Activists Urge UN to Renew Mandate of Sudan Atrocity Investigators

Members of the Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan pictured in Abeche, Chad, on July 5, 2024. UN Photo

October 5, 2025 (GENEVA) – Human rights advocates are urging the United Nations Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of its atrocity investigation in Sudan, with a crucial vote that will determine the mission’s future set for Monday in Geneva.

The international Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan was established in October 2023 to document war crimes and human rights abuses committed by all parties in the conflict. Activists consider its continuation essential for any future justice process.

Ahead of the vote on resolution A/HRC/60/L.18, advocates warned that failing to renew the mandate would be a blow to accountability for victims.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune, Mohamed Salih M. Yassin, a human rights defender with the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, called the vote a test of humanity.

“A vote for Resolution A/HRC/60/L.18 is a vote for humanity — a vote against famine, mass rape, and ethnic cleansing,” he said. “Any nation that abstains is complicit in silence. Any nation that votes ‘No’ stands against justice… Stand with the people of Sudan, not with the warlords.”

While the FFM’s renewal is the central element, the resolution also calls for an immediate humanitarian truce and unhindered aid access to address the country’s severe humanitarian crisis.

The creation of the investigative body has been a contentious issue. The initial resolution establishing the FFM passed narrowly in October 2023. However, international support grew over the following year, with a 2024 resolution to continue its work passing with a more substantial majority of 23 to 12, gaining the backing of previous abstainers like South Africa and Ghana.

Advocates have again made a specific appeal to the council’s 13 African member states, arguing their support is vital to ensuring the mission can continue its work.

The current diplomatic push follows a sustained campaign by rights groups. This past August, a coalition of 96 Sudanese and international civil society organizations issued a joint statement calling on the council to extend the FFM’s mandate for at least two more years.