Sudan Rejects UN Call for Peace Force to Protect Civilians

Sudan's military-led government has dismissed a UN fact-finding mission’s recommendation for the deployment of an international peace force to protect civilians caught in the country’s ongoing civil war. The UN mission reported "harrowing" human rights violations committed by both warring parties against civilians. Since conflict erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), thousands have been killed and nearly eight million displaced. Originally allied in a coup, the two forces later clashed, plunging Sudan into a brutal civil war.

Chande Othman, leader of the UN mission, stressed the urgency of deploying an independent and impartial force to protect civilians, citing the failure of the warring factions to safeguard non-combatants. The mission also called for an arms embargo on both sides of the conflict. These recommendations came after testimony from 182 survivors, family members, and eyewitnesses. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been accused of supplying the RSF with weapons and funds—allegations the UAE denies—while Saudi Arabia is reported to have close ties with Sudan's government. In response, Sudan's foreign ministry rejected the UN recommendations entirely, labeling the UN Human Rights Council a "political and illegal body" and describing the mission’s recommendations as a violation of its mandate. The RSF has yet to comment on the UN proposal.

On a separate front, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged the global community to "wake up" and provide more support to Sudan, calling the scale of the crisis "shocking." He made these remarks during a visit to Port Sudan, which has become the main base for aid agencies and the new headquarters for the Sudanese government after being displaced from Khartoum by RSF forces. In August, a UN-backed committee declared a famine at a displacement camp near el-Fasher in Darfur, where around 500,000 people face severe food shortages. Mediation efforts, primarily led by Saudi Arabia and the US, have so far failed to end the conflict. ⚡ Image Credit: GettyImages