CSW welcomes creation of fact-finding mission for Sudan despite other setbacks

CSW welcomes the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC’s) decision to establish an international independent fact-finding mission for Sudan following the adoption of a resolution at its 54th session on 11 October.

The resolution, which was put forward by Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States, passed with 19 votes in favour, 16 votes against and 12 abstentions.

The resolution establishes an independent international fact-finding mission (FFM) for Sudan, comprising three experts, who will be appointed by the President of the HRC for an initial term of one year. The FFM is mandated to investigate, collect, consolidate and analyse evidence of violations and abuses, and to systematically record and preserve all information, documentation and evidence for future legal proceedings.

The FFM is also mandated to identify, where possible, individuals and entities responsible for violations or abuses, in order to ensure that perpetrators are held accountable, as well as to make recommendations, in particular on accountability measures, with a view to ending impunity and addressing its root causes and facilitating access to justice for victims. The FFM will be investigating the facts, circumstances and root causes of alleged human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law and related crimes in the context of the armed conflict that began on 15 April 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), ‘as well as other warring parties.’

The FFM will include a specific focus on the human rights and humanitarian situations in the areas of greatest concern, such as Khartoum and the Darfur region.

CSW’s UN Officer Claire Denman said: ‘CSW welcomes the establishment of the FFM, which will greatly increase the international community’s ability to hold Sudan’s warring parties to account for the litany of human rights violations against civilians, and which could also provide a degree of deterrence. We urge all Member States to ensure that the mandate is well-supported, and that swift measures are taken to bring a decisive end to the current crisis in the country.’

In a separate development, on 4 October the deadline passed for the tabling of a resolution that would have enabled continued independent scrutiny of the situation of human rights in Ethiopia. The deadline was allowed to lapse despite the publication of a report by the Council-mandated International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) a day earlier that concluded that ‘all … of the Common Risk Factors for atrocity crimes’ were present in the country.

In addition, on 10 October China and Cuba were re-elected to the HRC, despite continuing and profound concerns about the human rights situation in both countries.

Claire Denman added: ‘We are deeply disappointed by the Council’s failure to renew the resolution on Ethiopia, particularly as grave violations and abuses persist across the country. There remains a need for independent investigation of, and accountability for, atrocities committed during the war in Tigray, and ongoing violations in occupied areas of that region. Regrettably, the victims have been badly let down by the international community. We are also dismayed at the re-election of China and Cuba to the Council, as neither has illustrated a genuine commitment towards upholding the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights, or fully cooperating with HRC mechanisms.’