Life First … A National Campaign to Protect Civilians
Sponsored by Prominent Sudanese Media Institutions
Life First… A National Campaign to Protect Civilians Sponsored by Prominent Sudanese Media Institutions – Khartoum Highlight
A group of Sudanese media institutions has launched a campaign to protect Sudanese civilians who are suffering from the horrors of the brutal April 15 war and its catastrophic consequences. Participants include New Horizon, Teeba Press, Khartoum Highlight, Hala 96, Medameek, Sudan Tribune, Inform Institute, and December Newspaper. Below is the statement of the Life First campaign as published by Khartoum Highlight:
Life First Statement:
The war ignited by remnants of the defunct regime on April 15, 2023, in an attempt to regain their lost power, is first and foremost a war against civilians before being a war over authority and resources. From its very first day, the warring parties chose to turn civilian gatherings into battlefields. Streets and roads became confrontation zones where heavy artillery and air strikes were used, while citizens’ homes were turned into sites for shelter and fortification. Targeting even extended to hospitals, schools, electricity and water stations, which became “legitimate” targets in the eyes of the fighters, leading to widespread destruction of infrastructure and essential services.
Civilians have become the direct target of grave violations, including: deliberate killings, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention based on ethnic or political affiliation, in addition to physical and psychological torture driven by racial and religious motives. War crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide have been committed, alongside sexual violence in the form of rape and sexual enslavement of women and girls. All this has taken place in an atmosphere overflowing with hate speech and disinformation.
Even worse, the warring parties documented their crimes with phone cameras and broadcast them on social media to spread terror. Civilians who remained in their homes were criminalized and labeled as “collaborators,” then punished with killings, torture, and looting of their property, all amid the complete paralysis of justice institutions.
Even when the international community moved and a fact-finding committee was formed to investigate violations and war crimes in Sudan, it was unable to carry out its duties due to denial of entry or the deteriorating security situation.
As a result of this war against civilians, the death toll has exceeded 150,000, with tens of thousands wounded. More than 8 million people have been displaced inside Sudan, while about 4 million were forced to flee abroad. The United Nations has warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe, with famine threatening 23 million Sudanese, and 5 million facing extreme hunger, at a time when both warring parties continue to obstruct, loot, and even bomb humanitarian aid convoys.
In the face of this grim reality, the Life First campaign is being launched today, out of our responsibility as media institutions. The campaign aims to:
– Document field testimonies and human stories, and present them professionally to the public.
– Raise awareness about the suffering of civilians, including displacement, food shortages, and the collapse of health services.
– Exert media pressure on the warring parties and on regional and international actors to prioritize civilian protection and open safe humanitarian corridors.
– Create a unified and solidaristic media voice to amplify the campaign’s impact and reach a wider audience.
Protecting civilians is both a legal and moral obligation, mandated by national and international laws, especially the principles of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols. These rules prohibit targeting civilians, oblige warring parties to distinguish them from combatants, and ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Through this campaign, we issue a clear call:
– To the warring parties: immediately stop targeting civilians and abide by international humanitarian law.
– To the international and regional community: act urgently to protect civilians, prevent indiscriminate attacks on neighborhoods and vital facilities, and guarantee the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.
Campaign Participants:
New Horizon, Teeba Press, Khartoum Highlight, Hala 96, Medameek, Sudan Tribune, Inform Institute, December Newspaper
