The 54th session of the UNHRC runs from 11 September to 13 October 2023. Ahead of the sessions, Amnesty International and other civil society organizations wrote to UNHRC member states urging them to renew the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) and to establish an investigative mechanism to address human rights violations in Sudan

Ahead of the conclusion of the 54th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in which member states will decide whether to establish a human rights monitoring mechanism in Sudan and extend human rights reporting in Russia, Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said:

“These decisions of the Human Rights Council on Sudan and Russia, serve as a crucial test for the Council as to whether it can rise above political interests of member states and be fit for purpose. The Council must not allow itself to be shackled by geopolitics.

“Having already failed to table a resolution to renew the accountability mechanism on Ethiopia, the members of the Council cannot again fail in their commitments to protect human rights.  They must establish a monitoring mechanism on violations committed by parties to the conflict in Sudan and extend the mandate of the special rapporteur on human rights in Russia.

“Civilians in Sudan are bearing the brunt of the ongoing devastating conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militias. Six months since the conflict began, thousands of people have been killed and injured and over five million people have been forced to flee their homes. Parties to the conflict have also committed war crimes, including sexual violence and the targeting of communities based on their ethnic identity. 

These decisions of the Human Rights Council on Sudan and Russia, serve as a crucial test for the Council as to whether it can rise above political interests of member states and be fit for purpose. 

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns

“UNHRC member states should send a clear message that they stand in solidarity with civilians in Sudan and Russia who have suffered horrendous violations amid a culture of impunity, by supporting these resolutions. The perpetrators of war crimes and other human rights violations must be held to account. No state should be exempt from independent scrutiny.”

UNHRC member states should send a clear message that they stand in solidarity with civilians in Sudan and Russia who have suffered horrendous violations amid a culture of impunity, by supporting these resolutions.

Erika Guevara-Rosas

Background

The 54th session of the UNHRC runs from 11 September to 13 October 2023.

Ahead of the sessions, Amnesty International and other civil society organizations wrote to UNHRC member states urging them to renew the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE) and to establish an investigative mechanism to address human rights violations in Sudan.