UN committee warns about escalating ethnic violence, hate speech in Sudan

GENEVA

UN anti-racism experts issued an urgent warning Tuesday about rising hate speech, dehumanizing language and ethnically motivated human rights violations in Sudan, particularly against members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa communities.

The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said in a statement that abuses by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied groups in El-Fasher, North Darfur, underscore a deepening crisis.

In a decision under its early warning and urgent procedures, the committee noted that Sudan faces one of the "world's worst displacement emergencies," with 7.2 million internally displaced and more than 3 million refugees in neighboring countries, alongside famine and the near-collapse of humanitarian access.

The committee described atrocities reported after the Oct. 26 fall of El-Fasher following a 540-day siege, including "ethnically motivated killings, torture, summary executions, arbitrary detention of civilians; widespread and systematic use of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of warfare; attacks on healthcare facilities … and deliberate attacks on humanitarian workers and aid blockades."

It also raised alarm about intensifying violence in the Kordofan region amid fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.

The experts urged Sudan to "take effective measures to stop and prevent further escalation of ethnic violence, incitement to racial hatred and racist hate speech," and urged "prompt, effective, thorough, impartial and public investigations" into all alleged abuses, ensuring prosecutions and reparations for victims regardless of ethnicity.

The committee pressed Sudan to cooperate with the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission and reiterated its demand for all parties to "cease hostilities immediately" and engage in inclusive dialogue to restore a civilian-led government.

The conflict between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed thousands and displaced millions of others.