Campaigners Push UN to Break Silence on Sudan’s Chemical Weapons Use

During a panel at the Geneva Press Club, organizers from CAP Freedom of Conscience and Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) leveled sharp criticism at the global response to the conflict. Willy Fautré, founder of HRWF, rejected the label of a "forgotten war," noting that families in besieged cities like El Fasher and El Obeid are living through a reality that remains ignored by world powers. The discussion centered on the lack of an independent investigation into the use of chemical weapons, despite a formal determination by the U.S. State Department in April 2025 that the Sudanese government deployed such agents in 2024.

Beyond the diplomatic impasse, drone warfare has emerged as the primary driver of civilian fatalities, accounting for over 80 percent of deaths early this year. Advocacy groups at the session issued a tripartite demand to the Council: initiate an independent probe into chemical weapon allegations with OPCW participation, enforce strict scrutiny of arms embargo compliance by external actors including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and secure safe transit corridors for trapped civilians. As the UN’s Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan presents its findings during the session, delegates face an October deadline to decide whether to renew the mission’s mandate in a conflict where, as speakers emphasized, impunity remains the status quo.