Both sides in Sudan’s civil war have committed large-scale abuses that could be considered war crimes or crimes against humanity, the UN-mandated mission said, recommending an arms embargo and peacekeeping forces to protect civilians.
The 19-page UN fact-finding mission report, based on 182 interviews with survivors, their family members and witnesses, alleges that both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Response Force were responsible for attacks on civilians, used torture and carried out arbitrary arrests.
“The seriousness of these revelations underscores the need for urgent and immediate action to protect civilians,” said mission chairman Mohamed Chande Othman, calling for the deployment of an independent and impartial force without delay.
The report is the first of the three-member mission since it was established in October 2023 by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Civilians in Sudan face increasingly widespread hunger, mass displacement and disease after 17 months of war between the army and the RSF paramilitary.
US-led mediators said last month that they had secured guarantees from both sides at talks in Switzerland to improve access to humanitarian aid, but that the Sudanese military’s absence from the talks had hindered progress, Reuters reports.
