Click to expand Image The remains of fighting in the abandoned village of Bakri, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from El Fasher, Sudan, where homes and fields were left deserted after residents fled escalating violence across the region, February 24, 2026. © 2026 Giles Clarke/Avaaz via Getty Images A record number of countries at the United Nations Human Rights Council this week voted to support a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan. For the first time, the Gambia, Mauritius, and Malawi joined South Africa and countries from other regions voting in favor of the resolution.The fact-finding mission is mandated to investigate human rights violations and abuses committed by Sudan’s warring parties and advance accountability, including by collecting and preserving evidence to identify those responsible and to use in future prosecutions.Over the past year, the mission has presented various reports, including a special inquiry on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) assault on El Fasher, which it concluded bore the hallmarks of genocide, as well as a recent exposé on the role of external actors in fueling the conflict. It has worked with the joint Fact-Finding Mission of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to ensure their work is complementary.The Human Rights Council resolution also highlighted the mission’s identification of a “transnational network” of support for the RSF, including the provision of weapons, logistics, training, and foreign personnel. It underlined the need for heightened scrutiny and accountability of external support that sustains operations involving serious violations and international crimes, “across the full chain of responsibility.”The resolution’s increased support this year signals growing recognition of the need to combat atrocities in Sudan, and the impunity fueling them, underscoring that justice is central to resolving the crisis. In a powerful statement, the Gambia recalled their own national legacy to insist that “truth, justice, and accountability are the foundation on which sustainable peace and reconciliation must be constructed.”However, while the resolution acknowledges the importance of collection and preservation of evidence to support accountability, states did not act to strengthen the mission’s capacity to do so, a key recommendation by civil society.States that led and supported this resolution should further consider how to ensure evidence is preserved and prepared in real time to support prosecutions against all those responsible for serious international crimes amid Sudan’s conflict. African states that supported the initiative and others should also work to ensure the African Union Peace and Security Council considers the ACHPR mission’s own report.