Taqaddum Coordinating Body Supports Sudan Fact-Finding Commission Report

The Coordinating Body of Democratic Civil Forces (Taqaddum) reaffirmed its full support on Sunday for the recommendations issued by the independent international fact-finding mission on Sudan. These recommendations include the urgent deployment of international forces to protect civilians in the country.

Taqaddum, the largest political coalition in Sudan, welcomed the report’s documentation of grave violations committed by both sides of the conflict—the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with their allied forces.

“We fully support all measures aimed at ending the war, protecting civilians, delivering humanitarian aid, ensuring justice, and providing redress to victims...” the coalition said in a statement.

The statement called for immediate steps to halt crimes. It urged the UN Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the fact-finding mission and stressed the importance of increasing collaboration with Sudan’s democratic civil forces to document violations and recommend solutions to alleviate civilian suffering.

Taqaddum further asserted that civilian protection can only be achieved through an immediate cessation of hostilities and a mutually agreed-upon monitoring mechanism between the warring parties.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based in Port Sudan, issued a statement late Saturday rejecting the fact-finding mission’s recommendations.

The ministry accused the mission of engaging in propaganda ahead of the Human Rights Council’s deliberations, with the aim of influencing member states to extend the mission’s mandate for political purposes.

In its first report last Friday, the international fact-finding mission announced that both parties to the conflict had committed horrific human rights violations and international crimes that constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The report stated that Sudanese Armed Forces, RSF, and their allied forces were responsible for widespread abuses, including indiscriminate airstrikes, shelling of civilian areas, and attacks on schools, hospitals, communication infrastructure, and water and electricity supplies.

Additionally, the report noted that warring factions used sexual violence, including rape, and engaged in arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment, which could amount to war crimes.

International human rights experts expect the deployment of forces to protect civilians to be discussed during the Human Rights Council’s upcoming session on Tuesday. The matter could also be referred to the UN General Assembly or the UN Security Council.

A senior UN official told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Sudanese government delegation would likely oppose extending the mission’s mandate. However, the official did not anticipate objections from Russia or China regarding the report’s findings on international investigations into crimes committed by both sides of the conflict.

The official further predicted broad consensus among council members to renew the mission’s mandate.

According to the mission, the report is based on investigations and field visits to Chad, Kenya, and Uganda, as well as testimony from more than 182 survivors, family members, and eyewitnesses. It also involved extensive consultations with experts and civil society organizations.

The conflict in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties and the displacement of nearly eight million people within the country, while over two million have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

The fact-finding committee was established by a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October last year to investigate alleged human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law.

One year after a devastating earthquake struck Morocco’s Atlas mountains, just 1,000 homes have so far been rebuilt although more than 55,000 permits have been issued.

The 6.8-magnitude quake on September 8, 2023 shook the remote mountainous area south of the capital Rabat, killing nearly 3,000 people and destroying or damaging around 60,000 homes.

Following the catastrophe, an $11-billion aid program over five years was released for reconstruction and development in the six provinces affected.

Nearly a thousand families were praised for their success in completing the reconstruction and rehabilitation of their homes, according to a statement released last week by the cabinet presidency.

It said this came despite the issuance of 55,142 reconstruction permits and progress on reconstruction and rehabilitation projects for 49,632 damaged homes.

Nearly 58,000 people affected by the quake have received the first of four instalments of state aid of up to 140,000 dirhams ($14,500) but just 939 families have received the final payment.

Such grants are conditional on obtaining the necessary permits, technical studies and validation by a project manager of the various phases of construction.

The head of the government urged those affected to “speed up their work to be able to benefit” from the financial aid available.

In return, several activists, such as Mohamed Belhassen, criticized the government for its “dismal failure” of reconstruction efforts.

Belhassen, who lives in Amizmiz, some 60 kilometers from Marrakesh, told AFP, “A large number of victims are still living in tents or have been forced to leave their villages and rent elsewhere.”

In the Taroudant region some 60 kilometers from Agadir, “the situation hasn’t changed much,” said Siham Azeroual, who founded an NGO to help villagers in the North African country hit by the quake.

“Reconstruction is proceeding very slowly,” she said. Quake victims “are exhausted, and find themselves caught up in an administrative spiral.”

Meanwhile, the authorities say monthly grants to more than 63,800 affected families of 2,500 dirhams ($260) have been made.

Taqaddum Coordinating Body Supports Sudan Fact-Finding Commission Report