Press Release – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Republic of Sudan 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Office of the Official Spokesperson and Media Department

Press Release

The Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan, formed by the Human Rights Council in October 2023, preempted the new Council session, scheduled to begin on September 10th, by publishing its report and holding a press conference about it. This occurred before the Council, which initially established the mission and from which it derives its mandate, had the opportunity to hear the report. This action demonstrates the committee’s lack of professionalism and independence, confirming that it is a political body rather than a legal one, which aligns with the Sudanese government’s stance since its formation. This stance was not supported by any African or Arab states. Furthermore, the recommendations presented by the mission exceed its mandate and align with movements observed in the Security Council by well-known international powers that have consistently taken hostile stances against Sudan.

The mission’s recourse to propaganda before the Human Rights Council’s deliberations aims to influence the positions of member states to achieve specific political objectives and to extend the mission’s work. The report addressed crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, sexual violence, enslavement, child recruitment, and targeting civilians on ethnic grounds. It claimed that the conflict has spread to 14 of the 18 states. Nevertheless, it called for an arms embargo, including on the Sudanese Armed Forces, which are confronting these militias and defending civilians against these crimes. It also called for the formation of an international force to protect civilians. This is a strange contradiction: recommending an arms embargo on the national army that is fulfilling its constitutional and moral duty to protect the country and its people, in accordance with international law, while assigning the task of civilian protection to an international force whose formation timeline is unknown, whose sufficiency to cover the 14 states is uncertain, and whether it would also be subject to the arms embargo the mission calls for in a clear overreach of its mandate and authority. This call is nothing more than a wish of Sudan’s enemies, which will not come to fruition.

The protection of civilians has always been a top priority for the Government of Sudan. For this reason, it signed the Jeddah Declaration on May 11, 2023, and submitted practical proposals to establish a monitoring mechanism to ensure its implementation. However, the relevant international parties have ignored this and have been lenient toward the militia’s systematic targeting of civilians and civilian institutions. The Jeddah Declaration remains the appropriate practical framework for protecting civilians.

In line with the commitment to combating impunity, the Government of Sudan formed the National Committee to Investigate Crimes and Violations of National and International Humanitarian Law as an independent body. The committee has made significant progress in fulfilling its tasks and has submitted two reports to the Council, with a third interim report to be presented at the upcoming meeting. Given the existence of an ongoing national judicial process, the natural role of the Human Rights Council is to support this national process in accordance with the principle of complementarity, rather than seeking to impose an alternative external mechanism.

For all the above reasons, the Government of Sudan rejects the recommendations of the Fact-Finding Mission in their entirety and reiterates its stated position on the mission and its cooperation with it.

Saturday, September 7, 2024