Calls have intensified for an independent and transparent international investigation into allegations that the Sudanese army used chemical weapons during the war. The issue was raised at a rights session held in Dakar on Friday 9 October, which also discussed external interventions, violations against civilians and responsibility for prolonging the conflict.
The session was part of events that began on Thursday with the opening of the NGO forum accompanying the session, organised by the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, with the participation of civil society organisations, human rights defenders and African rights institutions. The centre announced that more than 400 organisations had registered to participate in the forum.
The opening was attended by Idrissa Sow, president of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Hanna Foster, the centre’s executive director, along with representatives of the Senegalese government. The justice minister delivered an address on behalf of the host state. The African Coalition for Sudan organised a special session entitled “Developments in the War in Sudan”, attended by a broad African and international rights audience.
Dakar session examines interventions and violations in Sudan
Discussions focused on the roles of external parties in the war, serious violations against civilians and allegations concerning the possible use of chemical weapons. Ambassador Ali bin Abi Talib, Sudan’s former representative to the United Nations in Geneva and former deputy president of the Human Rights Council, warned of the dangers of expanding external interventions in the war.
He said that more than 12 countries and external parties were involved in the conflict in different forms and at different levels. Participants criticised what they described as double standards in dealing with these interventions, arguing that focusing on condemning certain parties but not others turns Sudan’s tragedy into an arena for settling political scores rather than addressing the causes behind the continuation of the fighting.
Bin Abi Talib warned of the risks posed by the roles of neighbouring countries and regional interventions which, he said, contributed to complicating and prolonging the conflict. He called for a comprehensive approach addressing all forms of external intervention without selectivity, and placing civilian protection and an end to the war above political calculations and regional interests.
The rights discussion also focused on the need for accountability not to be limited to parties directly committing violations, but to extend to examining the roles of those providing the conditions for the war to continue or contributing to its prolongation.
Chemical weapons allegations call for an independent technical investigation
Abdelbaki Jibril, director of the Sudan Knowledge Centre in Geneva, gave a historical overview of armed conflicts in Sudan and their causes, and discussed serious violations committed during the current war. He held both sides of the conflict responsible for violations affecting civilians, and also addressed allegations that the Sudanese army had used chemical weapons.
Jibril said the seriousness of these allegations required them to be treated as an issue involving the possible use of internationally prohibited weapons, rather than merely as one aspect of the country’s political and military conflict.
He stressed the need for the allegations to be subjected to an independent and transparent international investigation examining the available evidence, documents and testimonies, verifying the nature of the substances suspected of being used and determining possible responsibility. He called for co-operation with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, rather than relying solely on official denials or internal investigations conducted by the authorities in Port Sudan.
Jibril endorsed growing international calls for an independent technical investigation, citing positions expressed by the United States and Western countries during meetings of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Executive Council in The Hague. He said those positions emphasised the need to address the allegations seriously and transparently, and to provide the information required to verify them.
The issue was raised in Dakar after a series of investigations and press reports raised questions about the use of chemical substances in the war, including allegations that munitions containing chlorine had been manufactured and used. The allegations still require a specialised technical investigation to distinguish between available indications and scientifically established findings.
The chemical weapons issue took up a substantial part of the session, prompting engagement from representatives of participating rights organisations. Contributions focused on the legal and criminal responsibilities that could arise if an investigation established that internationally prohibited weapons had been used in the Sudanese conflict.
African Commission backs investigation with international co-ordination
Leta Musyami, a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and of the African fact-finding mission on Sudan, said the commission and mission members were concerned by allegations that the Sudanese army had used chemical weapons during the war, describing the allegations as serious.
Musyami stressed the importance of addressing the issue with the required seriousness, given the concerns it raises about protecting civilians, respecting international law and upholding obligations relating to the prohibition of chemical weapons. She announced her support for an independent and transparent international investigation co-ordinated with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, allowing the use of specialised technical expertise to examine the evidence and verify the allegations.
Musyami’s membership of the African Commission and the fact-finding mission on Sudan gives her intervention a direct connection to African human rights mechanisms, at a time when rights-based concern about the allegations is growing across the continent, alongside increasing international calls for them to be verified away from political and diplomatic disputes.
Co-operation needed to establish substances used and possible responsibility
Alongside calls for an end to the war and the protection of civilians, participants stressed that an independent international investigation required the co-operation of the Sudanese army and the authorities based in Port Sudan, as well as access to the information needed to reach technical findings on the nature of the substances used and possible responsibility, paving the way for any accountability process based on verified evidence.
