At a United Nations Security Council briefing on Sudan, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim, United States Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Dorothy Shea, condemned the ongoing violence in Sudan, highlighting the grave suffering inflicted on civilians and the urgent need for accountability and humanitarian access.
Shea, acknowledging the efforts involved in organising the briefing by the ICC prosecutor for Sudan, set against the backdrop of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) siege on El Fasher.
She specifically condemned recent attacks on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, where 70 civilians were reportedly killed, and dozens more injured.
Shea described the conflict, which reignited in April 2023, as “the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe,” leaving over 30 million people in need of aid, 638,000 facing famine, and tens of thousands dead. She attributed shocking cruelty and violence to both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), condemning their actions against defenseless civilians.
The RSF and allied militias were accused of systematic ethnic-based killings of men, boys, and even infants, as well as the deliberate targeting of women and girls with brutal sexual violence.
These groups have also murdered fleeing civilians and blocked access to lifesaving supplies for those trapped.
Meanwhile, Shea said the SAF has committed war crimes, including lethal attacks on civilians, bombings of schools, markets, and hospitals, as well as torture and extrajudicial killings.
The SAF’s repeated denial of humanitarian access and its targeting of civilian infrastructure have compounded the suffering of vulnerable communities.
“The SAF is not a credible representative of the Republic of Sudan,” Shea stated, emphasising that both belligerents, the SAF and RSF, bear responsibility for the violence.
She called for an immediate and durable negotiated end to the conflict.
Shea also stressed the need for accountability, noting that many individuals responsible for atrocities during the Darfur conflict in 2003 and 2004 remain at large.
She pointed out that several of the key actors in the current conflict were also involved in the crimes in Darfur two decades ago, victimizing the same non-Arab groups again.
“The failure to achieve accountability decades ago is one reason conflict continues to burn,” Shea said, urging the international community to bring those responsible to trial. She highlighted the importance of supporting evidence collection and analysis efforts to ensure accountability for crimes, including reports of ethnic and sex-based violence.
Reaffirming the United States’ commitment to ending the conflict, Shea declared that the United States does not support either side in the war. She called on the warring parties to allow humanitarian assistance to reach civilians and to stop the violence.
“It is long past time to halt the killing and to empower the Sudanese people in their pursuit of a peaceful and prosperous future,” Shea concluded, calling for urgent action to address the crisis and ensure justice for the victims.
