Multiple, Successive Condemnations Against the RSF: What’s Next?

Sudanhorizon – Othman Siddiq

The world can no longer hide the horror of the crimes and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the Rapid Support Militia on a daily basis.
The last week of July witnessed a succession of these accusations and condemnations, perhaps thanks to the efforts and actions made by the state at the level of the Ministry of Justice and the Public Prosecution through communication with countries and international organisations, which are efforts that are, to say the least, courageous, frank and supported by evidence and indications of these crimes against humanity.

The Role of the International Media

It is important, in the context of exposing the violations and crimes committed by the Rapid Support Militia, the role played by some international media institutions that were able to visit Sudan and stand on the reality of the situation or those that met with the victims in the countries to which they sought refuge.
Last Monday, a joint article between the French newspaper Le Figaro and Agence France-Presse said that the fighting around the city of El-Fasher has been particularly violent since the beginning of May. The article noted that “in just three days, the Rapid Support Forces killed more than 43 children, 13 women and nine men from El Fasher.” The article added that “the Janjaweed militias fired more than 70 rockets in one day at hospitals, especially the Saudi hospital, as well as homes, mosques and markets.”

The British newspaper The Guardian also published information on Thursday, July 25, about a document that it said contained damning evidence indicating the involvement of countries in the civil war in Sudan. The newspaper continued that there are analysts who described the discovery as “damning evidence” that challenges the denials that are sometimes issued by some countries and raises questions about what the United States and the United Kingdom know about the level of involvement of certain countries in the war in Sudan, and whether the West has done enough to curb support for a militia accused of genocide.

The Documentation of International Organizations

Ms. Vicky Hawkins, Director General of the Dutch Doctors Without Borders organisation, said on July 23 that through their work in eight Sudanese states, estimates of the total number of war wounded varied. Ms. Vicky explained that the victims of the attack on one of the hospitals supported by the organisation, which is Al-No Hospital in Omdurman, amounted to (6776) patients being treated for war-related wounds during the period from mid-August 2023 until April 30, 2024, with a daily average of 26 people per day.

On July 29, Human Rights Watch (New York) published that it had collected testimonies from 42 caregivers and field workers who reported 262 cases of sexual violence in the Sudanese capital from the beginning of the war until February 2024. Human Rights Watch (New York) published a report on July 29 accusing the Rapid Support Militia in particular of committing “war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Analysts who spoke to the editor of the Sudanhorizon news website said that this evidence and testimonies issued by external parties have weight in influencing global public opinion and are, therefore an important asset that must be used to break the political and diplomatic deadlock and the international community’s hesitation in classifying the Rapid Support Militia as a “terrorist organisation,” which could push the war file to new horizons that increase the isolation of the rebellion and the regional powers that support it, and hasten its siege.
A diplomatic expert who spoke to the Sudanhorizon news website and preferred to remain anonymous indicated that some legal expertise could be sought and provided with evidence and proof that would prove judicially that the Rapid Support Militia meets the status of a terrorist group and expose the atrocities committed against the Sudanese people. Sudan will find among the free people of the world someone who stands by its people, and the best evidence of this is South Africa’s support for the people of Gaza and its filing of a case before the International Court of Justice.