Horn of Africa governments grappled with rampant wartime atrocities and humanitarian crises throughout 2023 with meager international assistance, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2024. Unaddressed historical grievances and impunity for serious crimes continued to spur widespread violations against civilians in the region.

The conflicts in Sudan and Ethiopia have had a staggering impact on civilians, resulting in massive loss of life, destruction of property and large-scale displacements. Instead of treating these crises as priorities, influential governments and United Nations and regional bodies have repeatedly pursued short-term gains at the expense of rights-driven solutions.

“Sudan and Ethiopia provide chilling examples of government forces and armed groups flouting international law with few consequences for their actions,” said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Greater global and regional action is needed to protect civilians and end the cycles of abuses and impunity that put civilians at risk.”

In the 740-page World Report 2024, its 34th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In her introductory essay, Executive Director Tirana Hassan says that 2023 was a consequential year not only for human rights suppression and wartime atrocities but also for selective government outrage and transactional diplomacy that carried profound costs for the rights of those not in on the deal. But she says there were also signs of hope, showing the possibility of a different path, and calls on governments to consistently uphold their human rights obligations.

In Sudan, since April the armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, an independent armed force, has had disastrous consequences for civilians.

The warring parties have repeatedly used heavy weapons in densely populated areas and destroyed critical infrastructure including medical facilities. Thousands of civilians have been killed and injured, while millions have fled their homes, sparking a humanitarian crisis. Some of the worst abuses have taken place in West Darfur, where the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias have deliberately targeted non-Arab civilians, engaging in mass killings, sexual violence, and widespread arson across towns.