Mr President,
This Council mandated the Fact-Finding Mission to investigate the siege and takeover of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces. Its findings are horrific – and should shock the conscience of all of us.
The evidence of RSF atrocities is overwhelming: civilians forced to choose between starvation or eating animal feed; children subjected to mass rape; families ambushed and killed as they flee; and perpetrators calling for “extermination”.
The Fact-Finding Mission warns that RSF violence in El Fasher bears the “hallmarks of genocide” – a chilling assessment we cannot ignore.
As our Foreign Secretary stated: urgent international action is essential if these crimes are to be halted and victims have justice. The flow of weapons into Sudan must stop. The warring parties must come to the table in good faith.
Today, Ministers of Foreign Affairs from the Sudan Core Group have announced the formation of a new Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice in Sudan; we urge all countries to join us in pursuing greater protection for civilians and support to those laying the foundations for healing and justice.
Mr President, the world is still failing the people of Sudan. We cannot allow them to endure this war alone any longer. They deserve peace and justice. They have waited long enough.
Thank you.