Speech by Ambassador Al-Zein Ibrahim Hussein, Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the African Union, before the 83rd Session of the African Command Peoples’ Rights.Banjul, May 2, 2025

Honourable president of the african Commission of Human Rights ,Distinguished Representatives of States, Organizations, and Distinguished Guests,

Allow me, on behalf of my country, the Republic of Sudan, to thank the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights for participating in the 83rd Session of the General Assembly. We also thank the Gambian authorities for their warm welcome. Given the importance of the current situation in Sudan, I will address the current topic of concern for the benefit of participants and those seeking the truth.

Honarble President

The current war began with a coup attempt by the rebel Rapid Support Forces on the morning of April 15, 2023. These forces attacked the headquarters of the General Command of the People’s Armed Forces (government forces), specifically targeting the assassination of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, in a move aimed at undermining the transitional constitutional order and preventing it from achieving its intended goals. The days before the failed coup, on April 12, 2023, this rebel force sent heavily armed vehicles to occupy the airport in the city of Merowe, located approximately 100 km north of the capital, Khartoum. The official spokesman for the armed forces, meanwhile, called on these rebel forces to return to their barracks and end their rebellion and escalation, as they had disobeyed military orders.
This coup escalated into a full-scale rebellion targeting military headquarters and civilian facilities across the country. The rebellion continued to commit numerous violations, unprecedented in the country’s history, against the state and all its components and forces, both civilian and military, economic, cultural, and social.

Honorable President

Because of these violations, the state did not stand idly by and established the National Committee to Investigate Crimes and Violations of National Law and International Humanitarian Law. This is to investigate crimes and violations of national law and international humanitarian law, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. It is an independent committee headed by the State Attorney General and includes professional competencies, legal experts, and representatives of international law enforcement agencies. Its mandate includes identifying all violations committed since the outbreak of the war on April 15, 2023, and investigating and probing any violation of national and international humanitarian law. The National Committee has identified all violations in the country, obtained documents and evidence, received various lawsuits and complaints, registered criminal lawsuits related to public and private rights, and visited various sites. The commission and numerous independent international bodies have confirmed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia has committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Examples include, but are not limited to, what happened in El Geneina and among the Masalit people in West Darfur, and what is happening repeatedly around El Fasher and in displacement camps such as Zamzam, Abu Shouk, Al-Jazirah, and other areas of Sudan. Not least of these is the civilian massacre committed by the militia in West Omdurman last week. In addition to all of this, numerous crimes are committed, such as the treatment of prisoners in violation of international humanitarian law, including torture, killing, and filming.
The rebel Rapid Support Forces militia has committed the crime of mercenary activity by recruiting foreign mercenaries of various nationalities, amounting to more than 13 countries, according to available statistics. Some of these mercenaries are from neighbouring countries in the region, while others are from distant regions and countries outside the continent.
The Rapid Support Forces militia has committed violations against children and women and has practised extrajudicial killing, forced displacement, enforced disappearances, and denial of freedom of movement to civilians. The militia also attacked civilian objects and homes, looted banks, and targeted civilian infrastructure, airports, communications, and power transformers with drones and artillery shelling. It also attacked foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations, blocking and confiscating humanitarian aid. It also attacked the headquarters of the National Commission for Human Rights in Sudan, destroyed places of worship, tangible cultural heritage sites, museums, the national archives, and libraries, and looted rare historical artifacts. The Rapid Support Forces attacked oil production facilities, disrupted the oil pipeline linking Sudan to South Sudan, and destroyed production and export centres. Even prisons and civilian police stations were not spared from the militia’s practices, leading to the escape of thousands of prisoners convicted of various crimes. The attacks also included wildlife reserves. Mr. President,
The Government of Sudan possesses strong evidence of the continued presence of significant external support from external parties, most notably the United Arab Emirates. Air transport takes place via airports in the region, such as Am Jaras Airport in Chad and the Bosaso Air Base in Somalia. The equipment and supplies travel by land from Chad and other points in the Sudanese neighbourhood to Sudanese territory.
Mr. President,
My government has filed a documented complaint against the United Arab Emirates, which supports the Rapid Support Forces, with the International Court of Justice. It has also filed a complaint against Chad, which has allowed the use of its territory and airports, with the African Union Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul. Sudan will continue to pursue international justice, implement the principles of national justice at home through law enforcement institutions, and submit reports to the United Nations, through the Security Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In conclusion, Mr. President In conclusion, Mr. President, the National Commission for the Investigation of Crimes and Violations of National and International Humanitarian Law has issued its interim reports, which are available in Arabic and English, and its mission is still ongoing.
Mr. President, the latest move by the rebel Rapid Support Forces militia and its supporting forces, after their failure to control the country and the defeats they suffered, was to resort to an alliance with certain political groups, with external support, to establish a parallel government in the areas they control through what is known as the Nairobi Charter. This move has been condemned by international and regional organizations and states. The African Peace and Security Council clearly and strongly expressed its rejection and condemnation of these parallel arrangements in its statement issued on March 11, 2025, stating that they are arrangements aimed at dismantling the country and dividing Sudan, which serves strategic objectives in the region, seeking to create separatist hotbeds and perpetuate conflict there. In conclusion, Mr. Chairman of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Sudan affirms its commitment to African solutions to the continent’s issues and challenges, including the situation in Sudan, through a process led by the Sudanese themselves and supported by the African Union until this crisis ends and a safe transition is achieved.