By Our Correspondent in Paris
May 24, 2025
The Peace and Democratic Transition Organization has welcomed the US State Department’s decision to impose sanctions on the Sudanese army following its use of internationally prohibited chemical weapons during the armed conflict in Sudan in 2024.
The serious step sends a clear message to all those who violate international humanitarian law that impunity is no longer possible, said a statement from the organisation.
“We call for further necessary measures to stop the war and punish the perpetrators of genocide and chemical weapons.We highly appreciate the international efforts, especially the US role, in seeking to stop the bloody war in Sudan and to hold accountable those responsible for the brutal crimes committed against defenseless civilians, particularly those perpetrated by the Sudanese Islamic Movement and its militias, including the so-called “Kitab al-Bara’ bin Malik,” along with the joint forces allied with it, ” added the Statement.
Multiple human rights organizations, along with compelling field testimonies, have documented the Sudanese army’s use of internationally prohibited weapons against civilians, as part of systematic ethnic cleansing campaigns targeting civilians based on their geographic or ethnic affiliations. This constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity.
This is what the Peace and Democratic Transition Organization warned of in its meetings with international institutions and demanded during its documented protests in Geneva on March 29, 2025, and London on May 18, 2025. The organization condemned the use of chemical weapons by the Sudanese army and its terrorist brigades.
This resolution is the culmination of this call, which has long awaited such decisions within the framework of disarming terrorist groups in Sudan of internationally prohibited weapons.
We call on all international institutions, especially the UN Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and the Human Rights Council, to support this approach by taking similar measures to pressure all parties to the conflict, respect the rules of international humanitarian law, and fully commit to the protection of civilians.
We also call on national governments, friendly human rights organizations, and media institutions to intensify their efforts to expose these violations, provide humanitarian and field support to affected communities, and work to build a just peace process and a genuine democratic transformation for all Sudanese.
The United States calls on the government of Sudan to cease all chemical weapons use and to uphold its obligations under the chemical Weapons Convention under which signatories have committed themselves to destroy stock piles of the weapons.
Both the Sudanese military and the paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have previously been accused of war crimes which they have denied.
More than 150,000 people have been killed during the conflict that began two years ago when Sudan’s army and the RSF launched struggle for power.
Over 13 million Sudanese have been displaced in what the International Rescue Committee (IRC) describes as the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.
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