GENEVA – Sudan’s attorney general told the UN Human Rights Council that national investigators have registered more than 153,000 criminal cases linked to the war, including thousands of documented killings, rape cases, detentions and enforced disappearances.

Attorney General Intisar Ahmed Abdel Aal, who heads Sudan’s national committee investigating violations of national law and international humanitarian law, presented the figures during an interactive dialogue on Sudan at the council’s 63rd session in Geneva.

She said the committee had registered 153,112 criminal cases, including 391 cases against members of regular forces whose immunity had been lifted.

According to the briefing, investigations were completed in 22,608 cases and referred to national courts, while 10,733 cases have been adjudicated so far. Another 6,862 cases were dismissed during the investigation stage.

Abdel Aal said the committee had documented 2,261 rape cases, 15,227 cases of detention and enforced disappearance, 32,622 deaths and 46,443 injuries during the conflict.

She said the inclusion of cases involving members of regular forces, after the lifting of immunity, demonstrated the national committee’s ability to investigate violations without discrimination.

Call to Stop External Support

Abdel Aal accused the United Arab Emirates of providing external support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), saying such support had prolonged the war and contributed to continued atrocities and violations.

She called for decisive measures to stop what she described as external backing for the RSF, saying evidence and reports on foreign support required urgent action to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

The UAE has repeatedly denied providing military, logistical, financial or political support to the RSF.

The Sudanese attorney general also rejected calls to expand the arms embargo on Sudan, saying Khartoum viewed such a move as adopting the demands of the RSF.

She said Sudan rejects any measures that would restrict the capacity of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

Justice and Political Process

Abdel Aal briefed the council on political developments in Sudan, including preparations for the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue announced by Sovereign Council Chairman and army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

She said the first meeting of the dialogue’s preparatory committee had been held, adding that the initiative included guarantees and immunities for participants to allow the process to take place freely and transparently.

She said the African Union and the League of Arab States had welcomed the initiative.

Abdel Aal said the paths of peace and justice are complementary, and that any political settlement should not conflict with accountability efforts or the rights of victims.

National Investigations

The attorney general said improved security conditions in several areas had allowed the national committee to expand access to victims and witnesses, receive complaints and collect evidence.

She urged the Human Rights Council and UN mechanisms to support the work of Sudan’s national committee under the principle of complementarity, rather than imposing an external investigative mechanism.

Sudan has repeatedly rejected the mandate of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, arguing that national institutions are capable of investigating violations and holding perpetrators accountable.

The briefing comes amid renewed debate at the Human Rights Council over accountability in Sudan, where the war between the SAF and RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has been accompanied by widespread allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity and abuses against civilians.

International rights groups and UN experts have accused both sides of serious violations, including attacks on civilians, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and obstruction of humanitarian access.

Abdel Aal renewed Sudan’s call for immediate measures to halt external support to the RSF, saying support for national investigations and accountability efforts was the path to justice, victim redress and ending impunity.