Analytical Statement of Welcome | May 13, 2026
The Sudan Rights Watch Network welcomes the joint Banjul Declaration issued on May 12, 2026, by the joint fact-finding mission of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan. The declaration is a highly significant human rights and political document that reflects a growing regional and international awareness of the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe and grave violations resulting from the April 15, 2023 war. It establishes a more advanced stage in the path of international and regional accountability for crimes committed against civilians in Sudan.
In fact, the significance of this declaration lies not only in its explicit legal language or its description of the nature of the violations, but also in its unprecedented convergence between African and United Nations justice mechanisms on a unified characterization of the ongoing crimes and violations, the responsibilities of the parties to the conflict and their allies, and its legal basis for the 2012 Addis Ababa Roadmap. This constitutes a qualitative development in constructing a documented legal narrative about the war in Sudan.
The Sudan Rights Watch Network considers the clear acknowledgment that the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces, along with their allied forces, have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law to reflect a significant shift from general monitoring to establishing legal, political, and moral accountability. Furthermore, the assertion that the violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces were “widespread and particularly systematic” aligns with the documentation consistently provided by Sudanese and international human rights organizations regarding the crimes committed, especially in Darfur, Khartoum, Gezira, Kordofan, and other conflict-affected regions.
The Sudan Rights Watch Network believes that the declaration’s reference to ethnic cleansing and targeting, particularly in Darfur, El Fasher, and the Kordofan region, constitutes a highly significant acknowledgment of the scale of the crimes that threaten the social fabric and historical unity of Sudan. The reference to the targeting of indigenous populations and their deprivation of land, resources, and culture confirms that the war has gone beyond
What began as a traditional military conflict has, in large parts of the country, transformed into a systematic campaign of violence targeting specific indigenous communities based on ethnic, political, and geographic criteria.
The network believes that the emphasis on halting attacks against civilians, ensuring humanitarian access, and preventing the use of starvation and siege as weapons of war comes at a critical juncture, given the catastrophic deterioration of the humanitarian situation, the near-total collapse of basic services, and the widespread famine and forced displacement. Furthermore, the clear condemnation of attacks on hospitals, markets, schools, camps for internally displaced persons, and humanitarian workers underscores that civilians remain the primary victims of the ongoing war, amidst international and regional inability to provide them with adequate protection.
The Sudan Rights Watch Network particularly appreciates the provisions of the declaration on conflict-related sexual violence, as it reflects a progressive understanding of the gravity of gender-based crimes as part of war strategies and tools of collective humiliation and social disintegration. It also emphasizes that ensuring justice for survivors and providing them with medical, psychological, social, and legal support must be a central priority in any future humanitarian or justice process.
The network also views with great importance the call in the declaration for the establishment of an accountability mechanism, potentially African-led, in conjunction with the International Criminal Court and other international justice mechanisms. Sudan is currently at a pivotal moment that necessitates overcoming the patterns of impunity that have fueled cycles of violence for decades, from the Darfur crimes to the violations committed during the dispersal of the sit-in, and including the crimes perpetrated during the current war. Without establishing a genuine, effective, and independent justice process, any future political arrangements will remain vulnerable to collapse and the perpetuation of violence.
The Sudan Rights Watch Network affirms that the clear reference to the responsibility of states and entities providing military, financial, or logistical support to parties to the conflict sends a crucial message to the international and regional community about the need to halt interventions that contribute to prolonging the war and deepening violations. The continued flow of weapons, funding, and political support to the parties to the conflict has directly exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe and undermined the prospects for a peaceful settlement.
The Network also welcomes the declaration’s assertion that a military solution, however possible, will not bring lasting peace to Sudan, and that the future must be based on an inclusive civilian political process that ensures the genuine participation of women, youth, civil society, and local forces throughout the country. The Network believes this vision aligns with the aspirations of the Sudanese people who took to the streets in the December Revolution, demanding a democratic civilian state based on justice, citizenship, and the rule of law.
In this context, the Sudan Rights Watch Network emphasizes that any political process that does not prioritize the rights of victims, survivors, internally displaced persons, and refugees, and that fails to address the root causes of the Sudanese crisis—namely, structural marginalization, impunity, and the imbalance of power and wealth—will not lead to lasting peace. Instead, it will reproduce the causes of war in a more complex and dangerous form. The network reiterates its full solidarity with the victims, survivors, human rights defenders, journalists, humanitarian workers, resistance committees, and civil initiatives that have continued to document and provide aid despite grave risks. It calls upon the international community, the African Union, and the United Nations to move beyond condemnations and reports to effective measures to protect civilians, ensure accountability, halt the flow of weapons, and support a civilian democratic process that reflects the will of the Sudanese people.
The network affirms that the Banjul Declaration represents a significant step forward in the struggle for truth and justice, but it will not achieve its objectives unless its recommendations are translated into practical commitments, clear implementation mechanisms, and genuine political and legal pressure on all parties involved in or supporting the war. It further emphasizes that the future of Sudan cannot be built on military force or settlements based on impunity, but rather on justice, dignity, equal citizenship, and a just and sustainable peace that guarantees the non-recurrence of the tragedies for which the Sudanese people have paid the price for decades.
Sudan Rights Watch Network
May 13, 2026