UK urged to act as evidence mounts of atrocities in Sudan

Human rights groups and Sudanese activists are calling on the United Kingdom to investigate Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for genocide and war crimes,after the recent submission of a 142-page legal dossier to Scotland Yard.

The document,described as “compelling” by Sir Howard Morrison,a former judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC),details mass killings,ethnically targeted violence,systematic sexual abuse,and starvation tactics by the RSF since war erupted in April 2023. The RSF,led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo,faces growing international scrutiny for atrocities mainly in Darfur and Khartoum. Over 100 mass graves have reportedly been discovered in Khartoum alone,while millions face hunger and displacement. The conflict has claimed up to 150,000 lives,with over 13 million people forced to flee their homes.

The UK-based legal submission urges British authorities to investigate under universal jurisdiction laws and share findings with the ICC. With a significant Sudanese diaspora in the UK,campaigners stress Britain’s moral and legal responsibility to act and prevent RSF leaders from finding sanctuary in Europe. Meanwhile,French group Collectif Urgence Darfour appealed to the UN Security Council (UNSC) to enforce a ceasefire and arms embargo,warning that only political will can halt what the UN calls the world’s worst displacement crisis. “You have the means to put an end to this disaster,” says a letter addressed to leaders of the permanent UNSC member states and the UN Secretary-General “Justice must not die in a file drawer,” campaigners in the UK have warned. “The world cannot look away — again.”