Geneva – On the margins of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a high-level panel titled “Sudan in Crisis: Protection and Accountability Through UN–African Connectivity” will take place on 24 March 2026, 14:00-15:00 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The event will provide a platform for dialogue between United Nations and African human rights mechanisms alongside Sudanese civil society actors to address the ongoing human rights crisis in Sudan and explore practical pathways to strengthen protection and accountability.
Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan, grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law have been widely documented, including unlawful killings, indiscriminate attacks, conflict-related sexual violence, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture, and large-scale displacement. Victims and survivors continue to face urgent protection needs, while access to accountability mechanisms remains fragmented and difficult.
The discussion will therefore focus on strengthening coordination between United Nations and African human rights systems through the framework of the Addis Ababa Roadmap, which aims to enhance institutional cooperation between UN Special Procedures and mechanisms of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This connectivity seeks to improve the protection of victims, ensure safe and responsible engagement with survivors and witnesses, and facilitate follow-up that translates documentation efforts into concrete accountability processes.
The panel will also highlight the complementary roles played by international and regional investigative mechanisms established in response to the conflict, including the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan and the joint fact-finding mechanism established by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the AU Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security. Participants will discuss how coordination between these mechanisms can strengthen documentation, support protection-sensitive referrals, and contribute to more effective pathways toward justice, protection, and accountability.
In addition, the event will center the perspectives of Sudanese civil society organizations and affected communities, with interventions focusing on protection priorities for victims and survivors, challenges related to documentation in conflict and displacement contexts, and the need for coordinated international engagement that adheres to do-no-harm principles.
The panel will be moderated by Ms. Aua Baldé, Member of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Speakers include H.E. Idrissa Sow, Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Dr. Mona Rishmawi, Member of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan; Commissioner Hatem Essaiem, Vice-Chairperson of the African Commission and Head of the ACHPR Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan; Commissioner Salma Sassi, Member of the same mission; as well as Sudanese civil society representatives Nazik Kabalo (Sudan Women Rights Action) and Musbah Issa (AWAFY Sudanese Organization)
Interpretation will be available in English and French.
