The Sudan Conflict is an Existential Crisis for Refugee Protection in Africa

By Chidi Odinkalu, Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law, Fletcher School & Leir Affiliated Faculty

As active fighting in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, nears the two-month mark, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) finally found time to meet at the level of heads of State and government on May 27. Emerging from the meeting, the leaders acknowledged that the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rebranded Janjaweed, now known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has resulted in “gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.” They transmitted six demands to the belligerents, including unconditional cessation of hostilities, unhindered humanitarian access, and resumption of the political process, which formed the foundation for their six-point plan for resolving the crisis. This is only a modest update of the AU’s penultimate statement on the conflict.