Sudan: Stop the war, ensure humanitarian assistance, protect all civilians

Sudanese lawyer and woman human rights defender Noon Kashkosh, the founder of Al-Jazeera Observatory for Human Rights, delivered a joint statement with ISHR and Sudanese Women’s Rights Action (SURWA) at the 57th session of the Human Rights Council, during the debate with the Fact-finding Mission (FFM). In addition, ISHR together with 7 NGOs sent a joint letter to the Human Rights Council President denouncing acts of intimidation against Sudanese civil society during the debate.

Read the full statement and watch the video below:

We support the report of the Fact-Finding Mission and its findings of violations of human rights and humanitarian law by the warring parties – which remain ongoing. We urge the international community to follow up on the implementation of the FFM’s recommendations, in particular on extending the arms embargo and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to include all of Sudan. 

Extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, all forms of conflict-related sexual violence, forced evictions, the use of starvation as a weapon of war against civilians, targeting of human rights defenders and volunteers in the Emergency Rooms, the use of emergency courts that issue sentences in violation of the right to fair trial, the indiscriminate air strikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and artillery shelling by Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the internet and telecommunications shutdown. 

The crisis in Sudan has deteriorated over the past month due to devastating floods and a cholera outbreak as many hospitals have ceased to function, which has increased the suffering of civilians. 

We urge the warring parties to ensure: 

• Immediate ceasefire 
• Prompt creation of safe corridors for humanitarian aid organisations and groups, and to guarantee the safety of their operations
• Protection of civilians including women and children 
• Disclosure of the whereabouts of the disappeared and release of the detainees
• Guarantee the right to fair trial
• Adherence to international humanitarian law and human rights law 
• Cooperation with the FFM and allow it to carry out its work. 

We urge the Human Rights Council to extend the man­date of the FFM for Sudan, and provide it with sufficient resources. We urge States to not put political interests over the human rights and humanitarian situation in Sudan and support the renewal of the FFM. 

We stress the importance of ensuring that Sudanese women like myself have the opportunity to participate in discussions and decisions affecting our lives, including through physical access and participation where possible and the ability to monitor and contribute remotely given our current realities.