Interactive Dialogue on HC oral update on the Sudan
Human Rights Council – 54th Session
Statement by the Delegation of the United States of America
As delivered by Ambassador Michèle Taylor
Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Mr. High Commissioner and esteemed expert, for your briefing. It is a sobering reminder of the devastating effects that the conflict in Sudan has had on civilians.
Atrocities and other abuses against civilians, including gender-based violence against displaced persons and abuses targeting human rights defenders, journalists, and humanitarians, must stop immediately. It is well past time. The United States calls for impartial, independent investigations and accountability for those responsible.
We are alarmed by reports of ethnically motivated killings, gender-based violence, seizures of civilian hospitals, and forced recruitment and use of child soldiers, mostly by the Rapid Support Forces and their allied groups. We are also concerned about reports of the Sudanese Armed Forces’ indiscriminate aerial bombardments, attacks on civilians, and other failures to protect civilians.
Nearly five months into this brutal conflict, and with actors stoking ethnic divisions that echo Sudan’s darkest days, we must collectively say: “Enough.”
I reiterate the United States’ support for a civilian-led transition to an inclusive country-wide Sudanese democracy.
How can the international community best support the people of Sudan in returning Sudan to a democratic path?
I thank you.
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