Sudan’s Hidden Supply Chains: How States Can Stop Atrocities Now
The Independent Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan (FFM) released an alarming report at the 63rd Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. It documents in detail how a transnational web of arms dealers, logistics hubs, as well as foreign contractors and complicit States have actively fueled a conflict displaying major hallmarks of genocide. The report provides a roadmap that showcases the machinery of atrocity and sets out what the international community must do to counter it. Specifically, it presented evidence of a clear causal link between war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal conduct at ZamZam camp and El Fasher in North Darfur and a transnational network of actively complicit actors supplying fighters, finance, weapons, training and logistics.
"Under international law, aiding and abetting entails knowingly providing practical assistance, encouragement or moral support that substantially contributes to the commission of a crime... It is sufficient that it materially enabled, facilitated, sustained or enhanced the capacity of the perpetrators to carry out the criminal conduct." paras 108-12
In its new report, the FFM presents eye-opening capabilities behind those mass atrocities. The new engagement of long-range drones are reported to "have altered the geographical distribution and persistence of civilian exposure to hostilities", resulting in over 1000 deaths of civilians and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure in just six months. In addition, the capabilities include extensive artillery and foreign-trained fighters supplied through routes running via the United Arab Emirates, Chad, Southeastern Libya, and Puntland in Somalia, involving the recruitment of some 2,000 Colombian contractors.
This supply chain matters enormously in mass atrocity prevention work, where the focus is on the prevention of widespread abuses against civilians. Atrocity crimes, and particularly those with identity-based targeting, are part of a process that is understood, predictable and preventable. The pathway of external support uncovered by the FFM involves systematic structures that keep weapons and resources flowing.
In addition, the FFM's findings on gendered harm directly validate and strengthen the arguments made in our June 2026 report, Conflict-Related Sexual Violence is Not Inevitable: Survivor’s Views on Prevention in Sudan. The mission dedicates a section to the impact of drone warfare on women and children, where displacement and the destruction of hospitals and maternal health services have heightened the risk of “child marriage, exploitation, and other forms of gender-based harm” (paras 53-57). This aligns with our survivors’ testimony: when drone strikes destroy civilian infrastructure — hospitals, water points, markets, or schools —they cause immediate casualties, but they also exacerbate the conditions that drive CRSV. Vulnerable groups are pushed back into unprotected spaces, increasing vulnerability and risk. Survivors call for accountability not just for the sake of justice or deterring further attacks and casualties, but also as a means of reducing the vulnerability and enabling environment that enables sexual violence.
Furthermore, the FFM report delivered a powerful endorsement of our advocacy on the ICC's jurisdiction over the whole of Sudan. In paragraph 133 (f), the Mission explicitly called on the Human Rights Council to:
“Pursue accountability across the full chain of responsibility… through domestic and international proceedings; support universal jurisdiction; cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court; and support extending its jurisdiction beyond Darfur to the whole of Sudan.”
In response, the EU representative at the HRC Session - where the Report was presented on 7 September 2026 - flagged gender-based harm as a widespread and systematic feature of the conflict. It called on all States and actors to refrain from action that fuels the conflict. The EU also backed the FFM's recommendation to extend the ICC's mandate to the whole of Sudan, as well as to extend the Darfur arms embargo.
Since December 2025, Rights for Peace has argued that the ICC Prosecutor's mandate under UNSC Resolution 1593 can extend to crimes committed outside Darfur where there is a sufficient link to the situation originally referred to in 2005. Our communication to the Prosecutor (submitted with Hogan Lovells LLP and the Centre for Information Resilience) presented open-source evidence showing how violence in Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Khartoum is strategically connected to the Darfur conflict through shared command structures, supply chains, and intent - demonstrating a sufficient link. The FFM’s report now provides independent UN validation of this position, confirming that limiting jurisdiction to Darfur leaves victims of atrocities elsewhere without recourse.
The FFM goes a step further, and recommends establishing a specialised independent judicial mechanism for Sudan—a dedicated court to work alongside the ICC—to ensure accountability is both internationally supported and locally grounded. It also reminded States of their responsibility to prevent and punish violations, implying that States who violate their due diligence obligations - for instance by allowing arms flows through their territories - bear international responsibility:
States must "respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law in all circumstances," including exercising "due diligence... to prevent violations where there is a clear risk they will be committed" (para 113).
Our Call to Action
Ahead of the voting by States on the renewal of the FFM's mandate, Rights for Peace urges the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly and the Security Council to translate the FFM’s findings into immediate, binding measures that end impunity and prevent further atrocities, providing it with a two-year mandate and the necessary legal and financial backing to execute its work:
Impose a comprehensive, UN‑mandated arms embargo on all of Sudan, with rigorous monitoring, verification and sanctions for any State, corporation or individual that enables the transfer of weapons, drones, components, technical assistance or military support where there is a substantial risk of use in serious violations.
Demand that the States concerned undertake independent investigations into transnational networks, including freezing and seizure of assets operating in or passing through their territories, recalling their due diligence responsibilities, and request that these States report back on actions taken at the next HRC session. Emphasise that such investigations should include state-entities, logistics hubs, financiers, intermediaries and foreign contractors – that have supplied fighters, finance, weapons, training and logistics to the parties.
Note that third States have a shared responsibility to prevent and punish genocide under the Genocide Convention amongst others, and urge the pursuit of prosecutions under universal jurisdiction, proactively investigating actors aiding and abetting such crimes.
Ensure that all accountability processes explicitly examine identity‑based targeting and genocidal conduct, so that investigations and processes reflect the required level of gravity under international law, as well as the impact on victims and their rights.
Establish an interim reparation mechanism, able to receive seized assets and deliver survivor‑led measures, thereby rectifying double standards with mechanisms established for other conflicts such as Ukraine. Reparation measures should include emergency medical care, psychosocial support, livelihood programmes and legal aid for the most vulnerable victims.
Guarantee robust protection for human rights defenders, journalists and witnesses who document these crimes, through rapid‑response relocation schemes, emergency funding and diplomatic advocacy, to ensure that evidence continues to be gathered and preserved.
Proactively execute or enable the execution of arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, as well as investigations and general mandate, thereby reinforcing the credibility and deterrent effect of international justice and the human rights system.
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