Rights groups call for action to avert “disaster” in Sudan
September 13, 2023 (NEW YORK) – The international community should mobilize to address the disaster unfolding in war-torn Sudan, several human rights and humanitarian organizations warned on Wednesday.
A statement, which noted that Sudan is “no longer at the precipice of mass atrocities; it has fallen over the edge,” was issued by more than 50 international human rights and humanitarian organizations.
Nearly five months since fighting broke out in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, the conflict, rife with human rights abuses, has now spread to Darfur and the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
It further highlighted the rising cases of sexual violence in Sudan, saying civilians are facing widespread deliberate and indiscriminate attacks while journalists and human rights defenders are being silenced.
According to human rights groups, the United Nations Security Council, which has had Sudan on the agenda for decades, has yet to pass a single substantive resolution grappling with the ongoing crisis.
“The UN Security Council should move from talk to action and begin negotiations to pass a resolution that challenges the climate of impunity, reiterates that international law requires providing safe, unhindered humanitarian access, and redirects international efforts to better protect Sudan’s most vulnerable,” partly reads the joint statement from human rights leaders.
The leaders vowed to work together to push for greater attention to the needs of Sudan’s civilians.
“In the face of mounting atrocities in Sudan, the Security Council has neglected its responsibility to robustly respond,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
“The world’s foremost body on international peace and security should not remain silent in the face of grave international crimes,” he added.
At least 20.3 million people across Sudan are acutely food insecure and need food and livelihood assistance between July and September 2023, according to the latest integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) on the war-torn nation.
“In the past few months, we’ve seen the refugee camps where we work in Chad swell with people forced from their homes,” said Mark Hetfield, president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the refugee protection organization, HIAS.
He added, “Darfuris are arriving hungry, wounded, and traumatized. They need urgent assistance and protection, but they also need the world to mobilize for an end to the targeted violence that is causing so much death, devastation, and displacement across Sudan.”
More than 7 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan due to the conflict between rival military factions, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said.
(ST)