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The International Criminal Court (ICC) said Monday it has found evidence that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Sudan’s Darfur region, citing repeated atrocities in El Fasher and the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told the United Nations Security Council that the court’s assessment was based on video, audio and satellite data collected during the reporting period.
She said the office concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in El Fasher, including in October, during what she described as the culmination of the city’s siege by the RSF.
Khan said video evidence showed patterns of crimes previously seen in other parts of Darfur, including detention, mistreatment and killings of people from non-Arab tribes.
“The evidence shows that the patterns of atrocities in El Geneina in 2023 have been replicated in El Fasher in 2025,” she said, adding that similar criminality was occurring across towns in Darfur.
She said investigations confirmed that sexual violence, including rape, was being used as a tool of war in the region.
Khan described the October 2025 conviction of Ali Mohammed Abdul Rahman as a milestone, calling it the first conviction resulting from a U.N. Security Council referral to the court and the first based on gender-based persecution.
She said investigations face challenges due to limited access and concerns over witness safety but noted improved cooperation with African states and Sudanese authorities, including missions to Port Sudan.
Khan said she was unable to brief the Security Council in person after being denied a visa by the United States, despite U.N. rules requiring host countries to grant visas for official UN business.
Several council members expressed support for Khan. However, U.S. Deputy Envoy Jeff Bartos criticized the ICC, saying Washington maintains serious concerns about the court’s jurisdiction and warned that U.S. responses would escalate if those concerns remain unaddressed.
Separately, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that atrocities committed during the capture of El Fasher must not be repeated as fighting intensifies in South Kordofan.
UN spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said High Commissioner Volker Turk raised concerns after a five-day visit to Sudan, during which he witnessed the impact of violence on displaced civilians.
She said the takeover of El Fasher in late October was marked by summary executions, sexual violence, abductions for ransom, and an 18-month siege that deprived civilians of food, health care and basic services.
Shamdasani said over 25,000 people have been displaced across South Kordofan since late October amid heavy fighting, shelling, drone attacks and airstrikes, with famine conditions confirmed near Kadugli.
She said Turk urged all parties, including RSF representatives, to ensure civilians are protected, safe passage is provided to those fleeing conflict zones and violations such as sexual violence, arbitrary detention and reprisals are prevented.
Turk also warned that all sides have committed serious violations of international human rights law and called on those supplying arms or benefiting economically from the conflict to act urgently to help end the war that began in April 2023.
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