UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : HRC56 - Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan

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Madam President

Excellencies, Distinguished delegates.

I'm honoured to present an update on the process on

the progress made by the independent International Fact finding mission

for the Sudan,

which I refer to as FFM Sudan

in accordance with the Human Rights Council resolution

uh, 54 slash two.

I present this briefing as the chairperson of the mission

and I'm joined by my two other colleagues, Mona Rishwa

and Joe Ngozi.

Elo

Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating conflict

for over a year now

characterised largely by its urban

widespread nature and its civilian population placed

at the centre of extreme violence.

Blatant disregard for fundamental human rights and

international humanitarian law has led to killings,

looting, mass displacement,

rape and other forms of sexual violence

and resulted in a grave humanitarian crisis.

With around 18 million people acutely food insecure

and 5 million facing starvation,

according to the W

World Food Programme,

my colleagues and I are deeply aware of the agency of the situation.

Since our appointment in December 2023 we have been

doing our utmost to fulfil the mandate of this council

as bestowed upon us the liquidity crisis

faced by the United Nations Secretariat and the hiring fees unfortunately

led to several months of delay in establishing an effective secretariat.

We are pleased that thanks to the special efforts

of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

and the Deputy High Commissioner last month,

the Secretariat has finally begun its work in Nairobi, Kenya.

We thank the government of Kenya for hosting this mandate. At

this point on board are about two thirds of the

staff contingent that were considered necessary by the General Assembly to

fulfil and to fully implement the mandate,

it is imperative for us

to have adequate resources in order to effectively deliver.

This does not mean that we're starting

the work only now first

with thanks to the flexibility and commitment of the

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

A

small number of experienced staff in Geneva

was allocated to us from the beginning

which enabled us to start operations.

Therefore, from the outset of the mandate,

we published a call for inviting individuals,

group and organisation to submit information

and documentation relevant to the mandate.

Second,

we have initiated contact with the government of Sudan

and with governments of neighbouring states Chad,

Egypt, Eritrea,

Ethiopia, south Sudan,

Central Africa Republic as well as Kenya and Uganda

requesting their cooperations

through their territories

in order to gather first hand information from victims of the conflict,

including those who have fled Sudan since the outbreak of violence,

Kenya has responded positively.

We have been able to carry out visits to Nairobi where we met with a number of victims,

witnesses and experts.

We are pleased to have received confirmation from the government

of Chad that they are also willing to receive us

soon for a visit.

This council's mechanism we are particularly keen to visit Sudan

and interact with the government

to hear

their perspectives.

We also note that the rapid support forces

as expressed through the president of the Council,

their willingness to co-operate with this mandate.

Thirdly,

we have engaged with organisations and entities

involved in the situation in Sudan,

including the High Commissioner, his office,

his designated expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan,

the personal envoy of the UN Secretary General

in Sudan and other UN senior officials.

We also have

had a constructive dialogue with the Sudan Country,

rapporteur of the African Commission on human and people's

rights and have reached out to the African Union,

the League of Arab States,

the Intergovernmental Authority on Development with

the request for dialogue and Cooper

the main purpose being to coordinate our efforts and to ensure complementarity.

Fourthly, even without physical access to

Sudan,

the fact finding mission has been able to conduct about 80 direct interviews so far,

including with victims and eyewitnesses.

We also held meetings and consultations

with a considerable number of stakeholders,

including civil society

representative, human rights defenders, journalists, academics

and specialised experts on child rights

and sexual and gender based violence.

We thank all these individuals and organisations for their

constructive Cooper operation and submission of relevant information.

We are particularly grateful to the many Sudanese victim witnesses

and human rights defenders who have

courageously shared their experiences and insights,

sometimes at great significant risk for their safety and security.

We would like to remind the warring parties

that any act of intimidation or Reprisal

for co-operation with the United Nations is prohibited

and will be duly recorded in accordance with our mandate. Excellencies.

