In Sudan, a 20-month armed conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army has killed at least 20,000 people and left some 25 million – half the country’s population – severely hungry and in desperate need of assistance. Of humanitarian aid. On the other hand, 14 million Sudanese were displaced, and about 3.1 million Sudanese took refuge outside the country, especially in Chad, South Sudan, Uganda and Egypt.

As is often the case, children bear the brunt of this brutal war.

According to the medical organization Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, nearly one in six of those treated at Al-Bashaer Teaching Hospital in southern Khartoum for war-related injuries, such as bullet wounds, shrapnel and blast wounds, between January and September 2024. They are 15 years old or younger.

The medical team revealed that it had recently treated the child, Riyad (18 months), who was hit by a stray bullet while he was sleeping in his family’s home. They said they were able to stabilize him but were unable to remove the bullet from his chest. With ongoing conflict and limited access to medical care, Riyad’s future, like thousands of other war-wounded, orphaned and traumatized children across the country, remains uncertain.

Sexual violence is also prevalent in the conflict in Sudan. Forces led by the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces committed rape and other acts of sexual and gender-based violence, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission in Sudan revealed in its report published in October. The report accused both sides of using rape as a weapon of war, but said the RSF were behind the “vast majority” of documented cases and were responsible for “widespread sexual violence,” including “mass rape, kidnapping and detention of victims in conditions amounting to slavery.” Sexual.”

Amid ongoing conflict, survivors of rape and other forms of sexual violence struggle to access medical treatment, essential medicines and psychological support services.

Many have been left injured, traumatized and homeless.

With war crimes and other atrocities committed against men, women and even children on a daily basis with impunity, the conflict in Sudan represents the worst of humanity.

As the people of Sudan prepare to begin another year of hunger, wounded and fear, the international community, especially the African organizations that claim to be committed to ensuring peace and stability in the region, have a responsibility to take meaningful action – including direct intervention.

So far, efforts aimed at putting an end to the suffering of the Sudanese through mediation between the warring parties have failed.

Peace initiatives led by the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United States, Egypt and Switzerland have failed to secure a permanent ceasefire, reach a comprehensive peace agreement or provide meaningful protection for the civilian population.

In May 2023, after just one month of conflict, the two warring parties appeared to have reached a pivotal agreement in Saudi Arabia. They signed the Jeddah Declaration committing to protect civilians in Sudan, and agreed to “distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives.” As part of the agreement, they also pledged to “refrain from any attack that would be expected to cause incidental harm to civilians” and “to protect all public and private facilities, such as hospitals, water and electricity installations.”

The agreement was supposed to lead to a ceasefire for at least a week, but in the end it was unable to stop the atrocities against civilians, let alone the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, even for 48 hours.

Since the failure of this initiative led by the United States and Saudi Arabia about 19 months ago, no peace initiative has come close to ending the carnage in Sudan. In August, US talks in Switzerland to end the war made some progress on aid access, but again failed to secure a ceasefire.

It is clear that efforts to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table and appeal to their humanity to demand an end to attacks on civilians are not working.

There is more to be done.

In its harrowing report, which was based on testimonies from the field, the UN fact-finding mission made clear what the country needed: the deployment of an international peacekeeping force to protect civilians.

“Given the failure of the warring parties to rescue civilians, it is essential that an independent and impartial force with a mandate to protect civilians be deployed without delay,” Chandi Othman, head of the UN mission, said in September.

Unfortunately, the Sudanese government rejected this call, just as it rejected a similar call from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to deploy a regional peacekeeping force in July 2023. The military government in Khartoum – which has been in power since seizing power from a civilian-led transitional authority In the October 2021 coup – any potential external intervention, including peacekeeping missions focused solely on protecting the civilian population, is considered a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

If the Sudanese government is able to provide protection for civilians, its rejection of external intervention will be understandable. But it is clear – after 20 months of devastating war waged without any regard for international humanitarian law – that no party to this war is able to provide safety, security and dignity to the besieged civilian population in Sudan, or is sufficiently concerned about doing so.

Without the deployment of a regional peacekeeping mission supported by the international community – one committed and clearly mandated to put an immediate end to the continuing attacks on civilians – the suffering of Sudanese civilians will not end in the foreseeable future.

Today, the international community, especially the African Union, faces a simple choice: either remain passive while the death toll in Sudan continues to rise, or take purposeful and decisive measures – even if it inconveniences the Sudanese government – ​​to address the crisis.

The regional body will lose any legitimacy if it chooses to stand idly by while innocent lives are lost to senseless violence in an endless war.

Therefore, it is time for the African Union to intervene in the ongoing war in Sudan in order to protect civilians.

This will not violate the sovereignty of the Sudanese state – or constitute an infringement on the part of the Union.

According to Law 4 (h) of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, approved by Sudan in July 2000, the African Union has the right to “intervene in a Member State pursuant to a decision of the Assembly in relation to grave circumstances, namely: war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.” .

Given the vast number of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law documented in detail by the UN mission and others, the situation in Sudan is undoubtedly “dangerous.” There is no doubt that Sudanese citizens will benefit from the physical protection provided by international peacekeepers.

Although Sudan’s expansive territory and the large-scale nature of the war will pose significant challenges in ensuring the safety of millions of civilians, this task is not out of reach. By implementing effective planning and mobilizing a sufficient number of forces, the African Union has the potential to make a significant impact.

Sudan represents a clear test of the African Union’s ability to implement and support its broad mandate.

If it is to achieve its vision of “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, led by its citizens and representing a dynamic force on the global stage,” it cannot afford to continue to let the Sudanese people down.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.