WARNINGS OF GENOCIDE IN DARFUR IGNORED:
CONCRETE ACTIONS THAT CAN BE TAKEN
El Fasher Atrocity Alert 2 – 28 MAY 2024
We have shifted from warning of the risk of atrocities to their documentation in El Fasher. Repeated warnings from the Sudanese and international civil society have been ignored with the international community responding with little more than words of condemnation.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that 505,000 people have been displaced by recent clashes between the RSF and SAF in El Fasher. The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) reported that recent “RSF and SAF combat in and around Abu Shouk represents a major deterioration in the human security situation inside and around El-Fasher.” The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is besieging El Fasher and is reportedly attacking the city from the west, north, east, and southern flanks. The Darfur Network for Human Rights reported on May 22 that the RSF was “looting and committing killings inside the homes of defenseless citizens” and “there are fatalities and injuries in nearly every household”.
RSF control of the major roads and junctions around the city already limited the ability of civilians to flee before fighting began in the city. However, now that the RSF is bombing the civilian population and consistently targeting them with heavy and light weapons, the former-Janjaweed has effectively created a “kill-box”.
Approximately 1.8 million civilians are at risk, only the South Hospital Al Fasher remains in service, major international humanitarian organizations have had to pull out due to safety concerns. The RSF entered Abu Shouk IDP Camp “on or around 23 May 2024” and the violent clashes have forced 60,000 previously internally displaced persons (IDPs) to flee from the camp. Residents detail a fierce onslaught with loved ones unable to even bury the dead due to constant barrage of gunfire from the RSF.
In the last eight weeks alone, reports from civil society have raised the alarm on looming atrocities in El Fasher, including from the Raoul Wallenberg Centre, the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, Human Rights Watch and statements by the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. the actions by the RSF in Darfur, including besieging cities, destroying villages, and committing extrajudicial detentions, killings, and sexual violence against Masalit, Fur, and Zaghawa ethnic groups, mirror the atrocities committed by the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed militias between 2003 and 2004. Despite countless warnings that mass atrocities would be committed in El Fasher, we are now seeing these warnings come to reality without any real, tangible prevention having taken place.
At the outbreak of the war, the same Darfurian armed groups that fought against the Janjaweed quickly identified the significant risks against civilians and united as the Joint Forces, committed to neutrality and the protection of civilians. Yet this commitment to the protection of civilians was abandoned months ago. With no alternative in its place, the population of North Darfur is trapped between the belligerents without protection.
Actions of the International Community
Despite the warnings of the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide that the situation “bears all the marks of risk of genocide, with strong allegations that this crime has already been committed”, the international community has failed to take meaningful preventative or remedial measures.
These descriptions of Darfur could have been written twenty years ago at the height of the Darfur genocide. Whilst civilians flee ground attacks by the formalized Janjaweed, they once again face aerial attacks as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continues to indiscriminately bomb civilian neighborhoods, dropping barrel bombs on schools, killing children and IDPs. Both sides seem to be committed to finishing the job from twenty years ago, and are complicit in their historic and current commision of atrocity crimes against Sudan’s civilian population.
The international community has either failed to use or systematically undermined existing mechanisms to uphold peace and security in Sudan. The Darfur arms embargo has been in place since 2005 yet was last substantively updated in March 2023, a month before the outbreak of the war. A sunset clause was introduced with the embargo due to expire on 12 September 2024. However, the reality on the ground requires that the arms embargo not only be renewed but also expanded to cover the entire country which is now impacted by violent conflict.
There is a consistent stream of weapons flowing into Sudan with belligerents receiving weapons from their international and regional backers, in clear violation of the embargo. Most recently, the UN Panel of Experts highlighted the United Arab Emirates for providing resources to the RSF, yet the UAE has not faced any punitive measures in response.
Though a limited number of states (namely the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the EU) have imposed sanctions on various individuals and entities for “undermining the stability and political transition of Sudan,” these efforts have lacked the synchronization required for sanctions to be an effective accountability tool.