The information that we have gathered so far

indicates that the deadly conflict that began

in Sudan on 5 April 2023

mainly between the Sudan Armed Forces

and RSF,

is continuing unabated

on a massive scale.

It now involves multiple hectares within and outside Sudan

and has spread from Khartoum and Darfur to most of the countries.

We are deeply concerned that the fighting persists

with tragic consequences and enormous suffering of the civilian population.

We have received credible accounts of indiscriminate

attacks against civilians and civilian objects,

including through airstrikes and shelling

in heavily populated residential areas, and

ground attacks against civilians in their homes and villages

in the capital Khartoum

and its close vicinity, Omdurman

and Bahari.

The outbreak of the conflict, the intense clashes, airstrikes and heavy

arter shelling including residential areas and attacks on schools,

hospitals and medical facilities

resulted in killings and injuries of civilians, including women and Children,

and forced many to leave their homes and property to seek refuge in other locations.

Reports of looting and sexual violence

have added to this exodus.

We are particularly concerned about the situation in Darfur,

especially the siege of Al Fasher,

North Darfur by RSF

al Al Fasher, as you know,

is the capital of Darfur with about 1.5 million inhabitants.

It hosts approximately 800,000 internally displaced persons.

Already,

heavy fighting between the war infection in different parts of the city has led to

significant division

casualties, damaged homes and cause mass displacement.

The attack on one of the main and last functioning hospitals

in the city on 8 June led to its closure, leaving the civilian population

without access to life saving medical care.

We call our own parties to abide

by security resolution 27

36 2024

which demands that the RSF hold the siege of Al

Fasi

and calls for an immediate halting to the fighting.

The security resolution also calls for the protection of all civilians and for war

parties to allow and

facilitate rapid, safe,

unhindered and sustained passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need,

including by removing bureaucratic and other impediments.

We call on all parties to heed

the Security Council's call on the parties to reopen

the

border crossing for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

We further call upon all states to abide by the Security Council arms embargo

imposed on Darfur

Pass

to resolution 1556 2004.

We also note the call of the prosecutor of the ICC

for information regarding this unfolding situation

and urge all parties to fully co-operate with his office.

Previous attacks on other areas compound our concern.

We are currently investigating earlier large scale attacks

against civilians based on their ethnicity

in other areas of Darfur

and that have included killings, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture,

forced displacement

and looting, including in Guinea

and later in

Aldama between April and November last year.

Ethnic based attacks are also under investigation,

including in Zale,

Nyala and other areas of Darfur,

as well as in Kordofan, Al Jazeera and parts of greater Khartoum.

With regard to the situation in Al Jazeera, we are investigating attacks

including

on its capital, were maddening

in December 2023 and related killings, injury,

arbiter arrest and torture of civilians in mass displacement.

Recently. On fifth of June,

waded

Noura village in Al Jazeera was reported to have been attacked with large and heavy

artillery, leading to hundreds of civilian deaths, including numerous Children.

In all these areas, massive looting

and extensive destruction of civilian homes and property continue.

Additionally, health facilities have been attacked,

pillaged and destroyed,

making it impossible for many injured civilians to get any medical attention.

Medical supplies have also been blocked from reaching critical areas.

There are reports that many civilians have died from injuries sustained in

the conflict due to the unavailability or inaccessibility of medical supplies.

The conflict has led to significant damage of essential infrastructure,

including electricity and water

supply lines as well as communication networks.

Attacks on medical personnel,

including those providing support to victims of social sexual violence,

are highly disturbing.

The conflict continues to cause mass displacement

of the civilian population

at unprecedented levels.

She is the breaking of the conflict.

Almost 9 million individuals have been forcefully displaced

from their homes, with more than 1.8 million

fleeing to neighbouring countries.

We heard from victims

how they had to take a long and perilous journey

from Khartoum all the way to Egypt, Kenya or Uganda,

sometimes crossing multiple countries

in an attempt to escape the brutal conflict.

Others were forcibly evicted from their homes by warring parties.

Most left nothing

and travelled for several weeks to seek safety.

