In October 2023, the United Nations Human Rights Council established the Fact-Finding Mission to investigate all alleged human rights violations that occurred in the context of the war in Sudan. Considered a Non-International Armed Conflict (NIAC), the war has dragged on for more than two years, with fighting that has already left thousands dead.

After two years of work, in October 2025, the Mission presented a report to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly, describing the devastating picture of human rights violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The actions, characterized by a high degree of violence, directly affected the lives and dignity of thousands of people around the city of El Fasher, located in the North Darfur region.

Based on victims’ testimonies, the initial investigations indicated ethnically motivated summary (extrajudicial) executions. Physical assaults, looting, arbitrary detentions, destruction of vital socio-economic infrastructure, and torture reflect the failure to comply with International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law.

Hospitals, markets, homes, and water treatment plants were destroyed. Numerous cases of sexual violence (rape, gang rape, and sexual slavery) against women and girls were recorded, leaving them with permanent physical and psychological scars. The UN Human Rights Office received reports that at least 25 women and girls were gang-raped when the Rapid Support Forces entered an internally displaced persons’ shelter near El Fasher University.

As a result of widespread violence, the region once again witnessed the forced displacement of civilians, including women, injured and unaccompanied children. Sudan has now become the scene of the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded, with about 14 million displaced people out of a population of 51 million. Hunger is widespread, and outbreaks of cholera and other deadly diseases are increasing. The disruption of food and medicine supplies worsens hunger and disease, making life even harder for Sudanese people.

The Fact-Finding Mission’s report also found that the rule of law has collapsed and impunity has prevailed over time, meaning that Sudan would be neither willing nor able to conduct genuine investigations or prosecutions for international crimes. Therefore, the international community has been urged to create an independent and impartial judicial body to work alongside the International Criminal Court to end decades of impunity and prosecute those responsible for the most serious crimes under international law.

Other recommendations in the report include establishing a support and reparations office for victims, providing them with medical and psychosocial assistance, expanding the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to cover the entire territory of Sudan, and offering technical training to those involved in investigating the violations and crimes committed.

Sources:

• United Nations — Sudan: Pattern of ethnically targeted executions - Press Conference. Published on November 2, 2025.
  Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHGVolEKTJM
• United Nations — Tens of thousands fleeing on foot amid atrocities in Sudan’s El Fasher. Published on October 31, 2025.
  Available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/10/1166237
• UN Human Rights Office — Sudan: Concerned about the plight of civilians in El Fasher, UN Experts urge immediate protection measures and an end to impunity. Published on October 30, 2025.
  Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/sudan-concerned-about-plight-civilians-el-fasher-un-experts-urge-immediate
• UN Human Rights Office — A/HRC/60/CRP.7: Paths to justice: accountability for atrocities in the Sudan. Published on October 29, 2025.
  Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc60crp7-paths-justice-accountability-atrocities-sudan