Sudanhorizon Provides a Summary of UN Statement Published Regarding the Human Rights Council Session
Volker Türk: The Atrocities Unfolding in El Fasher Could Have Been Prevented — They Are a Stain on the Record of the International Community
Geneva – Sudanhorizon
The United Nations, on its official website and across all its platforms in every authorized language, published an overview of what took place during last Friday’s special session of the Human Rights Council regarding the human rights situation in El Fasher and its surrounding areas.
The website reported that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the atrocities unfolding in El Fasher “were foreseeable and could have been prevented — but they were not,” adding that they constitute “the gravest of crimes.”
The High Commissioner stated that his office had issued repeated warnings about the situation in the North Darfur capital over the past year, “so none of us should be surprised by reports that since the Rapid Support Forces took control of El Fasher, there have been mass killings of civilians; targeted ethnically motivated executions; sexual violence including gang rape; kidnappings for ransom; widespread arbitrary detentions; attacks on health facilities, medical staff, and humanitarian workers; and other horrific atrocities.”
He added that this pattern of crimes has been documented repeatedly throughout the conflict in Sudan. “While the bloodstains on the ground in El Fasher have been captured from space, the stain recorded in the history of the international community is less visible — but no less damning.”
Mr. Türk stressed that the international community has a clear duty to ensure that civilians in El Fasher receive humanitarian aid and protection, and that it must confront these atrocities — which represent “a stark display of cruelty used to subjugate and control an entire people.”
He emphasized the need to hold all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in the context of the Sudan conflict to account. He noted that his office is collecting evidence of violations and that the International Criminal Court is closely monitoring the situation. He said: “All those involved in this conflict must know: we are watching you, and justice will prevail.”
“Crime Scene”:
For her part, Mona Rishmawi, a member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, said that a large part of El Fasher has now become “a crime scene,” adding that a comprehensive investigation is needed to clarify the full picture, “but what we already know is devastating.”
She added: “Survivors have described bodies piled in the streets and in trenches dug inside and around the city, and their accounts are corroborated by documented digital evidence that reinforces the magnitude and gravity of these crimes.”
She said that despite repeated warnings, “the worst-case scenario has now materialized,” adding that the crimes committed are not hidden but rather “filmed, circulated, and even glorified.”
Ms. Rishmawi also stated that the Fact-Finding Mission is currently investigating similar atrocities in Kordofan, where civilians are besieged, aid is being blocked, and famine is beginning to emerge — “threatening another El Fasher.”
She added: “The horrors unfolding are the direct result of decades of impunity. They can and must be stopped now. Those who support, finance, and arm this brutal machine have the ability and the duty to stop it. States with influence bear a particular responsibility. Justice must reach the individuals and entities behind these crimes.”
Ms. Rishmawi stressed that the Sudanese people have endured indescribable suffering during this ongoing conflict, adding: “What they need now, and what international law requires, is an end to the bloodshed, immediate protection, and a credible path to justice.”
A Call to Intensify Efforts to Silence the Guns in Sudan:
For his part, Adama Dieng, the African Union Special Envoy on the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, said that the African Union has called on the international community to double its efforts to silence the guns in Sudan through inclusive dialogue and effective diplomatic engagement.
He called for an immediate halt to the flow of arms and fighters into Sudan, which he said directly contributes to the systematic targeting of specific identity groups and worsens the already dire situation in the country. He added that this session represents a turning point and a rallying call for humanitarian solidarity and shared responsibility.
Human Rights Council Adopts Resolution on El Fasher:
The Human Rights Council adopted a resolution regarding the human rights situation in and around El Fasher within the context of the ongoing conflict in Sudan. In the resolution, which was adopted without a vote, the Council strongly condemned the escalating violence and reported atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces and the forces aligned with and cooperating with them in El Fasher and the surrounding areas following their attack on the city. These atrocities include large-scale crimes such as ethnically motivated killings, torture, summary executions, forced recruitment, and arbitrary detention of civilians, as well as the widespread use of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence as weapons of war.
The resolution requested the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan to conduct an urgent investigation, in line with its mandate, into the recent violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law allegedly committed in and around El Fasher.
It also asked the Fact-Finding Mission to identify all individuals for whom there are reasonable grounds to believe they are responsible for the alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law in and around El Fasher, wherever possible, and to support efforts to ensure accountability for perpetrators of these alleged violations and abuses.
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