Rhino: Agencies – The Transitional Peace Organization said today, Tuesday, that its participation in the 59th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council shed light on the grave and systematic violations committed by the Sudanese armed forces against civilians, particularly in the Darfur region and large parts of western Sudan.
In his speech to the Council at the 59th session, which concludes this week, the head of the Peace Organization, Abdul Rahim Qarin, revealed documented evidence indicating that the Sudanese army has used internationally banned chemical weapons against civilians in areas such as El Fasher, Jebel Moya, Al-Kuma, and Khartoum.
The organization confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that these violations amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide, and show a recurring pattern of systematic targeting of population groups on ethnic and geographical grounds.
The organization’s statement drew attention to the fact that the use of chemical weapons has led to horrific injuries and physical deformities, as well as slow and painful deaths among civilians, including women and children, “which constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.”
The statement revealed a “policy of deliberate starvation” practiced by the armed forces in western Sudan, where food and medicine are prevented from reaching besieged areas, and schools and health centers are targeted by bombing or forced closure. These practices were described as “dirty war tactics” aimed at subjugating communities outside the army’s control.
The Transitional Democratic Peace Organization welcomed the recent decisions of the Human Rights Council, particularly those related to imposing international sanctions on leaders of the Sudanese armed forces, considering these sanctions an important step toward ending the immunity that has protected perpetrators from international prosecution for decades.
The organization praised the role of the Rapid Support Forces in protecting the border triangle between Sudan, Libya, and Egypt from human trafficking and illegal immigration networks, stressing the importance of maintaining the commitment to combating cross-border crimes in light of the general security breakdown in the country.
It also welcomed the Council’s launch of preparatory consultations on the protection of civilians with the participation of various parties in Sudan, seeing it as an opportunity to integrate human rights and humanitarian considerations into any future political settlement.
In conclusion, the Peace and Democratic Transition Organization called on the Human Rights Council to form an independent international commission of inquiry, expand monitoring and documentation mechanisms, and refer those responsible for the use of chemical weapons and starvation as weapons of war to the International Criminal Court in order to achieve justice, prevent impunity, and ensure that such crimes are not repeated.
