The Ongoing Crime

The crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against unarmed civilians cannot be described as anything but a continuous chain of atrocities, one following the other, which worsens the humanitarian crisis for defenseless civilians. These crimes will remain a mark of shame on the foreheads of all who have supported, participated with, instigated, assisted, or remained silent about these actions.

Since the outbreak of the war on Saturday morning, April 15, 2023—a date marking the worst and most difficult war in Sudanese history—this cursed war has produced numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity, targeting Sudanese elders, women, and children.

One of the most serious of these crimes is enforced disappearance. The RSF has detained thousands of civilians in its prisons, depriving their families of the basic right to know their fate. Families are left without knowledge of whether their loved ones are alive or dead, with no information about their conditions of detention or locations of imprisonment.

Survivors from these prisons recount the brutal torture, humiliation, inhumane treatment, malnutrition, starvation, and lack of healthcare inflicted by the RSF. Many have reportedly died from starvation, malnutrition, and systematic torture.

Eyewitnesses report that thousands of elders, women, and children are being held by the RSF. In some cases, the RSF extorts families, demanding exorbitant ransoms under threat of killing detainees if the money is not paid. Enforced disappearance is also used to instill fear and terrorize society, impacting victims and their families deeply. Enforced disappearance involves the detention, kidnapping, or deprivation of freedom of individuals, while concealing their fate, location, or any information about them.

For an act to be considered enforced disappearance, three conditions must be met:

1. Deprivation of freedom in any form.

2. Responsibility for the disappearance by an authority.

3. Refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of freedom, or concealing the fate or location of the missing person, or any information about them.

History notes that Adolf Hitler was the first to invent the crime of enforced disappearance under a decree called “Night and Fog,” issued on December 7, 1941, targeting activists opposed to him during World War II. Marshal Wilhelm Keitel was later convicted for his role in implementing this decree and was deemed a war criminal for committing enforced disappearance.

The American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Commission were the first international human rights bodies to address enforced disappearance following complaints from victims in Chile after the military coup on September 11, 1973. During this period, the UN Working Group investigated the case of Alphonse René Shangro, a French national arrested from his home in Santiago, Chile, in July 1974.

In 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted enforced disappearance cases in its resolution 118/32. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, made an international call supporting the French government, resulting in UN resolution 173/33 on December 20, 1978, specifically addressing the missing through enforced disappearance and recommending that the Human Rights Commission make specific recommendations on the issue.

On March 6, 1979, the UN appointed experts Félix Ermacora and Waleed Al-Saadi to investigate enforced disappearances in Chile. They published a report on November 21, 1979, which became a legal reference on enforced disappearance. Following their recommendations, the UN established the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which played a crucial role in forming a convention against enforced disappearance.

In February 1980, the UN created the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, marking the first UN mechanism established under international jurisdiction. Its mission includes helping families determine the fate and whereabouts of victims.

The UN General Assembly, in its resolution 47/133 dated December 18, 1992, adopted the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The working group operates under the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, setting out principles that apply to all states. It defines enforced disappearance as the arrest, detention, or abduction of persons against their will, coupled with denial of information about their fate or whereabouts, thus violating several rights:

1. The right to freedom and personal security.

2. Protection from torture and inhumane treatment.

3. The right to life, as victims may die due to torture, starvation, or lack of healthcare.

4. The right to know the reason for arrest or detention and to a fair trial.

5. The right to justice and reparation.

6. The right to healthcare.

7. Protection from sexual assault or rape.

On December 20, 2006, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classified enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity when committed systematically and on a large scale.

International legal experts agree that enforced disappearance violates several international instruments, including:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

The UN Charter, 1945.

The Convention Against Torture, 1984, and its Optional Protocol, 2002.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989.

The 24th International Conference of the Red Cross in 1981 classified enforced disappearance as a violation of fundamental human rights, such as the right to life, freedom, personal security, and freedom from torture and degrading treatment. Subsequent Red Cross conferences reiterated these principles, unanimously passing resolutions that emphasized preventing all serious breaches of international humanitarian law, focusing particularly on enforced disappearance.

Enforced disappearance remains an ongoing crime, beginning with detention or abduction, deprivation of liberty, withholding information from families, and then subjecting victims to torture, beatings, humiliation, starvation, and sexual assaults or rape.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, adopted in 2006, entered into force on December 23, 2010. This convention established a committee to investigate cases of enforced disappearance and facilitate contact between victims’ families and authorities.

The world commemorates August 30 each year as the International Day for the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, a date set by the UN in response to an initiative from a non-governmental organization established in Costa Rica in 1988.

Sudan ratified the International Convention for the Protection from Enforced Disappearance in 2006, as well as the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1984, in February 2021, having agreed to it in October 2020.

Despite this, armed militia groups continue to perpetrate enforced disappearances, with documented evidence from organizations tracking RSF actions in their detention centers, and testimonies from survivors recounting the horrific conditions. Enforced disappearance is a continuous crime against humanity, burdening the victims, their families, their communities, and the human conscience with pain and suffering.

Oh God, grant victory to the armed forces. Glory be to You; we have no other helper but You.