Paris, Kampala, 21 May 2025. As conflict continues to devastate Sudan, with atrocities intensifying since April 2023, the report provides a timely and urgent examination of whether existing legal and political frameworks are meeting current and future demands for truth, justice, and reparations. Drawing from victims and survivors’ testimonies, expert interviews, and field analysis, the report offers a comprehensive review of national, regional, and international accountability efforts, while highlighting persistent gaps and proposing actionable recommendations.
"This report is a rallying cry from Sudanese victims and survivors who have been ignored for far too long. Justice must no longer be delayed or denied", said Alice Mogwe, FIDH President.
"History has shown us that we cannot build peace in Sudan without truth and accountability. No single mechanism can carry this weight alone —national, regional, and international actors must work together to break the cycle of impunity for the crimes committed in Sudan", said Mossaad Ali, Executive Director, ACJPS.
In addition to presenting findings, the report offers targeted recommendations to a range of actors, including the African Union (AU), the Sudanese warring parties, States, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Sudan (FFM Sudan), Sudanese civil society organisations (CSOs), and international partners—laying out a clear roadmap to strengthen justice and accountability for Sudanese victims. It urges all stakeholders to support coordinated, inclusive, and victim-centred approaches across multiple levels of accountability.
Since conflict erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), at least 20,000 people have been killed, with estimates likely far higher, and over 12 million displaced—8 million internally and 4 million across borders to seven neighbouring countries. Civilians are facing widespread massacres, sexual violence, forced starvation, and a catastrophic hunger crisis. According to the United Nations World Food Programme, Sudan is now the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
This conflict is not an isolated tragedy—it is a continuation of decades of state violence, structural racism, and impunity. The RSF, descended from the Janjaweed militias responsible for the 2003 genocide in Darfur, faces renewed accusations of mass atrocities. The SAF has also been implicated in serious violations, including indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas and obstruction of humanitarian aid. Despite several arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for crimes committed in Darfur, key perpetrators remain free. The ongoing conflict reflects a systemic failure to address past and current crimes—making a survivor-centred accountability process more urgent than ever.
Launch Event Highlights
In a launch event taking place today in Kampala, Uganda a high-level panel discussion featuring survivor testimony, expert insights, and civil society perspectives addressed the following key topics:
– What justice means for Sudanese survivors today;
– The roles and limits of domestic, regional, and international mechanisms;
– The feasibility of pursuing justice amid ongoing armed conflict;
– How civil society can act now to push for accountability.
The report is available in English and in Arabic.
The executive summary in Arabic is available here.
The report and launch event were made possible with the financial support of the European Union Delegation to Sudan.