The Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR) welcomes the report released by the United Nations on 3 September 2026 documenting the devastating impact of Sudan’s ongoing war on civilians and the role of external support in sustaining and intensifying the conflict.
For more than three years, Sudanese civil society organisations, including the Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR), human rights defenders, journalists, survivors, and communities affected by the conflict have consistently raised the alarm over the devastating consequences of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. SAR has repeatedly called attention to airstrikes and drone attacks that have killed and injured civilians, destroyed homes and essential infrastructure, and deepened an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
The UN report reinforces what Sudanese voices have been documenting and warning about: civilians continue to bear the brunt of this war. The increasing use of drones and other advanced weapons has expanded the capacity of the warring parties to carry out attacks far beyond conventional frontlines, placing civilians, hospitals, markets, schools, places of refuge, and essential services at grave risk.
We particularly welcome the report’s attention to the external networks, military support, weapons, technology and personnel contributing to the continuation of the conflict. The international community must recognise that the war in Sudan is not sustained solely by those directly engaged in hostilities. The networks that facilitate the transfer of weapons, military technology, financing and personnel must also be subjected to scrutiny and accountability.
For SAR, the significance of this report lies not only in its findings, but in the opportunity it presents to move from documentation to meaningful accountability.
We have consistently stressed that every attack against civilians must be investigated, documented and subjected to independent scrutiny, and that perpetrators must be held accountable regardless of their affiliation. Where attacks against civilians and civilian objects violate international humanitarian law, those responsible must face justice.
We therefore urge the United Nations, Member States and relevant regional and international accountability mechanisms to act on the findings of this report. This must include effective enforcement of the existing arms embargo on Darfur and serious consideration of measures to prevent the continued flow of arms and military support to parties where there is a substantial risk that such support will contribute to violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
We further call for:
• Independent and impartial investigations into attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including airstrikes and drone attacks;
• Accountability for perpetrators of serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, irrespective of which party they belong to;
• Investigation of external actors and networks involved in supplying weapons, military technology, financing and personnel to the warring parties;
• Protection and preservation of evidence documenting attacks and their impact on civilians, including testimony, photographs, videos, satellite imagery and other forms of digital evidence;
• Meaningful participation of Sudanese victims, survivors, civil society and human rights defenders in accountability processes; and
• Concrete measures to protect civilians, including an end to attacks on civilian areas and critical infrastructure.
The Alliance also stresses that documentation must remain at the centre of efforts to pursue justice. The testimonies and evidence gathered by Sudanese survivors, communities, journalists, human rights defenders and civil society organisations are indispensable to establishing the truth about what is happening on the ground. Their work must be protected, supported and incorporated into credible accountability processes.
The UN report provides an important opportunity to ensure that the suffering of Sudanese civilians is not reduced to statistics. Every civilian life lost, every family displaced, every hospital damaged and every community deprived of essential services represents a human cost that demands attention and, where the law has been violated, accountability.
Sudanese civilians have paid the highest price for this war. They must not also pay the price of impunity.
SAR welcomes this report and urges the international community to ensure that its findings translate into concrete action, stronger civilian protection and a credible path towards justice and accountability for the people of Sudan.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights,
6 September 2026
