International Ministerial Statement on Sudan: Political Pressure Signals and Legal Warnings

Moatinoon
Foreign ministers from 30 European countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada, along with international officials, expressed deep concern in a joint statement over the continued deadly and unlawful attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure, and humanitarian operations in Sudan amid escalating fighting in the Kordofan and Darfur regions. The statement noted that recent drone and air strikes — including those targeting displaced civilians, health facilities, and food convoys — have resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties and hindered humanitarian access.

The joint ministerial statement issued yesterday carries political and legal implications that go beyond a routine diplomatic condemnation, reflecting a shift in the international community’s rhetoric on the war in Sudan from language of concern to explicit warning and potential accountability. The statement not only denounced attacks on civilians but emphasized that they are “unlawful” and may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity — a legal characterization that could theoretically open the door to future international accountability mechanisms.

It explained that in just recent weeks, drone and missile strikes targeted trucks and warehouses belonging to the World Food Programme, as well as health facilities, killing and injuring civilians and humanitarian workers and destroying vital supplies. Signatories stressed that deliberate attacks on humanitarian personnel or obstruction of relief deliveries violate international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes.

The legal dimension becomes clearer in the statement’s assertion that targeting World Food Programme trucks, warehouses, and medical facilities is not merely collateral damage of war but may be considered a direct violation of international humanitarian law. Such language is typically used when signatory states intend to send an early deterrent message to warring parties that violations are being documented and could later be referred to international investigative processes.

The statement affirmed that the states of Darfur and Kordofan remain at the center of what it described as the world’s largest humanitarian and protection crisis, citing widespread sexual and gender-based violence, confirmed famine conditions, and continuing acute hunger. It also reported that around 100,000 people have been displaced in recent months within Kordofan alone. It quoted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warning of the possibility that violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias in El Fasher could be repeated in the Kordofan region. The statement urgently called on both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, along with their allied militias, to cease hostilities immediately.

Politically, the statement’s balanced tone toward both parties to the conflict is notable. It simultaneously urged the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to halt fighting at once, reflecting the signatory states’ adherence to an official position of neutrality and their avoidance of adopting one side’s narrative over the other, while instead focusing on civilian protection as the central lever of political pressure.

The reference to the warning by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk also carries significant weight, as it draws on the credibility of an independent UN authority to strengthen the allegations — particularly regarding concerns that violations previously seen in El Fasher could recur elsewhere. This approach indicates an effort to build gradual international consensus around a unified legal characterization of abuses.

Signatories condemned “in the strongest terms” violence against civilians, especially women and children, stressing that grave violations may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity and must be investigated promptly and impartially, with perpetrators held accountable. They also emphasized that all parties must respect international humanitarian law, ensure unhindered delivery of food, medicine, and essential supplies, and provide safe passage for fleeing civilians, with special protection for women and girls at risk of violence.

The statement concluded by affirming solidarity with the Sudanese people and with local and international humanitarian organizations working under extremely difficult conditions.