Amnesty International condemned the authorities in Sudan and the international community on Tuesday for their inaction or involvement in exacerbating the country’ ongoing conflict, which began in 2023 and has resulted in devastating humanitarian consequences for the population.
Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s senior director for research and advocacy, stated: “The people of Sudan urgently need support and solidarity. The UN Security Council must impose an arms embargo on all of Sudan, while countries around the world must significantly increase their humanitarian assistance.” She accused the warring parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with their allies, of committing war crimes against civilians over the course of the two-year conflict. These atrocities include the killing of civilians, torture, bombings of markets and hospitals, as well as sexual violence against women and girls.
The rights group further criticized global leaders for their inaction regarding the humanitarian and security situation in Sudan as well as their failure to adopt policies that could help end the conflict. It highlighted the UN’s failure to enforce a global arms embargo on Sudan, as weapons continue to flow into the country, despite the Security Council’s decision to extend an arms embargo for the Darfur region in 2024. According to a report released by Amnesty International, the armed conflict in Sudan has been fueled by a constant influx of weapons from foreign countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Russia and Türkiye, in violation of the existing arms embargo on Darfur.
Amnesty International also noted that the international community failed to adequately address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, with the situation becoming increasingly dire as the conflict escalates. The organization pointed out that existing funding has been insufficient to address critical issues in Sudan, such as famine, internal displacement, and a lack of essential services like healthcare and food. In March, UNICEF warned that nearly 825,000 Sudanese children are at risk of famine due to escalating violence, which has not only led to food shortages but also prevented the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The situation further deteriorated due to recent cuts to USAID, which would reduce the capacity to provide aid to affected populations.
Amnesty International’s statement comes a few days after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the global community’s inaction regarding the civil war in Sudan and highlighted the role of both domestic and international actors in fueling the conflict to serve economic and business interests. The Sudanese armed conflict has resulted in what the African Union described as the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis,” displacing millions of Sudanese, contributing to the outbreak of diseases due to the collapse of healthcare infrastructure, causing famine due to food shortages, and leading to an increasing death toll. Additionally, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan reported that South Sudan’s political leaders exacerbated the Sudanese humanitarian crisis by allowing impunity, corruption, systemic human rights violations, and mismanagement to persist.
