Responding to the Human Rights and Humanitarian Crisis Caused by the Ongoing Armed Conflict in the Sudan

A/HRC/RES/63/2View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General, published in 2026.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2023–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2026	A/HRC/RES/63/2	Responding to the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing armed conflict in the Sudan	4,017	—Compare
2025	A/HRC/RES/60/3	Responding to the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing armed conflict in the Sudan	3,740	59%Compare
2024	A/HRC/RES/57/2	Responding to the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing armed conflict in the Sudan	3,056	26%Compare
2023	A/HRC/RES/54/2	Responding to the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing armed conflict in the Sudan	2,896	–

What subjects does this mandate have?

8 subjects

Accountability Fact-Finding Missions Human Rights Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Human Rights Violations Humanitarian Assistance Humanitarian Emergencies Sudan

What’s in this document?

27 operative paragraphs

Reiterates its strong condemnation of the continuing armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and their associated and allied forces and of all reported violations of international humanitarian law, and violations and abuses of human rights committed in this context, including alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, and echoes the similar condemnations expressed by the Secretary-General, the Security Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Peace and Security Council of the African Union, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, other relevant regional and subregional bodies, individual States and civil society organizations;

Expresses its grave concern at the ongoing dire humanitarian and human rights crisis in the Sudan since the start of the current armed conflict on 15 April 2023, with more than 33 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 11.3 million people displaced, and 4.6 million people as refugees into neighbouring States, and at reports by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification that 19.5 million people – approximately 41 per cent of the population – were experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity, at phase 3 (“crisis”) or higher, between February and May 2026 and that there is a risk of famine in 14 areas across North Darfur, South Darfur and South Kordofan, with such conditions very likely to be present also in other areas of the Sudan, which represents a real threat to the enjoyment of the right to food and the right to be free from hunger, and also expresses its concern that starvation may be being used as a method of warfare;

⁹See https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/sudansituation.

¹⁰Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, “Sudan: acute food insecurity situation February–May 2026 and projections for June–September 2026 and for October 2026–January 2027”, snapshot, 14 May 2026.

Emphasizes that there is no military solution to the crisis in the Sudan and reiterates its call for an immediate and complete ceasefire by all parties, without preconditions, the establishment of an independent monitoring mechanism of the ceasefire, the rehabilitation of critical basic infrastructure, a negotiated and peaceful resolution to the conflict on the basis of inclusive, Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led dialogue, with the active participation of Sudanese civilian actors, including women and youth, and to establish, with the people of the Sudan, a credible and inclusive process of political transition, towards a democratically elected national Government following a civilian-led transition period;

Calls for the full implementation of the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, requests the parties to allow and facilitate full, safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, including cross-border and cross-line access, reiterates that humanitarian workers must be respected and protected at all times and condemns the deprivation by all parties to the conflict of essential humanitarian assistance, across several areas of the Sudan, and the attacks on humanitarian workers and looting of humanitarian convoys, warehouses and aid agencies, including by the Rapid Support Forces and other affiliated militias;

Welcomes the decisions of the Sudanese authorities to extend the authorization of humanitarian access through the Adré border crossing from Chad for an additional three-month period and calls for these measures to be sustained permanently and for unimpeded aid delivery to be facilitated through all possible routes into and within the country, and reiterates its calls to all parties of the conflict to remove any bureaucratic impediments and operational conditions that unduly obstruct the movement of humanitarian personnel, goods and supplies in reaching those most in need;

Condemns the violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights reported across the Sudan by all parties to the conflict, including the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, such as indiscriminate attacks against civilians, indiscriminate aerial bombardments and drone strikes, resulting in civilian deaths and the destruction of critical infrastructure, including hospitals, operating theatres, maternity hospitals, schools and other objects essential to civilian survival, reprisals and extrajudicial killings, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary detentions, abductions, ethnically and religiously motivated attacks, looting, grave violations against children, including the illegal recruitment and use of children in armed conflict, and torture, ill-treatment and life-threatening conditions faced by detainees held by both parties, as well as restrictions on humanitarian access, which together drive starvation and famine, and expresses its deep concern at the clear parallels between these developments and previous violations and abuses in Darfur;

Strongly condemns the devastating impact on civilians resulting from the seizure of El Fasher, in North Darfur, particularly the reported atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces, including mass executions, ethnic targeting, torture, widespread sexual violence and abductions, which the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan has concluded amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes and may indicate hallmarks of genocide, and reiterates calls upon all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians, as required under international law, and to hold all perpetrators of these crimes accountable;

¹¹See A/HRC/61/77.

Also strongly condemns the escalating violence and deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Kordofans, in particular in and around El Obeid, including restricting access to food, water, medical supplies and other essential services, and expresses grave concern at the reported imminent risk of large-scale atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces against hundreds of thousands of civilians, including children, and internally displaced persons in and around the city;

Expresses alarm at the findings in the 2026 report of the Secretary-General that conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced pregnancy and abductions for the purposes of sexual exploitation, has become a defining feature of the conflict in the Sudan, and at the estimate of the United Nations population Fund that 12.7 million people, primarily women and girls, but also increasingly men and boys, as well as persons with disabilities, at risk of sexual and gender-based violence, and stresses the need for all parties to cease such acts, hold accountable those who commit such acts, ensure access to timely and survivor-centred protection and support services, and integrate provisions addressing sexual violence into ceasefire and peace processes, and to ensure the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women in those processes;

¹²S/2026/321.

