Sudan - June 2024

In a joint statement published on 26 June, six UN Special Rapporteurs said that both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are using starvation as a weapon of war. The use of starvation as a weapon of war is a war crime under international law. According to the experts, the parties, who have been fighting each other since April 2023, are ‘blocking, looting and exploiting humanitarian assistance.’ They referred in particular to the RSF’s ongoing siege of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped and are ‘suffering from severe hunger and thirst’. The experts also criticised the arrest, threatening and prosecution of activists and volunteers, whose community mutual aid initiatives, they said, are ‘currently leading food delivery efforts’. A June report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification found that Sudan is facing its worst recorded levels of food insecurity and the UN experts warned that ‘widespread famine [is] imminent’.   

Sources: United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, Just Security, Integrated Food Security Phase Classification