Urgent Action – Sudan Under Chapter VII, June 14, 2023 – PDF
The Sudan Human Rights Network (SHRN) calls on the Security Council to assume its responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations and to take all necessary measures immediately to protect civilians from genocide and ethnic cleansing by resorting to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations in the states of Western Darfur, Northern Darfur, Southern Darfur and Central Darfur.
What is happening in those four Darfurian States and the aggravation of the situation as the armed conflict extends and is becoming ethnically oriented with the widespread proliferation of light, medium and heavy weapons is a threat to regional and international peace and constitutes a flagrant aggression against humanity. While the June 10 truce was a success in Khartoum State, it failed to in Darfur states indicating that the forces there are completely outside the control of their central commanders.
Reports from the city of El Geneina, West Darfur’s capital, describe the situation as “The worst place on Earth”, where civilians continue to be killed on identity in total absence of government security forces, along with the collapse of the entire health system in the city where bodies of the dead are dotted, some of which have been buried in mass graves when fighting has eased, as well as the city is experiencing a power outage and communications network for several weeks.
In Northern Darfur State, the Governor declared Kutum locality “a humanitarian disaster zone” and called on humanitarian organizations to intervene urgently. Refugees Commissioner’s Assistant in Darfur also stated that there were mass graves on the road to El Geneina and dozens of bodies were still out in the open. The city of Zalingei, Central Darfur’s capital, remains completely besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), there are reports of dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, and humanitarian conditions described as catastrophic. The situation in the city of Nyala, South Darfur’s capital, is no less terrible, with markets looted and infrastructure destroyed.
UNHCR’s Coordinator for Darfur in the Sudan, Mr. Toby Harward, noted that because of the fighting, 90,000 people had crossed into Chad and more than 8,000 had crossed into the Central African Republic.
The rapid spillover of the armed conflict in Darfur and its aggravation that took on ethnic overtones in an area of ethnic overlap with many States in the region constitutes a threat to international peace and security. SHRN urges the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations under which the Sudanese people in the afflicted states of Darfur can be protected.