U.N. Human Rights Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif said Tuesday that the warring parties in Sudan are acting with “total disregard for international law.”
Al-Nashif made the remarks during the 57th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, which is addressing a range of global issues including political unrest, women’s rights, and freedom of press and expression.
“Our office is particularly alarmed by the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war since the conflict began,” Al-Nashif said. “We have documented 97 incidents involving 172 victims, predominantly women and girls, which significantly underrepresents the true scale of the issue.”
Last week, U.N.-backed human rights investigators called for the establishment of an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians in Sudan. They accused both sides in the conflict of committing war crimes, including murder, mutilation, and torture, and warned that foreign governments arming and financing the parties could be complicit.
The fact-finding team, in its first report since being established by the U.N.’s Human Rights Council in October, also accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which are fighting Sudan’s army, and their allies of crimes against humanity, including rape, sexual slavery, and persecution based on ethnicity or gender.
The experts recommended expanding the arms embargo from Sudan’s western Darfur region to the entire country.
The findings come as more than 10 million people have been displaced by the conflict, including over 2 million who have fled to neighboring countries. A famine has also emerged in a major displacement camp in Darfur.
The conflict, which began in April 2023, has resulted in thousands of deaths, and humanitarian organizations are struggling to access those in need.
In December, the U.N. Security Council voted to end the world body’s political mission in Sudan, following pressure from the country’s military leadership.
