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Sudan: Human Rights Council must take bold steps towards accountability, preventing atrocities
On 3 July 2026, the Human Rights Council held an urgent debate to discuss the situation in and around El Obeid, North Kordofan in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan. Sudanese activist Noon Kashkoush delivered a joint statement on behalf of ISHR and other groups.
We welcome this urgent debate. We call on the Human Rights Council to step up efforts to protect civilians, ensure access to humanitarian aid, monitor and document violations with a view to both prevention and accountability, and pressure the warring parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights law.
The city of Al-Obeid is witnessing a dangerous escalation in military operations in the last weeks, accompanied by civilian casualties, drone strikes which killed more than fifty people including women and children, and the targeting of residential neighbourhoods and civilian infrastructure. There has been a sharp deterioration in essential services, including electricity, water and healthcare, which has exacerbated the suffering of around 2 million people, half of them internally displaced who have sought refuge in the city.
Civilians in other cities, such as Dillinj , are facing drone attacks that have resulted in fatalities, including children.
The Human Rights Council should not content itself with reacting to one atrocity after another. The Council should take additional steps towards accountability in Sudan, including by explicitly condemning external actors supporting the warring parties and calling on the Security Council to expand the arms embargo.
It should also ensure that the FFM has adequate resources to identify all actors responsible for violations with a view to ensure that they are held to account, in line with its mandate, including as part of an effort to encourage the FFM to report on external actors fuelling violations in Sudan.
We urge all warring parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law, ensure an immediate cessation of hostilities, put an immediate stop to the attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, protection of civilians, unimpeded humanitarian access and allow safe passage for civilians.
Watch the full statement here:
Groups supporting the joint statement: Sudanese Women’s Rights Action (SUWRA), Al Jazeera Observatory for Human Rights, the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA), Advocacy Campaign for El-Obeid Civillians, Resistance Committees – Abu Hajar, Dongola, Atbara, Al-Qadarif Municipality, Revolutionary Resistance Coalition, Movement for Change and Youth Empowerment, Nadus Channel.