On Wednesday 18 June 2025, a side event on “The Ongoing Genocide in Sudan and The Intervention of International Actors” was hosted by the Coordination des Associations et des Particuliers pour la Liberté de Conscience (CAP Freedom of Conscience), and co-hosted by Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD), coinciding with the 59th session of the Human Rights Council.
The panel included Thierry Valle, President of CAP Freedom of Conscience; Oscar Rickett, Journalist at Middle East Eye; Mattew Hedges, a British academic and former UAE detainee; Yaslam Al Tayeb, a former hostage of the RSF; and Mutasim Ali, Legal Counsel at The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. Notably, delegates from the European Union, Belgium, Sudan, and Estonia were in attendance.
Thierry Valle opened the discussion by highlighting the impact the war had on civilians noting “since violence erupted in April 2023, over 12 million people have been displaced, both within the country and across its borders” insisting on the necessity to draw attention to such an urgent and critical issue.
Oscar Rickett, who has extensively reported on Sudan, including recent investigations into drone strikes that reveal escalating violence on the ground1, presented both a historical and geopolitical overview of the conflict. He outlined not only the roots of the conflict but also how foreign actors from the Gulf Region such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudia Arabia, came to have a vested interest in the conflict.
Recontextualising Sudan long’s history of violence and displacement of civilians, Oscar Rickett highlighted that Sudan’s entrenched cycle of violence and mass civilian displacement can be traced to the government’s military and police campaign in Darfur in 2003. At that time, the government armed and deployed militias, known as the Janjaweed, that later reconstituted as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to brutally supress rebels non-Arab communities. He further noted that Sudan entered a transitional phase in early 2019, following months of mass protest that led to the overthrown of long-time ruler Omar al Bashir.
Turning to the ongoing conflict, which recently marked two years, Oscar Rickett stressed its devasting scale and the disproportionate impact on civilians. While the true death tool remains unknown, he suggested it is likely to be significantly higher than currently reported. The international community has condemned atrocities committed by the RSF, most notably, in January 2025, the United States (US) formally declared that members of the RSF and allied militias had committed genocide in Sudan.
Rickett argued that the persistence of the conflict is closely tied to the involvement of external actors, such as the UAE, who have been accused of supporting the RSF. He cited a report by a UN panel of experts, which detailed “credible” allegations that the UAE had supplied military equipment to the RSF. He further highlighted how, under diplomatic pressure, the UAE gave assurances to the US that the UAE would stop supplying the RSF.
Concluding that diplomatic attempts have failed and that the conflict has reached a dead end, Rickett stressed that the use of drones now marks a turning point in both the escalation of the conflict and the means of warfare used. He pointed to the recent attacks in Port Sudan as a troubling example of international interference, and specifically the direct involvement of the UAE.
Matthew Hedges, who himself was a victim of the UAE’s human rights abuses, noted how the UAE’s domestic security state apparatus, characterised by arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and the use of torture, is reflected in its foreign policy. He explained how, over the years, under the guise of supporting allies, the UAE has propped up certain groups outside the UAE to further the states interests. He also explained how the government has insulated itself by creating several entities within the UAE to extend its influence abroad.
Echoing Oscar Rickett’s assessment of the situation, Hedges stressed that the “UAE action, alongside the RSF, enables the war to continue”. He highlighted that the UAE has failed to dissuade anyone that the weapons sent to the RSF bearing UAE shipping labels are not the result of state action. Stating that “its either that the UAE itself doesn’t have full autonomy over its own military and security equipment or they are directly aiding [the RSF].”
While the conflict continues, he noted the lack of scrutiny and broader interest but insisted that the UAE has demonstrated sensitivity over attribution for the state’s actions, arguing that the international community should put pressure on the UAE to stop its involvement.
Yaslam Al Tayeb reported that, while being held hostage by the RSF, he was one of the first victims to witness first-hand the atrocities committed since the outbreak of the war in April 2023.“ I was able to escape and I am one of the few people who can speak”, he said, explaining that he had witnessed arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, and acts of torture against individuals detained by the RSF.
In line with Oscar Rickett and Matthew Hedges, Yaslam Al Tayeb noted with concern that the international community remains insufficiently aware of the dire situation in Sudan. He attributed this to a general disinterest towards a state that has long suffered political instability and endured genocide in the early 2000s. He also expressed regret over the lack of media coverage and highlighted the influence of the UAE as a reason why the atrocities in Sudan have largely been supressed.
Yaslam Al Tayeb said he was particularly struck by the methods of warfare and the crimes committed against civilians, which have led to alarming levels of human trafficking, rape, and sexual slavery, practices reportedly promoted by the RSF. He noted that figures suggest over 10,000 women have been raped, yet little has been done by the international community to hold the RSF to account.
Mutasim Ali, referring to the report: “Breaches of the Genocide Convention in Darfur (April 2023—April 2024): An Independent Analysis” published by The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, asserted that genocide is not only occurring in Sudan, but that a network of state and non-state actors is directly complicit by funding and arming the perpetrators.
He explained that “based on clear and convincing evidence, the RSF and allied militias have committed and are committing genocide against the Masalit as a group, in whole or in part”. He also stated that “clear and convincing” evidence that the RSF and allied militias the RSF is responsible for direct and public incitement to genocide.
“The forms of incitement used by the Janjaweed (now the RSF) to target members of non-Arab groups in Darfur go back decades”, he noted, citing RSF statements made that reveal a clear intent to commit genocide.
Importantly, Mutasim Ali stressed that all 153 States parties to the Genocide Convention are obligated to take immediate action to end any complicity in the form of support for the RSF and to use all means reasonably available to prevent and halt the genocide.
With regard to the role of international actors in Sudan, he recalled that the UAE, Russia (via the Wagner group), Chad, the Central African Republic, and Libya are complicit in and fuelling this genocide providing the RSF with extensive financial, political, and military support.
Turning to the board challenges of resolving the conflict, Mutasim Ali explained that Sudan “a long history of creating militias to respond to political crisis”, and that the country’s repeated failure to address these crises is evident, as “none of the perpetrators were hold accountable”. He regretted that, in such context, the RSF continue to commit atrocities, as “they fear no justice”.
Mutasim Ali further criticised, the approach to conflict resolution in Sudan, “whenever there is a conflict, a way out is considered through bilateral agreement but that it excludes group involved and who have been taking arms”. He argued that such approach has consistently failed, and as a result, has done little to resolve the crisis.
Echoing the views of other panellists, he concluded “the war continues because parties have resources to do so. That’s why targeting states involved, armes suppliers, is a way toward accountability”.
1 R.SOYLU, O.RICKETT, Sudan’s shadow war: Drone strikes reveal escalating tensions between UAE and Turkey, Middle East Eye , 15 May 2025.
