The Uinted Nation (UN) Human Rights Council will today hold an emergency session in Geneva to discuss the ongoing clashes in Sudan between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The purpose of the meeting is to condemn the ravaging fighting in the country and to call for the observance of human rights and international humanitarian law, according to a diplomatic source.

There have been reports of significant human rights violations, including attacks on people, hospital, sexual violence, looting of warehouses and so on.

It is unclear whether a planned resolution would receive the necessary majority in the Council, which has 47-member countries.

Several African countries, particularly Sudan, are said to be hesitant about the summit, believing it could jeopardize ongoing peace talks.

Responding to news that the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Sudan to discuss the impact of the ongoing conflict in the country, Amnesty International says it welcomes the special session on Sudan and called upon the Council to address this human rights crisis in a manner that is responsive to the current and urgent needs of people in embattled northeast African.

Amnesty International reiterated calls made together with more than 90 other organizations, for Council members to establish an investigative mechanism to monitor, collect and preserve evidence, and report serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law that have occurred, and continue to occur, during this conflict.

It added that this investigative mechanism should be able to identify perpetrators and make recommendations to ensure accountability, justice, and reparations for victims.

“The scale and gravity of the crisis requires the creation of such a mechanism to bring enhanced and dedicated resources to these tasks at this crucial moment. It would complement existing UN mechanisms including UNITAMS, the UN Human Rights Office, and the Human Rights Council’s Designated Expert.

“Sudan’s regional partners and the international community must act now to support the people of Sudan,” Amnesty International says.

Fighting first broke out in Sudan in mid-April, after a long power struggle erupted between de facto president Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the paramilitary RSF.

The United Nations estimates that more than 700,000 people have been displaced by the conflict.

INN