UN Human Rights Expert Warns of Severe Impartiality Flaws in Sudanese Investigation Committee

A Sudanese investigation committee has failed to adequately address abuses committed by the country’s armed forces, creating concerns over its transparency and impartiality, the UN expert on human rights in Sudan said.

Radhouane Nouicer, the designated expert on Sudan by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that authorities had established a committee to investigate breaches, but the documented cases appeared heavily weighted towards abuses committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“As far as we know, [the committee] documented tens of thousands of cases, and what we have noticed is that all these cases belong to the Rapid Support Forces,” Mr Nouicer told Sky News Arabia. “We have seen only a few hundred documented cases involving members of the Sudanese Armed Forces [SAF].”

He noted that this significant imbalance raises serious questions regarding the transparency and fairness of the investigative body examining human rights violations during the ongoing conflict.

The remarks emerge as the war between the SAF, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, continues to inflict widespread abuses on civilians. The conflict began in April 2023 following a power struggle between Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo, erupting initially in Khartoum before spreading to other regions, including Darfur where UN investigators have documented RSF abuses amounting to war crimes.

The devastating war has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, displaced millions of people, and caused one of the worst humanitarian crises globally, with both sides facing accusations of committing serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Addressing the issue of arbitrary arrests, Mr Nouicer highlighted growing concerns over arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and torture. He pointed out that numerous individuals are being held simply on allegations of cooperating with opposing forces.

“For many prisoners, the only charge brought against them is that they co-operated with the other side,” he said. He further explained that some people have vanished without their families having any knowledge of their whereabouts or whether they are still alive.

Furthermore, the UN expert stated that the nature of violations has evolved as the war expanded into new areas, noting a marked increase in the use of aircraft and drones. “We documented more than 1,000 deaths as a result of the use of aircraft and drones” from the beginning of 2026 to the present, he added.

Mr Nouicer also observed extensive destruction of civilian buildings in Khartoum, pointing out that some of this destruction lacked any apparent military or strategic justification.

While the UN continues to warn about escalating attacks on civilians, international diplomatic efforts have failed to halt the conflict. Recent developments include the SAF facing new evidence concerning its alleged use of chemical weapons, as reported by The New York Times and The Washington Post, which revealed that the SAF utilized chemical weapons and established a secret stockpile to conceal them. Additionally, a separate UN fact-finding report disclosed that the SAF utilized foreign-supplied drones in operations that harmed civilians, while also reiterating that external players have supported the RSF by enabling arms transfers.