Nazhat Shameem Khan emphasized that famine is worsening and humanitarian convoys, hospitals, and civilians are being systematically targeted. “Rape and sexual violence are being weaponised,” she said, adding that people are deprived of food and water, and that kidnappings for ransom have become common.

The ICC's current investigation focuses on crimes in West Darfur, where survivors fleeing to Chad have provided critical testimonies. Khan stated: “We have reasonable grounds to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been and are continuing to be committed in Darfur.”

The ongoing conflict has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced over 13 million since 2023.

International Legal Action Intensifies

The ICC opened a new investigation in 2023, following a fresh outbreak of conflict between the SAF and the RSF. The RSF's predecessor, the Janjaweed militia, was previously accused of committing genocide in Darfur in the 2000s. ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan noted that both the SAF and RSF could be responsible for war crimes or even genocide.

In 2024, the ICC concluded its first Darfur-related trial against Ali Kushayb, a Janjaweed commander. Karim Khan warned current perpetrators: “They may feel a sense of impunity at this moment, as Ali Kosheib may have felt in the past. But we are working intensively to ensure that his trial is only the first of many.”

UN and Global Concern

The UN Fact-Finding Mission and other international bodies have raised alarms over the deliberate targeting of civilians and the obstruction of humanitarian assistance. The United States previously determined that the RSF and affiliated militias were committing genocide.

With Sudan’s civil war showing no sign of abating, the ICC’s pursuit of accountability has taken on renewed urgency amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe.