The Authority of Burying the Evidence!

Manazeer, Thursday, October 1, 2026, Zuhair Al-Sarraj, manazzeer@yahoo.com. Yesterday (September 30, 2026), the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway submitted draft resolution A/HRC/63/L.26 during the current session (No. 63) of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, which stipulates the extension of the mandate of the International Fact-Finding Mission in Sudan for two years (instead of just one). Thus, the matter has shifted from a proposal to an official draft resolution! The project is titled 'Responding to the human rights and humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan,' and it comes at a time when the mission is preparing to continue its work in documenting and investigating violations, while the war continues to claim civilian lives, destroy infrastructure, and obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid. As a reminder, the Council had extended the mission's mandate in October 2025 for one year, with a majority of 24 countries against 11, and 12 abstentions; the current mandate ends with the conclusion of the year scheduled for the extension, and therefore, the new draft resolution represents the essential step in deciding the mission's future. The project follows the report submitted by the mission to the current session titled 'Fueling the conflict in Sudan: Weapons, fighters, and external support networks,' which concluded there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have committed serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, some of which may amount to war crimes. The report also directly addressed the external support networks that provide weapons, equipment, drones, fighters, and logistical support. The latter point is important in the draft resolution and in the international discussion about Sudan, because the issue is no longer limited to identifying the violations committed by fighters inside the country, but extends to the parties and networks that help perpetuate the war, especially with calls from participants to expand the arms embargo imposed on Darfur to include all of Sudan, and to continue investigating the violations that occurred in El Obeid and other parts of Kordofan. Furthermore, the draft resolution comes after the Council's decision in its previous session (62) to conduct an urgent investigation into potential international violations and crimes in El Obeid and its surroundings; therefore, the continuation of the mission means the continuation of this investigation, alongside its broader work in collecting and preserving evidence and identifying those responsible for the violations. It is important to note that the countries that submitted the project—Britain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway—are the same countries leading the movement within the Council regarding the Sudan file, which confirms that the issue enjoys the support of the influential group of European countries in the Council, despite Sudanese efforts to try to prevent the renewal and mobilize countries opposed to the mission. The date for the vote on the draft resolution has not yet been set, according to the documents officially published on the Council's website, but it is expected that the final days of the session, which will continue until October 7, will be allocated for adopting and voting on draft resolutions, as is customary. Now, the project to extend the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission is officially on the table of the Human Rights Council, and the battle will shift to the stage of negotiating the content of the resolution and mobilizing votes. So, what will the 'authority of burying the evidence' in Sudan do in the coming days, in the face of the overwhelming support for the extension and the documentation of the crimes and violations committed by both parties to the war?! The post The Authority of Burying the Evidence! appeared first on Sudanile.