We appreciate the efforts of the countries who, despite their limited resources,

continue to support the refugees who have fled the conflict in Sudan.

Nearly 18 million individuals are facing acute hunger

amidst looming famine. At least 5 million

civilians, including Children and pregnant women,

are at risk of starvation

with a minimum response as where infections

continue to obstruct humanitarian assets, attack humanitarian workers

and loot humanitarian supplies, thereby

curtailing delivery of life

and support to vulnerable population.

In face of this immense suffering,

the humanitarian response

which remains largely underfunded with only 16% of the

required funds having received required urgent international attention,

we have also received credible

reports

of many cases of sexual violence being committed by war infections

parties across various parts of the country. Since the start of the conflict,

women and girls have been and continue to be subjected to rape

and gang rape, abduction

and forced marriage.

Victims and first line responders told us

of how women and girls not only endured violent rape,

including gang gang rape and denial of medical support, but also how

they were stigmatised

and subsequently abandoned by their families.

There are reports of sexual slavery

and sexualized torture in detention facilities,

including against men and boys, which we are investigating

the majority of survivors have not had access to adequate support due to lack of

access to or unavailability of health facilities

and the destruction of the health infrastructure.

Medical personnel and members of civil society are prevented

from or targeted for providing support to victims of social violence.

Widespread recruitment and use of Children at checkpoints

to gather intelligence as well as to perpetrate indirect combat

and commit violent crimes are also frequently reported,

placing the lives and future of many Children at risk.

In his report of third of June 2024 on Children and Armed Conflict,

the UN secretary general ranks Sudan among the countries with the highest

number of grave violations against Children

being reported committed by several warring,

including the Sudan Armed Forces and

RSF.

There are also terrible reports of mass

arbitrary arrests of civilians based on suspicion

of supporting the other party to the conflict,

expressing dissent

or supporting human rights, and a return to democratic transition.

From the outset of the conflict, the Waring parties appear

to have been targeting resistance committee

members medical emergency from volunteers,

lawyers, journalists, civil society actors

and human rights activists and subjected them to threats,

attacks arbitrary arrest, torture,

detention and forced disappearances and killings excellence.

Our mandate also requires us to examine,

and this is unique the root causes of all alleged

violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law

and related crimes.

We have so far identified a number of structural and

systematic issues and whether those related to policies and conduct

These include continued arming of civilians without meaningful control,

the mobilisation

of militias and armed groups on an ethnic basis,

and the shielding from our accountability, those persons and entities

responsible for atrocious crimes.

Some of these practises are being revived

by the warring parties from past conflicts

and are laying the ground for current and future cycles of serious violation.

The national legal system appears unable to conduct prompt,

independent and credible investigation

or to

persons in a manner consistent with

international human rights norms and standards.

It is therefore crucial

to combat impunity.

Your Excellencies, it is hard to see human rights

and the humanitarian situation in Sudan improve

without an immediate ceasefire.

We note the Security Council's call on 8 May

by the Resolution 2724

for the immediate cessation of ourselves in Sudan during the month of Ramadan,

without avail.

Regrettably,

the fighting never stopped and continues with full intensity until now.

Three months later,

while appealing for the fighting to stop immediately,

we need we need the commanders of warring parties to issue

instructions to the forces of militia under their control to strictly abide

by the international humanitarian law by their international obligation

and also as iterated

in the Jeddah Declaration,

civilians must be protected

and a guest

exam including killings, looting,

sexual violations and forced displacement, must be punished in conformity

with international humanitarian and human rights law.

We further call upon warring parties to refrain

from attacking humanitarian workers, stop obstructing the delivery of aid

and allow

unfettered humanitarian access to the millions of civilians

in need in every part of Sudan.

We also appeal to states with influence over any of the warring parties

to urgently step up efforts to hold the fighting and bring the parties back

to the negotiating table

in order to prevent fire

violations and abuses.

As this

update demonstrates,

the people of Sudan are crying for help

to restore their dignity and rights.

They need the support and the attention

of this council. Thank you very much