UN Human Rights Council Extends Mandate of Sudan Fact-Finding Mission

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On Wednesday, the United Nations Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the fact-finding mission in Sudan for another year.

The decision to extend the mission received 23 votes in favor out of 47 member states, while 12 countries opposed the extension, and 12 others abstained from voting.

The Human Rights Council initially established the fact-finding mission on October 11, 2023. The mission consists of three members: President Mohamed Chande Othman (Tanzania), Joy Ezeilo (Nigeria), and Mona Rishmawi (Jordan/Switzerland). In its report issued last month, the mission called for the deployment of an independent and neutral force to protect civilians from crimes being committed by the conflicting parties, many of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the mission’s report, stating that it represented a "clear overreach of its mandate and authority."

Experts appointed by the Human Rights Council concluded in their report that both parties in the conflict "committed a horrific series of human rights violations, many of which could be classified as war crimes and crimes against humanity."