The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), alongside ACJPS and a broad coalition of legal, investigative, and civil society organizations, referred high-level foreign officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for aiding and abetting atrocity crimes in Darfur, Sudan, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
The innovative legal submission draws on new evidence from confidential sources and investigative findings.
The submission lays out the criminal responsibility of foreign officials, primarily based in the United Arab Emirates and Sudan’s neighbouring states, for enabling atrocities in Sudan. It further asserts the role of Iran, Türkiye, and Egypt as linked to crimes committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The filing exposes the extent of foreign involvement in the conflict through supplying the perpetrators on the ground with arms, mercenaries, equipment, logistical support, and financing.
Since the conflict began, international investigations have concluded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and SAF have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, with the RSF credibly found to have committed genocide, underscoring the urgency of addressing the external networks that are sustaining this conflict.
The prosecution of foreign officials and arms suppliers would target the source of violence in Sudan and set a precedent for international criminal justice worldwide, expanding accountability to the actors enabling mass atrocities.
Despite the longstanding UN arms embargo on Darfur, the flow of weapons, drones, and mercenaries continues to pour into the region and target civilians. As the conflict continues into its fourth year, the ICC is uniquely positioned to disrupt the supply of arms and cut off the flow of weapons sustaining the atrocities on the ground.
The Executive Summary of our submission can be accessed here, and the Explainer can be accessed here.
To learn more about our atrocity prevention work, including in Sudan, click here.