{"id":20106180,"date":"2024-11-06T14:02:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T13:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20106180"},"modified":"2024-11-06T14:02:03","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T13:02:03","slug":"un-experts-warn-of-impossible-situation-facing-the-people-of-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/un-experts-warn-of-impossible-situation-facing-the-people-of-sudan","title":{"rendered":"UN experts warn of \u2018impossible situation\u2019 facing the people of Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

United Nations experts condemned the escalating violence against civilians in Sudan, warning that the humanitarian crisis resulting from the conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has reached catastrophic levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group of UN Special Rapporteurs* lamented that the ongoing conflict has displaced 11 million people<\/a>, over half of them children, in a situation marked by severe violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws. \u201cThe people of Sudan are facing an impossible situation, caught between conflict, famine, crime, disasters, and disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement<\/a> yesterday, the experts said that \u201cthe indiscriminate use of artillery, airstrikes, and explosive weaponry by all parties provokes immediate casualties and exposes civilians to the long-term threat of unexploded ordnance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSiege tactics such as those deployed against El Fasher<\/a>, and both parties\u2019 draconian restrictions on humanitarian aid, occupation or destruction of agricultural land, and attacks against humanitarian workers have fuelled a man-made famine<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expressing dismay over the direct targeting of civilians, the experts added, \u201cWe strongly condemn the RSF\u2019s latest attacks in El Gezira<\/a>. We have received disturbing reports of civilians subjected to forced displacement<\/a>, torture and ill-treatment, summary executions, and arbitrary detention, based on their ethnicity. This adds to a growing pattern of atrocities against ethnic minorities that may amount to crimes against humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experts voiced particular concern over RSF\u2019s systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war<\/a>, citing cases of rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, and human trafficking under conditions of extreme violence that amount to torture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement calls on the SAF and RSF to cease attacks on civilians, ensure unfettered access to humanitarian aid, and urged both sides to work towards a ceasefire. It also appealed to the international community to support these efforts through mediation, diplomacy, and funding for humanitarian aid, while halting the flow of illicit arms<\/a> to the warring parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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*According the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) website<\/a>, Special Rapporteurs \u201care part of what are known as the\u00a0Special Procedures\u00a0of the Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpecial Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council\u2019s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSpecial Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n