The International Federation for Rights and Development (IFRD) welcomes the deployment of an OCHA fact-finding mission to Al-Fashir, North Darfur, as a necessary step to establish an evidence-based understanding of the humanitarian situation and the protection risks facing civilians.
Al-Fashir has remained under extreme pressure, with repeated reports of attacks affecting residential areas, displacement sites, health facilities, and humanitarian operations. IFRD underscores that fact-finding must translate into action: protection of civilians is not optional, and violations of international humanitarian law must carry consequences.
IFRD calls on all parties to the conflict to: Guarantee safe, immediate, and unimpeded access for OCHA and all humanitarian actors, including secure movement to and within Al-Fashir and surrounding localities.
End attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including shelters for displaced people, markets, medical facilities, water systems, and aid operations.
Enable independent documentation and verification, including preservation of evidence, protection of witnesses, and facilitation of monitoring mechanisms.
Accountability must follow. IFRD urges the UN system and relevant international mechanisms to ensure that findings from Al-Fashir are formally documented, shared with competent accountability bodies, and used to support concrete measures—ranging from targeted sanctions against responsible commanders to judicial pathways where jurisdiction is available. Survivors and affected communities must be centered in any accountability process, with safeguards for confidentiality and protection from reprisals.IFRD will continue to monitor developments in North Darfur and stands ready to support efforts that translate verified facts into protection outcomes and justice for victims.
