Following atrocities by RSF in El Fasher, HRC demands accountability in Sudan

The HRC adopted a resolution that strongly condemned ‘the escalating violence and reported atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces and their associated and allied forces in and around El Fasher’. The resolution mandated the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to conduct an urgent inquiry into the situation and to report on it at HRC62. It also requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to present an oral update to the HRC before HRC61. While the HRC adopted the resolution without a vote, Council members Sudan, China, Ethiopia, and Cuba disassociated from the paragraphs on the FFM. The resolution also condemned ‘all forms of external interference that fuel the conflict’ but failed to name the perpetrators. 

Read the joint statement delivered on 14 November 2025 during the Special Session below: 

We welcome the convening of this Special Session on Sudan to address the situation in and around El Fasher, as called for in a letter coordinated by DefendDefenders and supported by 49 civil society organisations. We urge the UN Human Rights Council to  ensure the conduction of urgent investigations, and to adopt a resolution mandating the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan to prepare a report to document atrocities being committed in and around El Fasher, adding that the report should include recommendations to all parties to the conflict and assess the role of external actors, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to share all relevant information with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to inform its investigations. The FFM must be allocated all necessary resources and support required to implement Sudan-focused resolutions adopted by the Council, to allow the FFM to collect and preserve evidence in support of accountability processes. 

Sudan is witnessing grave human rights violations following the Rapid Support Forces’ (RSF) capture of Al-Fashir and Bara. The RSF takeover, after months of siege and heavy fighting, has been marked by mass killings, ethnic targeting, and deliberate attacks on civilians. Reports describe summary executions, forced starvation, and widespread sexual and gender-based violence. Civilians attempting to flee have been shot, humanitarian workers killed, and entire families wiped out, particularly in Alfasher, north Darfur, and Bara, of North Kordofan.

The situation has triggered a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. Civilians are facing starvation, mass displacement, and total communication blackouts, with women and children bearing the heaviest burden. Humanitarian access remains nearly impossible, and aid funding is critically low — only about 25% of the $4.2 billion requested in the 2025 UN Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan has been funded, leaving severe gaps in food, medical, and protection services. The RSF’s expansion and ongoing drone attacks across Sudan signal a worsening conflict that threatens to engulf new regions unless urgent international intervention and protection measures are enacted.

Sudanese women defenders face intimidation and the high risks of reprisals inside and outside of Sudan, impeding them from publicly engaging with this Council. 

All parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian law and ensure the safety of civilians, especially women and children.

States must demand unimpeded humanitarian access and ensure that it reaches those in need.

We call on States to urge the warring parties to ensure an immediate ceasefire and allow safe passage for civilians and humanitarian workers, and protection of civilians.