Pakistan had called on Sudan’s warring parties to re-engage in negotiations to end a war that has been ongoing for more than 21 months, saying the Sudanese people’s suffering must be brought an end.
“We call on both sides to implement the commitments made under Jeddah declaration on protection of civilians and the facilitation of humanitarian action to meet the emergency needs of the Sudanese people,” Ambassador Munir Akram, permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, said in a speech to the UN Security Council
The warring parties — the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), controlled by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti” — had promised a smooth transition of power to civilians after a military coup ousted the long-serving president, Omar al-Bashir, in April 2019.
Five years later, the SAF and RSF failed to fulfill that promise, and their inability to find a compromise on how to rule the country led to the war erupting on April 15, 2023.
The Pakistani envoy spoke after the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) , Karim Khan, briefed the 15-member Council on the deteriorating situation in Sudan’s Darfur region on Monday.
“The blatant violations of International Humanitarian Law with impunity must stop, and the suffering of the Sudanese people brought to an end,” Ambassador Akram said.
The conflict in Sudan has caused immense human suffering, he said, noting that close to a quarter of Sudan’s population, at least 11 million people have been displaced; 3 million have sought refuge in fragile neighbouring states. Another 25 million face acute hunger and countless innocent lives have been lost.
“The Sudanese people have seen unimaginable atrocities during the nearly two years of the recent conflict,” Ambassador Akram said, pointing to Rapid Support Forces’ recent attack on Saudi Hospital in Al-Fasher in which more than 70 innocent lives were lost.
Extending Pakistan’s condolences to the victims and their families, he said RSF has consistently displayed “utter disregard” for International Humanitarian Law and committed similar atrocities in Al Geneina, Al-jazeera, Al-Fasher, Khartoum as well as other places.
“Pakistan firmly upholds the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“We call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” he said, adding, “The parties need to find a sustainable political resolution through peaceful means. The humanitarian crisis in the country needs to be addressed.” At the outset, Ambassador Akram said that although Pakistan was not a party to the Rome Treaty establishing the ICC, it was committed to the objective of accountability for international crimes – whether these are committed in Holocaust, in Darfur, or in Gaza, Afghanistan, or elsewhere.
“The ICC can gain global credibility if it displays full objectivity and impartiality in the cases and persons it decides to investigate and prosecute,” he said. “Some jurisdictions have so far been immune from prosecution for widely reported crimes, including those committed in situations of foreign occupation and intervention.”
