American investigative journalist and author Jane Mayer was not talking about Sudan when she said: “Nothing predicts future behaviour as much as past impunity.”
However, anyone who knows the history of that country would find this an apt description of what has happened and is still happening there, particularly in Darfur.
International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC put it even more directly: “In the suffering of women and children and men in Darfur, we hear very close echoes that gave rise to the original referral that this council made in Resolution 1593, 20 years ago. And I state that the pattern of crimes, the perpetrators, the parties track very closely with the same protagonists, the same targeted groups as existed in 2003, and that led to the referral. It’s the same communities, the same groups suffering, a new generation suffering the same hell that has been endured by other generations of Darfuris.”
Khan’s remarks when he briefed the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in January 2025 poignantly sum up the tragedy of the situation in Darfur, and indeed the whole of war-ravaged Sudan. They paint a picture of cyclical war, violence, and death with no conceivable end in sight, no prospect of peace and justice soon. A truly hopeless situation brought about by impunity and lack of accountability.
The UNSC’s Resolution 1593 of 2005 heralded much hope for justice. The situation in Darfur had become so dire that the UNSC felt compelled to refer it to the ICC. This was a unique and historic decision as it was the council’s first referral to the ICC and the court’s first investigation on the territory of a non-state party to the Rome Statute. It was the first ICC investigation dealing with allegations of the crime of genocide.
Crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide
The ICC investigation produced seven warrants of arrest against six individuals, including Sudan President Omar al Bashir, the first sitting president wanted by the ICC and the first person charged by the ICC for the crime of genocide. The six suspects faced charges of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.
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Now, after 20 long years, much of the initial hope and high expectation brought by the referral have dissipated. The long list of disappointments started quite early in the case, with the suspects walking free, apparently fearing no arrest and with a zero chance of being held accountable for the crimes for which they were indicted. So far, only one of the six suspects has stood trial at the ICC. Four of them, including Bashir, are still at large as the ICC has no mechanism to compel them to face the court, instead depending on the goodwill of member states to arrest suspects and hand them to the court. That sole case before the ICC took more than 15 years to begin and is only now being concluded.
There was more than a hint of frustration in Khan’s statement to the USC that this apparent inability to enforce accountability has encouraged impunity, leading to almost identical dire human rights violations in Darfur and wider afield in Sudan.
“As reflected in the report that is before the council, as we speak, international crimes are undoubtedly being committed in Darfur. They’re being committed as we speak. And daily, unfortunately, we see crimes being used as a weapon of war for so many that the law is meant to protect from these types of excesses,” he said.
The Head of the Unified Team in the Office of the ICC Prosecutor, Pubudu Sachithanandan, echoed the sentiments when he spoke during the Wayamo Foundation’s symposium on “Advancing Accountability for International Crimes in Africa” in Nairobi, Kenya, in early 2025, saying that patterns of violence and criminality that began in 2003-2004 have persisted, affecting countless lives.
“The lack of cooperation from states and the international community meant that the suspects remained at large, allowing the perpetrators to continue their criminal activities. As the years passed, the patterns of violence and abuse persisted, with the same groups responsible for atrocities continuing to operate with impunity. This stagnation in the pursuit of justice underscored the limitations and challenges faced by the ICC,” he said.
The official pointed out that one of the significant challenges the ICC faced was the prolonged duration of justice in Sudan and that the 20-year gap in addressing these crimes has raised concerns about the efficacy of the justice system.
“It was not until a few years ago that the ICC made a significant breakthrough with the arrest of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb). This development was a crucial step forward, as it allowed witnesses to come forward and testify about the horrors they had endured. Evidence from the early years of the conflict in areas such as Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Deleig could finally be brought to light. The proceedings against Ali Kushayb have brought a measure of hope to the victims, demonstrating that justice, though delayed, is still possible,” he said.
Closure for the victims
He added: “The progress made in the Ali Kushayb case demonstrates that, despite the many obstacles, it is possible to bring perpetrators to justice and provide some measure of closure for the victims. However, the continued evasion of key figures like Bashir and Ahmad Muhammad Harun underscores the need for sustained international cooperation and commitment.”
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He agreed with the Prosecutor’s assertion that notwithstanding the ICC’s jurisdiction and geographical limitation to Darfur, the events that have unfolded in Sudan since April 2023 are closely connected to the Darfur conflict of 2003 and 2004.
According to him, the connection provides the ICC with the legal grounds to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes and warrants expanding the ICC’s mandate to cover all parts of Sudan.
The latest conflict in Sudan involves the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo Mousa (Hemedti), and the Abdel Fattah al Burhan-led Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The RSF are a paramilitary group originally formed from the Janjaweed militias who were notorious for their brutal actions during the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s. They were armed and supported by the Sudanese government to fight against non-Arab rebel groups and committed widespread atrocities, including mass killings and rapes. This led to the UNSC referral of the Darfur situation to the ICC. Bashir rebranded the Janjaweed as RSF in 2013 and allowed them to continue their violent actions, including the suppression of pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The struggle for power between RSF and SAF began in October 2021, six months after Burhan seized control of the government in a coup that disrupted Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy after the ousting of Bashir in April 2019. Disagreements over integrating the RSF into the SAF led to tensions between Burhan and RSF leader Hemedti. In April 2023, the two factions clashed in Khartoum, leading to widespread violence and displacement.
