African NGO forum urges Sudan to open sites to chemical weapons inspectors

African civil society groups have urged Sudan to permit international inspectors to investigate allegations that the Sudanese army deployed chemical weapons during its conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. This call, made at the conclusion of a three-day forum in Senegal's capital, Dakar, came as the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights began its session in the city.

The NGO forum demanded that Sudan disclose the locations of any chemical weapons production sites and munitions, and allow the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to verify and destroy them. Additionally, the resolution condemned the extensive war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by both sides in the conflict. It also called for a ceasefire, monitored by an independent international body, and an end to foreign weapons, funding, and diplomatic support for the warring parties.

In April 2024, the United States found evidence that Sudan's government had used chemical weapons, leading to sanctions. A second set of sanctions was imposed in July. Sudan vehemently denies these accusations, stating that it neither produces, possesses, nor uses chemical weapons and calling the US sanctions "unilateral and unlawful."

An interim report from a Sudanese national committee, presented at an OPCW meeting in July, found no evidence of chemical weapon usage. However, the US representative at the meeting emphasized that domestic bureaucratic mechanisms are not a substitute for independent verification.

Both factions in Sudan's ongoing war have faced sanctions for violating international law. In January 2025, the US found that the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias committed genocide in Darfur. Meanwhile, UN investigators stated in February that the paramilitary group's capture of El Fasher last year exhibited hallmarks of genocide.

The NGO forum highlighted that approximately 16 million people have been displaced from their homes and over 20 million face hunger since the war began in April 2023.