Documentation Of Human Rights Violations Must Continue

This photo taken on August 12, 2025, shows an interior view of a teaching hospital destroyed in conflicts between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum, Sudan. (Photo credit: Mohamed Khidir/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

Ahead of the 60th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, commencing on September 8 and running until October 3, close to 100 civil society organizations from Sudan and beyond sent a joint letter to States to urge them to support the extension of the mandate of the Independent International Fact-Fin­ding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan. The FFM on Sudan was established by the U.N. Human Rights Council in October 2023 to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian law in the country, and establish the facts, circumstances and root causes, in the context of the ongoing armed conflict that began on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as other warring parties. The mechanism was also to collect, consolidate and analyze evidence of such violations and abuses; document and verify relevant information and evidence; identify, where possible, those individuals and entities responsible for violations or abuses of human rights or violations of international humanitarian law, or other related crimes; make recommendations, in particular on accountability measures, among others.

Since fighting erupted between the SAF and the RSF and their allied forces in April 2023, tens of thou­sands of civilians have been killed and over 13 million have been displaced, and some 30 million people in need of lifesaving aid, making Sudan the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crisis. As the conflict in Sudan is in its third year, Sudan is on the verge of collapse, with catastrophic consequences for the protection of civilians.

Three years into the conflict, the plethora of alleged human rights violations amount to international crimes continue and require international attention and comprehensive responses. These violations include, but are not limited to targeted and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, wide­spread sexual violence against women and girls, and ethnically motivated attacks, including in Darfur, against Masalit and other non-Arab communities, deliberate obstructions to humanitarian assistance as well as armed attacks on medical objects and personnel, among others.

In July 2025, International Criminal Court (ICC) Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the U.N. Security Council that the ICC had “reasonable grounds to believe” that both war crimes and crimes against humanity were being committed in Sudan. As she stressed: “Hospitals, humanitarian convoys, and other civilian objects are apparently being targeted. Famine is escalating, and humanitarian aid is not reaching those in dire need of it. People are being deprived of water and food. Rape and sexual violence are being weaponized. Abductions for ransom or to bolster the ranks of armed groups have become common practice. And yet we should not be under any illusion; things can still get worse.” She further added: “There is an inescapable pattern of offending, targeting gender and ethnicity through rape and sexual violence which must be translated into evidence for the Court – and, indeed, the world – to hear. These alleged crimes are being given particular priority by our Office as we proceed with focus in our investigative work.”

As the joint letter stressed, “In light of the serious violations of international law committed by all parties to the conflict, including alarming rates of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women and girls, and of the on­­going need to collect and preserve evidence and identify those responsible with a view to ensuring that they are held accountable, the next Council resolution on Sudan should extend the FFM’s man­­date for at least two years. It should also re­quest the FFM to regularly report to the Council in the framework of public debates on Sudan’s human rights situation.”

The joint letter added, “against this backdrop and despite ongoing challenges related to the U.N.’s liquidity crisis and Sudanese authorities’ continued refusal to allow its members and secretariat access to the country, the FFM has been able to carry out its work. It has continued to conduct interviews with sources, receive submissions, verify videos, geolocate attacks, and compile dossiers identifying possible perpetrators. It has carried out investigative missions to neighboring countries and engaged in consultations with African Union (AU) officials and civil society. It has also initiated cooperation with relevant judicial entities.”

The joint letter, in addition to asking for extension of the mandate of the FFM for two more years, called upon U.N. Human Rights Council to recommend that the General Assembly submit the reports of the FFM to the U.N. Security Council for its consideration and appropriate action, including through the expansion of the ICC’s jurisdiction to cover the entire territory of Sudan, among others.

The FFM remains a critical international mechanism with the mandate, resources, expertise and experience to in­dependently investigate and report on violations committed throughout Sudan. As Sudan’s conflict is ongoing and egregious violations continue to be committed by all parties to the conflict, with further needs for collection and preservation of evidence and identification of perpetrators, there is no other option for the U.N. Human Rights Council but to extend the FFM’s mandate.

As the dire situation in Sudan continues, States and international community must do all in their power to alleviate the suffering of the people of Sudan. However, the efforts to support the people in Sudan cannot ignore the need to ensure justice and accountability for all alleged violations. This is where the work of the FFM is key – to document, to analyze, to preserve for future investigations and prosecutions whenever they are possible. Justice and accountability are crucial, not only to ensure that those responsible for all the alleged violations are held accountable, but also as a means of prevention.