Khan’s concerns are borne out by the latest report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sudan. “Entrenched impunity was one of the drivers of the conflict and has been fuelling it ever since. Accountability, regardless of the rank and affiliation of the perpetrators, is critical to breaking the recurring cycles of violence and impunity in the Sudan and preventing further violations and abuses,” the report, presented to the UN Human Rights Council during its 58th session, said.
It says that in just one year, from December 2023 to November 2024, which saw heavy fighting between the Sudanese government forces and rebels, about 4,000 civilians were killed and more than 4,300 others were injured. Some 8.4 million people were displaced internally by the latest conflict, bringing the total number to 11.1 million. Some 3.1 million Sudanese have fled to neighbouring countries.
The world’s worst humanitarian crisis
The conflict has resulted in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with almost 25 million people – more than half of the population of Sudan – in need of assistance, whose access has been severely curtailed by the fighting.
The report lists the violations against civilians committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their affiliates and the Rapid Support Forces, supported by its allied Arab militias, since hostilities broke out in April 2023 as the rebels tried to oust the military administration. These include indiscriminate or intentional attacks on civilians and health and humanitarian workers and civilian targets including schools, hospitals and health facilities, markets, villages, places of worship, and cultural centres.
Other suspected crimes include the recruitment of children to fight in the war, summary executions, sexual violence, detention, and disappearance.
A feminist advocate and researcher who identified herself only by one name, Sala, for fear of reprisal, told the Wayamo symposium that sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) has been pervasive in the Sudanese conflict
She called for efforts to address these crimes, including documenting and verifying incidents through open-source investigations, providing support to survivors, and advocating for accountability.
“I remember reviewing multiple footage and videos about the crimes that happened in Sudan. One was documenting the crime as it was happening,” Sala told the panel.
According to the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the security situation remains precarious, and continued efforts are needed to protect aid workers and ensure they can safely deliver assistance to those in need.
“The parties to the conflict continued to show utter disregard for international law and for the protection of civilians. They committed gross violations and abuses of international human rights law as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes,” the report said, and recommended expanding the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the whole of Sudan to try to address the violations.
Activist Mohammed Sultan, who spoke at the Nairobi symposium, called for renewed commitment to enhancing the media environment, fostering independent journalism, and ensuring the protection of journalists to help in documenting the violations.
“We have videos of the Sudanese army and others, videos in the media about what happened… But there will be a period when the videos will disappear from the media, and that worries me,” he said.
The Sudanese Journalists Syndicate said it has recorded “107 human rights violations against journalists, including attacks and threats, by both parties to the conflict, between February 2024 and February 2025”.
There is consensus that some of the latest developments, which ignore justice and accountability, could escalate rather than resolve the conflict in Sudan. Recent reports of Kenya’s President William Ruto hosting RSF leader Hemedti in Nairobi in February 2025 have ruffled feathers in Khartoum, especially after the rebel group and its alliance of political and military partners signed a charter to create a secular parallel government called the Sudan Founding Alliance in swathes of areas it controlled in Sudan.
Violation of international obligations
This drew the ire of SAF, which recalled Sudan’s ambassador to Kenya and accused Ruto of taking sides in the conflict. Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as rights groups, among them the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), condemned the meeting, saying it risked deepening Sudan’s fragmentation and exacerbating the war.
“Kenya’s decision to host the RSF in Nairobi to form a parallel government is a grave violation of its international obligations, including the UN Charter, the AU Constitutive Act, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Moreover, this move undermines Sudan’s sovereignty, constitutes an act of hostility against its people, and disregards the immense suffering of countless Sudanese civilians and ongoing peace efforts,” said ICJ in a statement.
Donald Deya, the Chief Executive Officer of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), observed at the Wayamo symposium that Kenya’s actions were alarming and contradicted the United Nations and the African Union’s peace efforts in Sudan.
According to the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), the developments could potentially further escalate the ongoing armed conflict, exacerbate the human rights crisis, and hinder accountability efforts.
“The formation of two parallel governments is highly probable to escalate the ongoing conflict, exacerbating human rights violations and humanitarian crises,” ACJPS said in a press statement.
It appears the people of Sudan are in for a long wait to get any peace and to see their tormentors held accountable.
In his speech to the Security Council, ICC Prosecutor Khan voiced the hope of the world to bring peace and justice to all humanity: “To honour those victims of Auschwitz, to honour the victims of crimes that we have seen in the intervening decades, maybe on a different scale to the Holocaust, but a promise was made of never again. It is time to fulfil that promise of never again, for the rights of all victims that have suffered so many crimes, whether it’s in Sierra Leone or in Cambodia or in Rwanda or in the former Yugoslavia, in so many conflicts that we see today.”
The world said “never again” 20 years ago when it tried, through the referral to the ICC, to bring peace and justice to Darfur and, by extension, to Sudan. Can the tortured people of Sudan ever lay claim to this promise made so long ago, or will impunity and lack of accountability be allowed to continue to rob them of their right to peace and justice?
