A group of western nations intend to form an atrocity prevention coalition for Sudan following a scathing UN report that concluded the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary committed genocide during hostilities in Darfur late last year.
On Thursday, the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway appeared to endorse the conclusions of the UN fact-finding mission on Sudan, which accused the RSF of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide primarily targeting non-Arab communities in the North Darfur capital el-Fasher during its 18-month siege and capture of the city in October.
The five European states are members of the Sudan Core Group at the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, an informal coalition of states that leads on drafting and advancing resolutions addressing the human rights situation in Sudan.
In their statement, the countries noted the UN report’s warning of the risk of further genocidal conduct in the absence of preventive measures and accountability.
“We, the international community, must redouble our efforts to prevent a repeat of the atrocities committed in el-Fasher, and the Sudan Core Group calls on the parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law,” they wrote.