Enforcement of the arms embargo should consist of the imposing of sanctions on countries found to be in violation of the embargo. Though there is increasing attention on the role of the UAE, other financiers on the other side include Russia, who recently committed to providing unrestricted military support to SAF, Turkey, Iran, and Egypt. Enforcement of the embargo would decrease the ability of belligerents to wage war, thereby ripening the conflict to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
Protection of Civilians
All parties to the conflict have neglected their responsibilities to protect civilians as mandated under international humanitarian and human rights law. Indeed, the United States and United Kingdom have determined that SAF and the RSF have committed war crimes due to their intentional targeting of the civilian population.
It seems to be a question of when, not if, the RSF targets other displaced populations in North Darfur, such as in Zamzam, the largest IDP camp in the state. Previous and current tactics indicate that the entire civilian population is at high risk of targeted attacks on an ethnic basis. Human Rights Watch’s recent report on attacks carried out by the RSF and allied militias in El Geneina provides a detailed accounting of these tactics. The situation is even more complex now, with the formation of alliances of both the Darfur Joint Forces and the Revolutionary Awakening Council led by Musa Hilal with SAF.
In the absence of any international intervention or protection mechanism, communities have formed grassroots protection strategies to address and mitigate the risks they face. Sudanese human rights defenders, journalists and documenters face particular risk, especially following the announcement by the General Intelligence Services of amendments to the Public Intelligence Act, permitting arrests and detainment without just cause and immunity for intelligence officials. The ongoing telecommunications blackout prevents civilians from receiving cash transfers required to purchase basic goods such as food and water, hinders early warning, and also severely restricts the flow of information from human rights monitors about the violations occurring in the city.
The primary responsibility for upholding and protecting the rights of the civilian population lies with the Sudanese state. However, they have repeatedly shown their inability or unwillingness to do so, including through their targeted attacks on civilian populations and infrastructure away from any offensive frontline. With both parties absconding their duty to uphold international law, the United Nations, African Union and other key stakeholders must develop options for a civilian protection entity for Sudan which includes monitoring of international human rights and humanitarian law violations.
Time to Act:
The United Nations and the African Union should:
Undertake consultations for the conduct of a joint strategic assessment for a peace operation which may include a cross-border humanitarian access mechanism, in accordance with UNSC resolution 2719 (2023).
Better unify their efforts through the appointment of an AU-UN Joint Special Representative.
Both declare that the Sudan conflict is a threat to international peace and security. This could be achieved through a UN Security Council resolution, or a public statement by the UN Secretary General.
The UN Security Council should expand the existing Darfur arms embargo to cover all of Sudan and take enforcement measures such as applying targeted sanctions to countries, entities and individuals that violate the ban.
The United Kingdom as pen holder on Sudan at the UN Security Council should draft a resolution declaring that the Sudan conflict is a threat to international peace and security.
Other international stakeholders:
The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, EU and others should coordinate the imposition of sanctions on senior RSF and SAF leadership, and external actors providing support.
State parties to the Genocide Convention must uphold their international legal obligation to prevent genocide by taking all appropriate measures.
Donors should provide flexible funding to human rights defenders and documenters inside of Sudan to allow them to continue doing their work.
Where human rights defenders are being targeted in relation to their work, the international community should provide protection support, including urgent relocations within or outside of Sudan.
International stakeholders should ensure that the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan (FFM) is sufficiently staffed and resourced, and support the mandate’s renewal during the 47th session of the Human Rights Council in September/October 2024.
The US Administration should:
Continue to utilize Executive Order 14098 to impose sanctions against any parties that “threaten peace, security or stability of Sudan” including leadership of the RSF and SAF.
Robustly enforce sanctions previously designated on Sudan.
Investigate arms sales by the United States to determine if US defense articles, services, or any type of security sector assistance have been diverted to the SAF or RSF.
Hold to the commitment, included in the December 2023 atrocity determination, to consider the “possibility of future determinations as additional information about the parties’ actions becomes available.” And to use “available tools to end this conflict and cease committing the atrocities and other abuses that are depriving the Sudanese people of freedom, peace, and justice.”
