes and crimes against humanity. By highlighting chemical weapons, ethnic massacres, and deliberate starvation, it demonstrates that the crisis in Sudan is not accidental but systematic.
By calling for the strengthening of the Independent Investigative Committee, strict sanctions, and cooperation with UN mechanisms, the Federation placed accountability at the centre of peace. The closing words leave no doubt. That Sudan will not know peace without justice, and the suffering of civilians must be ended through decisive international action.
The Federation of Sudanese Human Rights Organizations has posed a direct challenge to the credibility of the United Nations: either act to protect Sudanese civilians, or allow this catastrophe to stand as a lasting stain on the conscience of the international community.