Key Impact Points:
- ICC has “reasonable grounds to believe” both war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed amid Sudan’s civil conflict
- Targeted sexual violence against women and girls from specific ethnic groups is identified as a systematic pattern
- Humanitarian access is collapsing amid attacks on aid convoys, hospitals, and a growing cholera outbreak
ICC Investigates Systematic War Crimes in Sudan
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has found “reasonable grounds to believe” that both war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed in Sudan, Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the UN Security Council this week.
Speaking on the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Khan warned of “an inescapable pattern of offending, targeting gender and ethnicity through rape and sexual violence.” She underscored the need to transform these accounts into admissible evidence that can hold perpetrators accountable in court and before the world.
Widespread Sexual Violence and Targeted Ethnic Attacks
Khan described a disturbing trend of “abduction, and gender-based assaults,” often directed at women and girls from particular ethnic communities. She emphasized the ICC’s renewed focus on prosecuting gender crimes, supported by its dedicated gender unit.
The ICC’s Darfur Unified Team has conducted multiple field missions to refugee camps in Chad, gathering over 7,000 pieces of evidence, with growing collaboration from civil society and victim groups.
Sudan’s Spiraling Humanitarian Collapse
As the ICC pursues justice, the humanitarian picture continues to darken. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), aid workers and civilians are increasingly under attack. In early June, five humanitarians were killed in North Darfur, while airstrikes in West Kordofan killed over 40 people, including patients and medical staff.
In El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, RSF shelling and siege tactics have cut civilians off from aid. “Aid convoys are being targeted, hospitals bombed, and food and water deliberately withheld,” OCHA reports.
A cholera outbreak is now spreading from Darfur into Chad and South Sudan. With the rainy season underway, health officials fear a worsening crisis due to water contamination.
Justice Amidst Obstacles
Khan highlighted numerous challenges to ICC operations on the ground: obstruction, hostility towards investigators, funding shortages, and lack of cooperation from some States.
Still, she reiterated the Court’s resolve. She cited the forthcoming verdict in the trial of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, known as Ali Kushayb, as a warning to others.
“They should understand: we are working intensively to ensure that this trial is only the first of many,” she said.
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