Human catastrophe: Thousands of women and children have fled to the Golom refugee settlement near the city of Juba in South Sudan. A devastating clash over the spoils between rival security forces that led the coup has turned into a nationwide war.Photo: Michael Kapeler/Getty Images
IIn October 2023, the UN Human Rights Council voted to establish a much-needed independent international fact-finding mission on Sudan, but four months later it remains woefully underfunded and understaffed. unable to perform meaningfully.
In the past four months, the situation in Sudan has gone from dire to catastrophic. What began in April 2023 as a conflict between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces (rival security forces fighting over the spoils of a joint 2021 coup) has drawn in militias and international backers. It turned into a nationwide war.
More than 13,000 people were killed, including in deliberate and indiscriminate attacks. The conflict has forced approximately 10.7 million people to flee, making it the world's largest internal displacement crisis. Approximately 14 million children, half of the country's children, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
More than 100 Sudanese, regional and international organizations had called for an international fact-finding mission, but it was uncertain whether the Human Rights Council would vote in favor of it. In the end, the resolution passed by a narrow margin, with 19 people in favor, 16 against it, and, importantly, 12 abstentions.
Impunity is at the heart of Sudan's human rights crisis, and ending it is central to the country's future. It is tasked with investigating violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. By preserving evidence for future legal proceedings and highlighting the human rights and humanitarian situations of greatest concern, international fact-finding missions play a critical role in achieving justice.
By now, there should be enough personnel in place and it should be operational. There are three committee members, but none of them have been appointed.
There are 17 staff positions, including investigators, due to a hiring freeze due to a lack of funding in the UN system due to late or non-payment of dues by certain countries.
Without sufficient practical capacity, international fact-finding missions will struggle to conduct meaningful investigations.
The clock is ticking; this mission's term ends later this year with no guarantee of renewal. Additionally, the violation is ongoing and evidence may be destroyed. Even this does not guarantee an extension of the obligation period.
The Human Rights Council-commissioned International Commission of Human Rights Experts' work on Ethiopia was not extended, despite warning of a “grave risk of further atrocities.”
Although not new, the UN's liquidity crisis is worsening. Secretary-General António Guterres said the United Nations faced $859 million in arrears at the end of 2023, up from $330 million in 2022 and the highest level on record.
This coincides with the lowest number of states paying their dues in full over the past five years. Lack of funding means that important decisions and agreed tasks cannot be implemented, undermining the work, values and objectives of the entire United Nations system.
Furthermore, the UN Security Council's ability to take effective action on a variety of conflicts is hampered by permanent members using their veto powers to protect allies and undermining international norms, standards and principles. continuing. The recent selective use of human rights is painfully evident in the US position on Gaza and Russia's position on Ukraine.
Today's lackluster response to the conflict in Sudan falls into these obstacles to norm-based multilateralism.
The ambivalence we see towards the situation in Sudan began in 2003, with strong Security Council involvement, a Chapter VII peacekeeping mission, and an arms embargo on Darfur (which is still in place today). , which has not been fully implemented), the referral of Sudan to the International Criminal Court, and the establishment of a high-level commission by the African Union led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki.
This international fact-finding mission on Sudan is one of the only concrete measures to address the country's conflict and must be prepared for success. This mission preserves evidence and identifies possible perpetrators, paving the way to justice for victims and survivors.
Perhaps just as importantly, the fact-finding mission's report will shed light on the scale of the human rights catastrophe in Sudan and build momentum for its resolution.
The international fact-finding mission to found Sudan was nothing short of a victory amid growing backlash against human rights mechanisms, but staffing failures undermined it from the start and must be corrected before it is too late.
Sarah Jackson is Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.