The United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has called on Sudan, where conflicts have been going on for a year, to prevent an increase in ethnic violence and incitement of racial hatred.
In the statement of the Committee, the army and the Rapid Support Force (HDK) were called upon to cease hostilities. It was emphasized that further violations and abuses of international human rights must be stopped, especially acts of violence directed at people because of their ethnic origin.
It said the committee was shocked by reports of death, destruction and attacks coming from Sudan, and asked Sudan to prevent an increase in ethnic violence and incitement of racist hatred, as well as to address racist hate speech.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been wracked by fighting between the army, led by General Abdel Fatah al Burhan, head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force.
Several Saudi- and US-brokered ceasefire agreements have failed to end the violence.
According to the UN, more than 13,000 people have lost their lives as a result of the conflict in Sudan, where the world’s largest displacement crisis has occurred, around eight million people have fled to other cities within the country, and two million people have fled to surrounding countries.
The war in Sudan started a year ago, and according to the United Nations, about nine million people have been internally displaced since then, while about a million people have left the country.
Thousands of people have been killed in a war that has been overshadowed by the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. The United Nations requested 2.7 billion dollars to finance humanitarian needs, but received 155 million dollars, which is only six percent of the requested amount.
The Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, is fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Force, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The United Nations has warned that the war will leave consequences for future generations. It is estimated that three million Sudanese children are malnourished, and about 19 million children do not attend school. A quarter of Sudanese hospitals no longer function.
Humanitarian organizations claim that women and children suffer the most in the conflict, Beta reports.
