Sudanese Diplomat calls for criminal accountability in Africa
By Sulayman Waan
Elzein Ibrahim Hussein, ambassador of Sudan to Ethiopia and Sudan Permanent Representative to the AU and UNECA has called on the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights to treat criminals as criminals to maintain peace in the continent.
“I expect the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights to call a spade a spade and treat criminals as criminals,” he told journalists at a sideline of the 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights forum held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre in Banjul.
The event was convened under the theme: ‘Justice through Reparations for Africans and People in the Diaspora’ and united a diverse network of civil society leaders, human rights advocates, and international partners to address both past and present injustices.
However, he cited that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has waged war against the Sudanese People, State, and Sudanese Armed Force, adding that the RSF have committed a grave violation of human rights, war crime and crime against humanity.
According to reports, in April 2023 war erupted in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It has turned major cities into battlegrounds, and villages and farms into ashes. It has forced families from their homes, and decimated Sudan’s public services.
It is estimated that more than 150,000 people have lost their lives. Over 14 million people have been forced from their homes – 11.3 million within Sudan and at least 3.5 million across borders, mainly into Chad, South Sudan, Egypt and beyond. And while the bombs still fall, hunger is tightening its grip. Famine is already gnawing at children in displacement camps, and almost half of the population – 24.6 million – are going hungry.
In this regard, the Sudanese diplomat emphasized that the ACHPR should account all criminals in the continent, most especially the Sudan’s ‘RSF rebels whom he said committed a variety of human rights abuses in Sudan.’
“Our participation in the African Human Rights Commission is to raise awareness and ensure AU engagement in the problem (Sudanese conflict),” he said.
Rising of terrorists insurgency in Africa
He described terrorism as a big challenge in Africa. He said there is a need for all African countries to unanimously fight the insecurity in the continent of Africa.
He cited the Sudanese RSF who are now terrorists that are using trans-boundary mercenaries to continually wage war against the state and people of Sudan.
“Many terrorists are using foreign mercenaries to wage wars against innocent people,” he said.
However, he said the terrorism and security matters are in the hands of the Peace and Security Council of AU which the Gambia is a member of.
Meanwhile, he called for concerted efforts in maintaining peace and security in the continent.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), in December the Malian Army and Wagner fighters “deliberately killed” at least 32 civilians and burned 100 homes in central and northern Mali in 2024. JNIM and ISGS summarily executed at least 47 civilians, burned more than 1,000 homes, and displaced thousands of people between June and December alone, HRW said, adding that those numbers were conservative, at best.
Since Kidal fell, ethnic Tuareg have also been met with increasing levels of violence from the military, although it initially promised that civilians would be safe. Hundreds of people have fled into neighbouring Mauritania, dreading Wagner fighters or the “white men with masks” who burn homes and execute those they suspect of being rebel fighters, according to reports by The Washington Post.
Some 3.3 million people are now believed to be displaced across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger due to the violence, according to the UN’s refugee agency. The number of newly displaced people last year in Mali alone reached nearly 400,000.
SW/COB/08/05/25