¹³United Nations Population Fund, “UNFPA situation report on Sudan: 1 January to 28 February 2026” (2026).

Expresses deep concern at the findings of the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan regarding the suspension of telecommunications services and seizure of critical infrastructure, which disrupted civilian access to essential services and hindered humanitarian coordination, and expresses grave concern at the systematic censorship and suppression of media freedom through arrests of and attacks and threats against journalists;

¹⁴See the conference room paper of the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan on the findings of the investigations conducted by the mission into violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and related crimes, committed in the Sudan in the context of the conflict that erupted in mid-April 2023, para. 267, available on the OHCHR website, at https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/regular-sessions/session57/list-reports.

Condemns the use of disinformation, manipulated information and hate speech, including on social media platforms, to fuel violence and mistrust, in particular against humanitarian, health and media workers, and United Nations personnel, and calls upon all parties to refrain from conducting or supporting disinformation, manipulated information and hate speech campaigns that may endanger humanitarian, health and media workers and United Nations personnel, or impede humanitarian operations, in accordance with international law;

Strongly deplores the reported killings, attacks, arbitrary detention and reprisals targeting humanitarian and health workers, including national and locally recruited personnel, as well as human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, community leaders, local actors, mutual aid groups, public servants and local government workers, journalists and other media workers, students, lawyers and civil society actors, and members of international organizations and the diplomatic community in the Sudan and calls upon all parties to ensure their protection in accordance with international law;

Commends Sudanese and regional aid and medical workers, including local actors and mutual aid groups, in particular the Emergency Response Rooms, for their courageous efforts to provide life-saving assistance, and also commends human rights defenders in their efforts to document and preserve evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights;

Acknowledges the significant numbers of people in need of international protection fleeing to and hosted by neighbouring countries, as well as their impact on hosting societies, and stresses the importance of easing pressure on host countries by facilitating more equitable, sustained and predictable burden- and responsibility-sharing among States and other relevant stakeholders, expresses grave concern about the continuing gap in the provision of financial support for United Nations response plans in the Sudan and in neighbouring States and reiterates the need for scaled-up international support to neighbouring countries;

Urges all parties to the conflict in the Sudan to immediately de-escalate tensions, respect and protect civilians, including those who are humanitarian workers and health workers, and civilian infrastructure, and to allow civilians to move freely to gain access to the basic services and humanitarian assistance that they need, as required by international law;

Welcomes the efforts made by the United Nations and the African Union in furthering practical options for enhancing the protection of civilians in the Sudan, as well as access to detainees, in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders and in full recognition of the obligation of the Sudan to act in accordance with international humanitarian law and to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity;

Condemns all forms of external interference that fuel the conflict, including the supply of arms and military materiel, and the deployment of foreign personnel involved in or supporting military operations, as well as mercenaries, urges all parties to the conflict, as well as external actors, both States and other entities to respect and uphold the unity and territorial integrity of the Sudan, reiterates the call by the United Nations fact-finding mission that all States and other entities comply with relevant Security Council resolutions, including the arms embargo established pursuant to resolution 1556 (2004) of 30 July 2004, applicable to Darfur, and notes its calls that military and material support to all parties in the Sudan be halted;

Urges all parties and States to respect and uphold the unity and territorial integrity of the Sudan, and to reject efforts to establish a parallel governing authority in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces;

Stresses, once again, that ensuring accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights is central to any solution to the ongoing crisis in the Sudan, as well as to efforts to address the root causes of the armed conflict and prevent further instability in the Sudan, and underscores the urgency of initiating prompt, full, independent, impartial, transparent and credible investigations into all alleged abuses and violations by all parties to the conflict, to end impunity and hold accountable those responsible, across the full chain of responsibility, through robust and credible criminal justice processes, while noting the important role that the International Criminal Court can play in this regard and noting also the call by the United Nations fact-finding mission to extend the jurisdiction of the Court beyond Darfur to the whole of the Sudan;

Encourages the preservation of evidence, including the systematic documentation of casualties, and stresses in this regard the importance of evidence preservation for the purposes of accountability, including future remedies and reparations;

Decides to extend the mandate of the independent international fact-finding mission for the Sudan for a period of one year;

Encourages the United Nations fact-finding mission to give due regard to ensuring the complementarity of its efforts with those of other actors, including independent national accountability efforts and regional investigations;

Requests the United Nations fact-finding mission to provide the Human Rights Council with an oral update on its work at its sixty-fifth session, to be followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue with the participation of a representative of civil society, and a comprehensive report at its sixty-sixth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue, and to present the report to the General Assembly at its eighty-second session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the assistance of the designated Expert on human rights in the Sudan, to submit to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-seventh session a comprehensive report on the situation of human rights in the Sudan and on violations and abuses committed by all parties to the conflict, to be followed by an interactive dialogue with the participation of the High Commissioner and the Expert;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide all the resources and expertise necessary to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to provide such administrative, technical and logistical support as is required to implement the provisions of the present resolution and urges all relevant organs, bodies and agencies of the United Nations system to cooperate fully with the United Nations fact-finding mission and to respond promptly to any request made by it, including with regard to access to relevant information and documentation;

Calls upon the parties to the conflict to cooperate fully with the United Nations fact-finding mission in the performance of its work, and calls upon all relevant parties, States and other relevant stakeholders to support fully the implementation of its mandate and to provide the United Nations fact-finding mission with relevant information or documentation as appropriate;

Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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