The International Independent Fact Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan was established in October 2023 at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in response to the devastating war that broke out in Khartoum on 15 April 2023 between the Rapid Support Forces (formally known as the Janjaweed) and the de facto government led by General Burhan.
Sudan has since faced a deepening humanitarian crisis involving widespread and often ethnically-motivated atrocities against civilians, including sexual violence, leading to mass displacement and acute food insecurity. The FFM was established to investigate and establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of alleged human rights violations and international crimes. The Mission was initially established for one year and its findings were presented this week at the Council’s 57th session (9 Sept-11 Oct 2024). The extension of its mandate is up for renewal and due to a concerning trend of voting patterns influenced by wider geopolitical alliances at the UN, there is uncertainty around its extension.
The UN Secretariat’s liquidity crisis delayed the FFM’s work and only two-thirds of the necessary staff were brought on board. Mr Othman, Chair of the FFM, acknowledged that the mission lacked the full staff necessary to fully implement its mandate.
The crisis in Sudan has significantly deteriorated since the establishment of FFM and is now the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis, with both warring parties obstructing aid delivery, using food as a weapon of war.
The world's largest hunger and displacement crisis:
25.6 million face acute hunger
10.7 million have been displaced
The FFM’s findings have confirmed that both the RSF and SAF have committed war crimes including large-scale attacks on the civilian population, including killing, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence. Findings also show that warring parties are looting, pillaging and destroying property, violating the economic, social, and cultural rights of civilians under international human rights law.
Given the current situation in Sudan there is a critical need to continue the FFM’s monitoring of violations committed by warring parties. The urgency and significance of renewing the FFM's mandate is not least because all other Sudan-specific UN mechanisms and bodies have been terminated in recent years, including UNITAMS, which started its wind down in 2023 and UNAMID which was dissolved in June 2017. The UN-mandated FFM remains the last bastion of a Sudan-specific body within the UN system, which given the scale of the conflict and its impact on civilians is astonishing.
As regards conflict-related sexual violence, it is difficult to obtain figures that remotely reflect the reality on the ground. Some agencies, such as UNHCR have reported 262 cases, though there is clear evidence from many reliable sources that rape, sexual slavery, abductions and other forms of sexual violence are widespread and systematic. The FFM provides a unique opportunity for central collection and collating of data to be able provide an overview of the scale of the issue.
In August 2024, General Burhan, issued a decision to establish a committee for "war crimes and to limit the violations and practices of the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April”. The war crimes committee is reportedly headed by a representative of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and includes representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Armed Forces, the Police, the Intelligence Service and National Commission for Human Rights. It is tasked with investigations and “taking all legal measures against the leaders and members of the rebel forces (Rapid Support Forces) internally and externally and anyone proven to be involved in participating, inciting or assisting." By definition this committee is partial as it is limited to RSF crimes.
In order to ensure future accountability, it is vital that there are comprehensive, reliable and well-preserved records documenting the violations.
The UN-established FFM is currently the only functioning and impartial body undertaking investigations of violations in the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Having begun its work last October, the FFM provides a unique opportunity to continue to gather information with consistency and continuity.
It is also a unique opportunity for victims and survivors as it is tasked with making recommendations to ensure accountability and justice for survivors. Removing this mandate at this time is almost unthinkable from a victims’ rights perspective, when UN member states have an obligation to prevent and punish genocide and other international crimes.
Impunity is a key driver of the current violence in Sudan and adequate resources are critical to fund this body. The FFM recommendations emphasise the need for a comprehensive transitional justice process to address impunity and justice for Sudan. Further recommendations will be needed going forward. In the absence of any comprehensive mechanisms being established, continued investigation, documentation and accountability measures are essential. It is vital that a fully funded FFM continues to carry out its mandate at this time, when it is needed more than ever.
[1] World Food Programme, Sudan September 2024, https://www.wfp.org/countries/sudan
[2] Andalou Agency, 5 August 2024, Al-Burhan decides to form a Committee for the Crimes and Violations of the Rapid Support Forces, in Arabic
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