The Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, established by the Human Rights Council in October 2023, has taken a questionable step by releasing its report and holding a press conference ahead of the Council’s upcoming session on September 10, well before the Council itself has had the opportunity to receive or review the findings. This preemptive action epitomizes the Mission’s fundamental lack of professionalism and independence, illustrating its political rather than legal nature. It further vindicates the objection of the Government of Sudan to the Mission’s creation from the very begining. In fact, no African or Arab state had supported creation of the Mission.
In addition to its questionable timing, the Mission’s recommendations are vastly transcending the boundaries of its mandate, aligning with the current maneuvers at the UN Security Council of certain influential international actors who have long pursued an antagonistic stance towards Sudan.
The Mission’s decision to engage in publicity ahead of formal Council deliberations reveals a clear intent to sway the opinions of member states towards particular political objectives, as well as securing an extension of its mandate.
The report catalouges egregious crimes of the RSF Militia, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, sexual violence, slavery, child recruitment, and the targeting of civilians, claiming that the conflict has engulfed 14 of the Sudan’s 18 states. However, it called for an arms embargo that includes the Sudanese Armed Forces that confront this Militia and defend citizens in the face of these crimes, while demanding the formation of an international force to protect civilians. This is a strange contradiction: recommending an arms embargo on the national army, which fulfills its constitutional and moral role in protecting the country and its people in line with international law, and entrusting the task of protecting civilians to an international force that is unknown when it would be formed, whether it will be sufficient to cover 14 states, and whether it will be included in the arms embargo called for by the mission in a clear violation of its mandate and authority. This call is nothing more than a wish for Sudan’s enemies and will not and can not be realized.
The Government of Sudan has consistently prioritized the protection of civilians. This commitment was reaffirmed with the signing of the Jeddah Declaration on May 11, 2023, and the subsequent practical proposals for a monitoring mechanism to ensure its implementation that the Government of Sudan has put forward. Regrettably the concerned international actors have chosen to overlook these proposals, while maintaining a lenient position towards the Militia’s ongoing and systematic targeting of civilians and civil utilities. Nevertheless, the Jeddah Declaration remains the most viable and effective framework for civilian protection.
To fight impunity, the Government of Sudan established the National Committee to Investigate Crimes and Violations of National and International Humanitarian Law as an independent body. This committee has made considerable progress, having already submitted two reports to the Human Rights Council, with an interim report forthcoming at the this session. In light of the ongoing national judicial process, the appropriate role of the Human Rights Council is to support these national efforts, consistent with the principle of complementarity, rather than seeking to impose an external mechanism.
Given these facts, the Government of Sudan categorically rejects the Fact-Finding Mission’s recommendations in their entirety and reaffirms its firm and declared stance on the Mission.
