The Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, adds its voice to the regional and international condemnation and rejection of the ongoing conflict in Sudan. The Centre is of the view that the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council should seriously consider applying the principle of non-indifference, set out in article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act. This provision allows the AU to intervene in the situation prevailing in Sudan, in order to protect civilians.
Background
Sudan has been mired in a protracted period of internal turbulence since 2019, following the deposing in April 2019 of its longstanding dictator, President Al Bashir, by a mass revolution. In the wake of his removal from authority, a power-sharing arrangement was agreed upon between military and civilian factions, which resulted in the establishment of a transitional government tasked with leading the nation’s transition to a democratic, civilian led rule. This move towards a more inclusive and representative form of governance was a significant departure from the autocratic rule that had long characterised the country's political landscape.
While the formation of the transitional government was a crucial step towards fostering a more stable and prosperous future for Sudan and its people, unfortunately, this journey was cut short when the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, with the support of a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the leadership of General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), staged a military coup in October 2021. The RSF declared a complete takeover of power in fear of losing their political and economic interests as well as being held accountable for the grave human rights abuses committed before and after the coup.
Several months after the coup, a trilateral initiative comprising the United Nations, the African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) emerged to facilitate and support a new agreement aimed at restoring the country's path towards democracy. The agreement involved a broad array of stakeholders, including civilian factions, the military, and the RSF. Initially slated for signature on 1 April 2023, the signing of the agreement was subsequently postponed to a later date. One of the highly contentious issues in the agreement was the proposed integration of the RSF into the Sudanese army, with Hemedti seeking a ten-year timeline for the process while Burhan proposed a much shorter two-year timeline. The dispute over the integration timeline has intensified the growing tension between the SAF and RSF, with both factions apprehensive about ceding power to the other in the context of a restored transition.
On 15 April 2023, the tension reached its peak as military confrontations started between the SAF and the RSF in the capital, Khartoum, and has spread to the western and southern regions of the country. The eruption of this war has resulted in a severe humanitarian crisis as civilians are left to fend for themselves with no access to water, electricity and health services. According to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, 39 out of 59 hospitals in Khartoum and surrounding states are closed by either shelling or forced evacuation. Since the beginning of the war between the RSF and SAF, it is reported that over 420 people were killed, and more than 3,700 injured. Thousands of civilians have fled from their homes in search for safety. While a ceasefire was declared three times between the warring parties on different dates for different periods, it was never fully respected.
AU Peace and Security Council must go beyond issuing communique
The Centre for Human Rights commends the regional and international condemnation and rejection of the ongoing conflict in Sudan. The UN Secretary General’s press statement on 25 April called upon the RSF and the SAF to cease hostilities, silence the guns and work towards achieving lasting peace. Additionally, the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) adopted a Communiqué in line with article 7 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the AU PSC (PSC Protocol). In this document, the PSC condemned the conflict and demanded an immediate ceasefire with no conditions attached. Furthermore, the PSC called on the SAF and RSF to seek peaceful solutions and announced its decision to undertake a field mission to Sudan with the objective of engaging all relevant Sudanese stakeholders. While these efforts are acknowledged and are commendable, more can be done at the international and regional level.
The war in Sudan has been raging for almost two weeks now, and all efforts for mediation to peacefully resolve the situation have failed, indicating that the warring parties have no intention or interest to settle the conflict peacefully. The AU PSC was set up to promote peace, security and stability on the continent and preserve people’s lives and property. Thus, the Centre calls on the AU PSC to act in accordance with its guiding principles as highlighted in article 4(b) of the PSC Protocol and implement proactive measures to manage the crisis in Sudan to avert its further escalation into fully-fledged conflict that involves smaller militia groups and tribes.
Additionally, the AU PSC is empowered by article 4(j) of the PSC Protocol and article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act to intervene in a member state following a decision of the AU Assembly, in cases of grave circumstances such as war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The threshold for the invocation of and reliance on article 4(h) have been reached. Within the Sudanese context, several war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed since the beginning of the war, ranging from killing of innocent civilians, to enlisting children in the armed conflict to actively participate in the hostilities, as well as attacking civilian buildings such as hospitals and houses. It is time for the AU to give practical effect to the principle of non-indifference to the suffering of people in a member state who are exposed to untold suffering, in the face of the inability or unwillingness of its government to prevent that suffering.
Against this background the Centre for Human Rights calls for:
- the immediate end of war and restoration of peace in Sudan.
- the warring parties to respect the human rights of the Sudanese people and adhere to the international law rules governing armed conflict.
- the AU PSC to use its discretion under article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act to protect civilians and to take proactive steps towards ending the war by invoking the powers vested in it by the PSC Protocol and the AU Constitutive Act.
- urgent collaboration at the international and regional level to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilians affected by the war.
For more information, please contact:
Ms Mai Aman
Project Officer, Children’s Rights Unit
Tel: +27(0)124203587
Mai.aman@up.ac.za
Ms Andile Mthombeni
LLM/MPhil Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa Candidate
andilem50@gmail.com