Core Group Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Sudan. Delivered by the UK's Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.
Mr President,
I deliver this statement on behalf of the Item 2 Core Group for Sudan: Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Norway and the UK.
The details contained in the Fact-Finding Mission's report are, frankly, horrific.
Sudan's brutal conflict has triggered the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with 8.7 million people on the brink of famine and over 12.5 million displaced.
Despite commitments made in 2023 through the Jeddah Declaration, the warring parties and allied militias continue to prioritise military gains over civilian lives.
The Fact-Finding Mission's report confirms that civilians have been executed based on their ethnicity; that women and children are subjected to sexual violence on an unimaginable scale; that hospitals have been destroyed, and that aid workers, journalists and media workers have been killed. These crimes demand accountability.
Our shared responsibility as members of this Council is to promote and protect human rights, and to prevent and scrutinise violations and abuses. That is why the Fact-Finding Mission's mandate must be extended. We urge all HRC members to provide their full support.
Mr President,
This war must end. We call on the international community - including regional actors, the African Union and the UN - to use its influence to push for peace talks, unblock humanitarian access, ensure civilian safety, respect the arms embargo, and promote peace and accountability.
Thank you.
