Photo credit: Human Rights Watch
A group of foreign ministers and senior officials from more than 20 countries have issued a joint statement condemning atrocities and violations of international humanitarian law in Sudan.
AA reports that they expressed “deep alarm over reports of systematic violence against civilians.”
They described the “deliberate targeting of civilians, ethnically motivated mass killings, conflict-related sexual violence, starvation as a method of warfare and obstruction of humanitarian access” as “abhorrent violations of international humanitarian law.
“Such acts, if substantiated, constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law.”
They also demanded an immediate end to the violence, saying that “impunity must end and accountability must be upheld,” while stressing that “protection and justice for the Sudanese people is not only a legal obligation but also an urgent moral imperative.”
The statement also called it “intolerable that widespread starvation and famine persist due to access restrictions.” They urged the authorities to allow the World Food Program (WFP), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and other humanitarian agencies to deliver aid freely.
The group also urged the warring parties to agree to a ceasefire and a three-month humanitarian truce, warning against any attempts to partition Sudan.
The signatories included Canada, Spain, the UK, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Poland, and Switzerland.
On Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 89,000 people have been displaced from El-Fasher and its surroundings in North Darfur since Oct. 26, the date the RSF seized control of the city.
After seizing the city, they committed ethnic-based massacres, according to local and international organizations, amid warnings that the assault could entrench the country’s geographical partition.
