Thank you very much.

Mr. Chair and members of the subcommittee, it's an honour to testify in front of you today to provide information about the human rights situation in Sudan.

After 13 months of war, Sudan has become a land of horror and hunger. The population, which is 49 million people, over 20 million of whom are children, is living in a collapsed state. Half of the population is in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, and 18 million people are acutely hungry according to the latest UN appeals, with 3.5 million children acutely malnourished.

According to a recent report published by Human Rights Watch last month, the RSF has committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and has used starvation and sexual violence as weapons of war in west Darfur. Our research in other areas of Sudan and documented reports by other local and international groups confirmed the same patterns of grave human rights violations committed in other conflict areas in Sudan, including Al Jazirah, Khartoum and Kordofan.

As I am addressing your committee, at this moment, El Fasher, home of more than two million to three million people, is under siege by the RSF. In the last two days, over 48 people have been killed. The Sudanese Armed Forces has used indiscriminate bombardment in conflict areas of Sudan, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, bridges and other public and private properties.

The warring parties in Sudan have neglected international humanitarian law and used heavy artillery and bombardments inside residential areas in the most populated cities in Sudan. These indiscriminate attacks against civilian areas have resulted in the destruction of public and private property and basic infrastructure, leaving millions of people without access to basic services such as water, electricity, health care, education and communication.

The war in Sudan is fuelled by the continuous supply of weapons and financial resources from other countries. It's well documented that the United Arab Emirates has provided support to the RSF, while other countries, including Iran and Russia, have supported the SAF.

In the engagement of the Canadian government in Sudan, it has failed to respond at a high level and put the situation in Sudan at the top of the agenda of Canada's foreign affairs. Canada has had a remarkable record in supporting peace processes in Sudan since the 2005 peace agreement. This record and experience must be retained to push for peace and end the suffering of the Sudanese people. The strategic importance of the conflict in Sudan must be taken more seriously as part of Canada's top concerns for peace and security in Africa, the Middle East and globally.

I call on committee members and the Canadian government to take action to urge the warring parties to uphold obligations under international humanitarian law; to implement Canadian government commitments to protecting civilians and to protecting women and girls under Canada's national action plan by implementing resolution 1325 and the other commitments under Canada's feminist foreign policy; to increase funding for humanitarian aid and to support local civil society to respond to the expanding crisis, especially with women and youth-led initiatives; to ensure more high-level engagement of the Canadian government on the situation in Sudan; to restore a Canadian diplomatic presence in the country; to appoint a special envoy to contribute to the efforts of peacemaking; to review the announced immigration and relocation plans for the Sudanese to accommodate the increasing needs and to match other plans implemented for other countries like Ukraine; to work with other members of the Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Darfur to all of Sudan; to support calls for a referral of the situation in Sudan to the International Criminal Court so that ICC jurisdiction is extended to include all conflict areas in Sudan where war crimes and crimes against humanity were allegedly committed; and to take effective measures to end the support provided to the warring parties in Sudan by countries like the UAE, Russia and Iran, including by stopping the sale of arms to the UAE.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.