Independent United Nations human rights experts on Tuesday condemned the sharp rise in violence against civilians in Sudan, as the humanitarian situation caused by the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to spiral into catastrophic levels. The condemnation comes at a time of increasing displacement, as nearly a third of Sudan's population of 51 million has now been forced to flee, creating the largest displacement crisis in the world.
The RSF has been fighting the SAF for nearly 19 months, since their leaders turned on each other in a power struggle that has plunged the country into a humanitarian catastrophe.
“An unprecedented 11 million people, over half of them children, are now internally displaced amidst a conflict characterized by wholesale disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law,” the experts said in a statement.
As of November 2024, more than 11.3 million women, men and children are internally displaced, including 2.8 million displaced before April 2023, making Sudan also the largest internal displacement crisis in the world.
The total number of Sudanese refugees is now estimated at over 3.6 million, including at least 500,000 Sudanese who fled to neighboring countries before the war escalated. In total, some 14.9 million people have been displaced by conflict across Sudan. This makes Sudan by far the largest displacement crisis in the world.
More than 11.6 million people have been newly displaced since clashes between the two warring factions began in April last year. While more than 8.5 million people - Sudanese and refugees already living in the country - are displaced within Sudan, more than 3.1 million women, men and children have sought refuge in other countries since the start of the war.
The majority of internally displaced persons (IDPs) - 55 percent - are children under the age of 18. Overall, more than 30 percent of Sudan's population has fled their homes, either internally or across borders, due to the ongoing war and earlier conflicts.
The UN experts warn that the indiscriminate use of artillery, air strikes and explosive weapons by all parties is provoking immediate casualties and exposing civilians to the long-term threat of unexploded ordnance.
“Siege tactics such as those deployed against El Fasher city, and both parties’ draconian restrictions on humanitarian aid, occupation or destruction of agricultural land, and attacks against humanitarian workers have fueled a man-made famine,” they said.
Since the start of the war in Sudan, severe acute food insecurity has increased massively, leaving more than half of the country hungry. Sudan is now also the world's largest hunger crisis, with nearly 26 million people facing high levels of acute hunger, including some 755,000 on the brink of famine.
Famine has already been declared in the Zamzam displacement camp in Sudan's Darfur region, home to some 500,000 people, marking only the third time a formal famine has been declared since the creation of the international famine monitoring system 20 years ago.
According to the latest available information, acute malnutrition rates in Zamzam camp remain above the famine threshold. Tens of thousands of others are likely facing similar conditions in other famine-prone areas. The situation is particularly critical for people trapped in conflict-affected areas.
The experts deplored the explicit targeting of vulnerable civilians during the conflict.
“We strongly condemn the RSF’s latest attacks in Gezira [Al Jazirah] State. We have received disturbing reports of civilians subjected to forced displacement, torture and ill-treatment, summary executions, and arbitrary detention, based on their ethnicity,” the experts said.
“This adds to a growing pattern of atrocities against ethnic minorities that may amount to crimes against humanity.”
The experts noted that the breakdown of law and order brought about by the conflict has exposed civilians to generalized insecurity and violence, including armed robbery, looting, extortion, and sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by criminal actors, as well as violent clashes between farmers and herders.
“We continue to be deeply disturbed by the systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, recently in Gezira [Al Jazirah] State and more broadly during the conflict, and particularly by the RSF,” the statement said.
“This large-scale campaign, predominantly targeting women and girls, has been found to include rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and human trafficking under conditions of extreme violence that would amount to torture.”
Thousands of civilians continue to flee a wave of armed violence and attacks on more than 65 villages and towns in parts of Al Jazirah State since October 20. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), some 135,400 people have been displaced by the attacks, which have reportedly killed more than one hundred civilians.
The Sudan INGO Forum, a group of 70 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Sudan, said in a statement on Thursday that the escalation of hostilities in eastern Al Jazirah has been marked by some of the most extreme violence in the past 18 months. A horrific campaign of destruction and killing of civilians by the Rapid Support Forces is reportedly underway.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres strongly condemned the attacks by the paramilitary RSF in the State of Al Jazira and reiterated his call for an end to the war.
"The Secretary-General is appalled by large numbers of civilians being killed, being detained or being displaced, as well as acts of sexual violence against women and girls, the looting of homes and the looting of markets and the burning of farms," spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters.
"Such acts may constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. Perpetrators of such serious violations must be held to account."
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the newly displaced people have arrived in 16 locations in Gedaref, Kassala and River Nile states. There are reports of missing, unaccompanied or separated children among the displaced, children with multiple bullet wounds, and arbitrary arrests and detention of children in parts of Al Jazira.
OCHA says it and its partners, particularly local organizations and volunteers, are assisting thousands of new arrivals with humanitarian aid, mental health support, family reunification services and other assistance.
Meanwhile, the UN experts also expressed concern that civilians recently displaced by severe seasonal flooding could face a cholera outbreak as the disease continues to spread across the country, reaching some 28,400 cases, including 836 related deaths, in 11 states in less than four months.
“The people of Sudan are facing an impossible situation, caught between conflict, famine, crime, disasters, and disease,” the experts said.
"The SAF and the RSF must end their assault on civilians, ensure unfettered access to humanitarian aid, prevent and ensure accountability for conflict-related sexual violence and provide victims with protection, assistance, and remedy, and work towards a ceasefire, inclusive political negotiations, the restoration of law and order, and ensuring accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law," the statement said.
“The international community must support these efforts through mediation and diplomacy and funding the humanitarian response, and ending illicit arms transfers to the parties.”
While Sudan faces the world's largest humanitarian crisis, the emergency receives little media attention and the humanitarian response is woefully underfunded.
The Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for 2024 calls for $2.7 billion to reach 14.7 million people by the end of this year. As of today, the HRP is only 57 percent funded.
This year's Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) requires $1.5 billion to support 3.3 million refugees, returnees, and host communities in seven countries bordering Sudan. The RRP is currently only 29 percent funded.
Despite humanitarian access constraints and a lack of funding, relief agencies continue to expand their response across the country. As of November, they have reached some 12.6 million people with at least one form of humanitarian assistance.
Further information
Full text: Sudan: UN experts condemn campaign of violence against civilians amid rising displacement, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, press release, published November 5, 2024
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/11/sudan-un-experts-condemn-campaign-violence-against-civilians-amid-rising
Full text: Sudan: Humanitarian impact of Armed Violence in Aj Jazirah - Flash Update No. 03, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), report, published November 4, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-humanitarian-impact-armed-violence-aj-jazirah-flash-update-no-03-04-november-2024