Ensure the US Special Envoy for Sudan has the adequate resources to carry out his mandate, including the prevention of further atrocities, and promotion of accountability for crimes already committed in Sudan. Barring Senate confirmation for the Special Envoy for Sudan by August 26, 2024, the President should submit an additional waiver to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee to extend the Special Envoy role for another 180 days.
Peace talks such as the Jeddah negotiations cannot be used as an excuse for delaying punitive measures on the belligerents.
For further information, contact Shayna Lewis, Senior Advisor and Sudan Specialist at slewis@paema.ngo
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GENOCIDE LOOMS IN DARFUR:
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST ACT NOW
El Fasher Atrocity Alert – 17 April 2024
The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) released a report on April 16 in which they determined “with high confidence” that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) systematically targeted Masalit, Fur, Zaghawa, and other communities in attacks on at least nine communities to the west of El Fasher from 31 March to 15 April 2024. At least ten people were killed and 28 injured. It now appears that the RSF have launched their major offensive to capture El Fasher, the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) last foothold in Darfur, imperiling the lives of the 2.8 million persons that live in North Darfur State.
The risk of mass atrocities in North Darfur is significant and in October, November, and December 2023, the Never Again Coalition repeatedly warned of the significant risk of atrocities if the RSF were to attack. SAF continues to conduct indiscriminate airstrikes in civilian neighbourhoods in El Fasher and surrounding areas, whilst the RSF’s rampage across Darfur is the continuation of the Janjaweed’s genocide against non-Arab communities since 2003. El Fasher and its surrounding areas are home to at least 1.4 million IDPs living under dire humanitarian conditions who are now at risk of being killed, injured, and or/displaced by clashes between the RSF, SAF, and the Darfur Joint Forces, and of being systematically targeted by the RSF and allies.
HRL reports that the RSF controls the main roads surrounding El Fasher “which will likely prevent civilians from fleeing”, leaving them exposed to the intense clashes within the city. With the RSF encircling the city, there is nowhere for civilians to seek refuge and numerous civilian casualties are likely. In October and November 2023, the RSF and allied militias besieged and shelled the Hasahisa and Hamadiya IDP camps in Central Darfur killing numerous civilians and causing the mass displacement of at least 13,000. If the RSF’s previous tactics are an indicator of what’s to come, then the residents of Abu Shouk and Zamzam IDP camps, as well as those who have already fled camps and are dispersed throughout El Fasher, may be at significant risk.
The humanitarian situation in the region is already catastrophic. Just weeks ago, the Darfur region received its first deliveries of UN aid in months. The RSF must not be allowed to repeat their tactics of blocking humanitarian aid, nor of using peace talks to provide a veil of legitimacy (as occurred in October/November 2023) whilst ethnically-targeting civilians and raping women and girls in Darfur.
Time to Act:
The belligerents must immediately cease all violence in El Fasher, withdraw from civilian to military areas, and allow humanitarian aid to enter El Fasher without restriction.
The international community must take immediate action to enforce the existing arms embargo on Sudan, including through targeted sanctions against foreign governments funding the belligerents such as the UAE and Egypt.
The U.S. should utilize Executive Order 14098 to impose sanctions against any parties “threatening peace and stability, targeting civilians, and obstructing humanitarian [...] activities”.
Following the determination that war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing have been committed in Sudan, the United States must follow through on its commitment to make further atrocity determinations.
The conveners of the Jeddah talks must immediately condemn SAF and RSF attacks on civilians and maintain channels of communication to pressure the belligerents to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law.
The international community should provide material and protection support so Sudanese civil society can continue to document atrocities and provide early warning of conflict to prevent further atrocities.
For further information, contact Shayna Lewis, Senior Advisor and Sudan Specialist at slewis@paema.ngo
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PAEMA is dedicated to preventing and ending mass atrocities by amplifying the integral role of community centered solutions. We help local communities in our areas of focus to establish and sustain relationships to drive structural and policy change.
The team at the Never Again Coalition has now transitioned into PAEMA.