The unfolding humanitarian catastrophes in the Republic of the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) demand our attention, compassion and unwavering commitment to justice.
In Sudan, multiple credible reports have confirmed that the conflict has descended into an unprecedented humanitarian and human rights catastrophe. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), at least 3,384 civilians were killed between January and June 2025, including nearly 990 summary executions, mostly in Darfur, Kordofan, and Khartoum. Around the city of El Fasher in North Darfur, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused by the United Nations, Le Monde, and the Sudan Tribune of committing widespread atrocities, including mass executions, sexual violence, and the burial of civilians alive. In one documented case, approximately 2,000 people were killed, many reportedly burned alive, and 87 bodies buried in a mass grave. The OHCHR described these acts as “appalling reports of summary executions and other serious violations” that may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
In the DRC’s eastern provinces, the scale and brutality of conflict-related violence are staggering. An estimated 17,000 victims of sexual violence were treated over five months in 2024, and in January–February 2025, a child was raped approximately every half-hour amid escalating warfare. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented mass killings, including summary executions and attacks on civilians in battle-zones where multiple armed groups operate with impunity. These horrors reflect deep-seated failures in governance, protection and accountability.
We call on all the African governments, the African Union, the United Nations, including the United Nations Women, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), international humanitarian agencies and civil society partners to respond with urgency, compassion and accountability. Each moment of delay deepens the suffering of civilians, women and children, caught in conflicts not of their making. We demand transparent, independent investigations into all killings, rapes and mass abuses; immediate humanitarian access for displaced populations; restoration of civic freedoms, including expression and assembly; and meaningful participation of affected communities in rebuilding efforts.
Across Africa, when protest turns to brutal crack-downs, when hospitals are shelled and children are attacked, silence becomes complicity. CAN Africa stands with every individual and every community who continues to demand dignity, justice and the protection of human rights. In these darkest moments, our solidarity must translate into action, our empathy into accountability, and our voice into reform.
Climate Action Network Africa
Date: 31/10/2025
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DRC fascing severals challenges due to crisis and environnemental disease