Sudan: Call On UNHCR for Independent Mechanism to Investigate Abuses in Sudan

Julian Civiero / WFP
The Adre refugee camp in Chad (file photo).
4 September 2023
Dabanga (Port Sudan)

Khartoum / Geneva — 117 Sudanese, regional and international human rights organisations have called on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to establish an independent mechanism "tasked with investigating human rights violations and abuses committed by all parties and advancing accountability in Sudan, without delay".

Organisations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, submitted a joint letter to the permanent representatives of member and observer states at the UN Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday.

They called for the adoption of a decision to establish an independent investigation mechanism into the human rights violations and abuses by all parties, to enhance accountability in the next session, starting September 11.

The joint memorandum stresses the need for a mechanism to conduct a "comprehensive investigation into all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law".

The letter points to the need to identify the individuals and entities responsible and to provide guidance on justice, including criminal accountability, reparations, and guarantees of non-repetition. The memorandum also stressed the mechanism's need for "adequate technical, logistical and administrative support" in order for tasks to be effectively carried out.

War crimes

As previously covered by Radio Dabanga, Amnesty International reported in August that serious war crimes are being committed in Sudan as the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) ravages the country. The report 'Death Came To Our Home': War Crimes and Civilian Suffering In Sudan documents "mass civilian casualties in both deliberate and indiscriminate attacks by the warring parties" in particular in Khartoum and West Darfur. The report, which focuses primarily on Khartoum and West Darfur, also details sexual violence against women and girls, targeted attacks on civilian objects such as hospitals and churches, and extensive looting.

Signatories:

  • Act for Sudan
  • ActionAid
  • Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in the Central African Republic (ACAT-RCA)
  • African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
  • African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
  • AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network)
  • Algerian Human Rights Network (Réseau Algérien des Droits de l'Homme)
  • Amnesty International
  • Angolan Human Rights Defenders Coalition
  • Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  • Atrocities Watch Africa (AWA)
  • Beam Reports - Sudan
  • Belarusian Helsinki Committee
  • Belgrade Centre for Human Rights
  • Borderline-Europe - Menschenrechte ohne Grenzen e.V.
  • Burkinabè Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CBDDH)
  • Burundian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (CBDDH)
  • Cabo Verdean Network of Human Rights Defenders (RECADDH)
  • Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
  • Cameroon Women's Peace Movement (CAWOPEM)
  • Central African Network of Human Rights Defenders (REDHAC)
  • Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) - Mozambique
  • Centre de Formation et de Documentation sur les Droits de l'Homme (CDFDH) - Togo
  • CIVICUS
  • Coalition of Human Rights Defenders-Benin (CDDH-Bénin)
  • Collectif Urgence Darfour
  • Confederation of Sudanese Civil Society Organizations
  • Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organizations (CEHRO)
  • CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
  • DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
  • EEPA - Europe External Programme with Africa
  • Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC)
  • FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights)
  • Fikra for Studies and Development
  • Forum pour le Renforcement de la Société Civile (FORSC) - Burundi
  • Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED) - Ghana
  • Gisa Group - Sudan
  • Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
  • Gulf Centre for Human Rights
  • Horn of Africa Civil Society Forum (HoA Forum)
  • Human Rights Defenders Coalition Malawi
  • Human Rights Defenders Network - Sierra Leone
  • Human Rights House Foundation
  • Human Rights Watch
  • Institut des Médias pour la Démocratie et les Droits de l'Homme (IM2DH) - Togo
  • International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
  • International Commission of Jurists
  • The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Africa
  • Interfaith International
  • International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI)
  • International Service for Human Rights
  • Ivorian Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CIDDH)
  • Jews Against Genocide
  • Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) - Sudan
  • Justice Africa Sudan
  • Justice Center for Advocacy and Legal Consultations - Sudan
  • Kamma Organization for Development Initiatives (KODI)
  • Libyan Human Rights Clinic (LHRC)
  • Malian Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COMADDH)
  • MENA Rights Group
  • Mozambique Human Rights Defenders Network (MozambiqueDefenders - RMDDH)
  • NANHRI - Network of African National Human Rights Institutions
  • National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders - Kenya
  • National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders - Somalia
  • National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders-Uganda (NCHRD-U)
  • Network of Human Rights Journalists (NHRJ) - The Gambia
  • Network of the Independent Commission for Human Rights in North Africa (CIDH Africa)
  • Never Again Coalition
  • New Sudan Council of Churches
  • Nigerien Human Rights Defenders Network (RNDDH)
  • Pathways for Women's Empowerment and Development (PaWED) - Cameroon
  • PAX Netherlands
  • PEN Belarus
  • Physicians for Human Rights
  • POS Foundation - Ghana
  • Project Expedite Justice
  • Protection International Africa
  • REDRESS
  • Regional Centre for Training and Development of Civil Society (RCDCS) - Sudan
  • Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme (RADDHO)
  • Réseau des Citoyens Probes (RCP) - Burundi
  • Rights Georgia
  • Rights for Peace
  • Rights Realization Centre (RRC) - United Kingdom
  • Salam for Democracy and Human Rights
  • Society for Threatened Peoples
  • Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (Southern Defenders)
  • South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN)
  • Stop Genocide Now
  • Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA)
  • Sudanese American Medical Association (SAMA)
  • Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA)
  • Sudanese American Public Affairs Association (SAPAA)
  • Sudanese Defenders Center for Legal Aid
  • Sudanese Human Rights Initiative (SHRI)
  • Sudanese Human Rights Monitor (SHRM)
  • Sudanese Lawyers Democratic Front
  • Sudanese Women Rights Action
  • Sudan Evangelical Community Council
  • Sudan Human Rights Hub
  • Sudan NextGen Organization (SNG)
  • Sudan's Doctors for Human Rights
  • Sudan Social Development Organisation
  • Sudan and South Sudan Forum e.V.
  • Sudan Unlimited
  • SUDO UK
  • The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP)
  • Tanzania Human Rights Defenders Coalition (THRDC)
  • The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA)
  • Togolese Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CTDDH)
  • Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH)
  • Waging Peace
  • Women Civil & Political Groups (Mansam)
  • World Council of Churches
  • World Evangelical Alliance
  • World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
  • Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

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