Sudan has formally requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) launch a comprehensive investigation into foreign states and entities it accuses of providing extensive military and logistical support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
This demand was articulated by Al-Harith Idriss, Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, in a recent address to the Security Council. Idriss explicitly called for an inquiry into what he termed the “major regional patrons” of the RSF.
Idriss explained that this external assistance is aimed at prolonging the ongoing conflict and undermining the sovereignty of the Sudanese state. Concurrently, he appealed to the international community to provide urgent financial aid to enable the ICC to proceed with its investigations into crimes in Darfur.
He added in his remarks: “We demand that the Office of the Prosecutor include in its ongoing investigation elements and individuals from foreign states, whether in Sudan’s regional vicinity, across the African continent, or from the major regional patrons.”
Idriss accused these unnamed parties of assisting the RSF “to continue their fierce offensives, facilitating arms smuggling, and providing logistical support, in addition to supplying food, provisions, drones, and missiles.”
He stated that the ultimate goal of this illicit support is “to enable the RSF to occupy vital parts of Sudanese territory, to establish a parallel government.” Idriss described this act as a “new and reprehensible crime of aggression.”
Discussing his government’s cooperation with the ICC, Idriss highlighted Sudan’s full commitment to its obligations under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2021. This collaboration involves facilitating visits by specialised ICC delegations and forming national coordination committees tasked with actively assisting in the investigations.
The Ambassador stressed that the continuation of the justice process inherently requires continuous and tangible international support for the Court. He concluded: “Sudan appeals to the international community to provide sufficient financial and logistical backing to enable the International Criminal Court to fully and effectively exercise its judicial mandate
