UN Human Rights Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al Nashif speech on Sudan 57th HRC
/
3:40
/
MP4
/
530.9 MB
Transcripts
Download

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

HRC57 - UN Human Rights Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif statement on Sudan

Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy Human Rights Chief told the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday that human rights violations and abuses by all parties to the conflict in Sudan continue to spiral out of control.

Over sixteen months on, the conflict in Sudan continues to spiral out of control. Civilians bear the brunt of hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and respective allied armed movements and militias, conducted with total disregard for international law,” she said.

Since the High Commissioner’s update to this Council in March, conflict has escalated further. Declarations by the warring parties of commitments to protect civilians remain empty, with violations continuing unabated.

The UN human rights office and the Designated Expert continue to document violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses by all parties to the conflict.

“Indiscriminate attacks and the use of weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas have resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, destruction of vital infrastructure – including hospitals, schools and markets – and decimation of sources of livelihoods,” Al-Nashif said.

Since May, El Fasher in North Darfur has been ravaged by heavy fighting: targeting of medical facilities has deprived the population of health services. From June to August, we documented over 864 civilian deaths in attacks on residential areas across Sudan.

“Our Office is particularly alarmed by the use, since the beginning of the conflict, of sexual violence as a weapon of war. We have documented 97 incidents involving 172 victims, predominantly women and girls – which is a gross under-representation of the reality. Responsibility for 81 per cent of incidents was attributed to men in RSF uniform and affiliated armed men, we also received credible reports of sexual violence attributed to SAF troops and allied armed movements, the deputy high commissioner said.

Nada Al-Nashif again urged the parties to issue and enforce strict command orders to prohibit and punish sexual violence, and to take other effective steps to prevent it.

“I am deeply troubled by ethnically motivated attacks and hate speech. Our Office documented multiple testimonies recounting summary executions, sexual violence and forced displacement perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia, notably targeting the Masalit community in West Darfur. Ethnically motivated violence, harassment and arrests were also documented in Darfur and Al-Jazirah,” she said.

The mobilization of civilians, including children, has intensified across Sudan, particularly along tribal lines. This poses risks of a widening civil war with further ethnic dimensions.

Arbitrary detention by both parties, and allied armed movements, continues. The UN human rights office documented increasing arrests by Military Intelligence, and imposition of death sentences, for alleged support for the RSF, often based upon real or presumed tribal identity. They also documented unlawful detention, again often based on ethnicity, by the RSF in Darfur.

“This senseless conflict has a devastating impact on economic and social rights, in particular the rights to food, housing, and education. As a result, Over 20 per cent of the population is displaced – 10.7 million people internally and 2.1 million in neighbouring countries. Sudan faces critical levels of food insecurity, with imminent risk of famine and more than half of its population – 25.6 million people – in acute hunger,” the deputy high commissioner said.

وفي الختام او ان أشير الى ما أكد عليه المفوض السامي في تحديثه العالمي قبل سنتين الى وجود أمل. لكن يواجه الشعب السوداني اليوم واحدة من اسوأ الازمات التي يغذيها الافلات من العقاب وممارسات سلطوية تتغذى على التوترات العرقية، مدفوعة بمصالح سياسية واقتصادية ضيقة. ويجب على المجتمع الدولي الا يسمح باستمرار هذه الوضعية، وعلى هذه الماساة ان تنتهي الان.

[English translation: As the High Commissioner underscored in his Global Update, almost two years ago, there was hope. Today, the Sudanese people are experiencing one of the world’s worst crises, fueled by impunity and zero-sum power struggles feeding on ethnic tensions, driven by vested political and economic interests. The international community cannot let this continue, this tragedy needs to end, now.]

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact:

Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org

Jeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org

Thameen Al-Kheetan: +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org

Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights

STORY: UN Human Rights Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif speech on Sudan 57th HRC

TRT: 03:39

SOURCE: OHCHR/ UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English / Arabic / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 10 September 2024 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

SHOTLIST

  1. Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
  2. Interior shot: Human Rights Council
  3. SOUNDBITE (English) — Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Over sixteen months on, the conflict in Sudan continues to spiral out of control. Civilians bear the brunt of hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and respective allied armed movements and militias, conducted with total disregard for international law.”
  4. Cutaway: Human Rights Council
  5. SOUNDBITE (English) — Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Indiscriminate attacks and the use of weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas have resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, destruction of vital infrastructure – including hospitals, schools and markets – and decimation of sources of livelihoods.”
  6. Cutaway: Human Rights Council
  7. SOUNDBITE (English) — Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Our Office is particularly alarmed by the use, since the beginning of the conflict, of sexual violence as a weapon of war. We have documented 97 incidents involving 172 victims, predominantly women and girls – which is a gross under-representation of the reality. Responsibility for 81 per cent of incidents was attributed to men in RSF uniform and affiliated armed men, we also received credible reports of sexual violence attributed to SAF troops and allied armed movements.”
  8. Cutaway: Human Rights Council
  9. SOUNDBITE (English) — Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I am deeply troubled by ethnically motivated attacks and hate speech. Our Office documented multiple testimonies recounting summary executions, sexual violence and forced displacement perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia, notably targeting the Masalit community in West Darfur. Ethnically motivated violence, harassment and arrests were also documented in Darfur and Al-Jazirah.”
  10. Cutaway: Human Rights Council
  11. SOUNDBITE (English) — Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights: “This senseless conflict has a devastating impact on economic and social rights, in particular the rights to food, housing, and education. As a result, Over 20 per cent of the population is displaced – 10.7 million people internally and 2.1 million in neighbouring countries. Sudan faces critical levels of food insecurity, with imminent risk of famine and more than half of its population – 25.6 million people – in acute hunger.”
  12. Cutaway: Human Rights Council
  13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) — Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights:

وفي الختام او ان أشير الى ما أكد عليه المفوض السامي في تحديثه العالمي قبل سنتين الى وجود أمل. لكن يواجه الشعب السوداني اليوم واحدة من اسوأ الازمات التي يغذيها الافلات من العقاب وممارسات سلطوية تتغذي على التوترات العرقية، مدفوعة بمصالح سياسية واقتصادية ضيقة. ويجب على المجتمع الدولي الا يسمح باستمرار هذه الوضعية، وعلى هذه الماساة ان تنتهي الان.

[English translation: As the High Commissioner underscored in his Global Update, almost two years ago, there was hope. Today, the Sudanese people are experiencing one of the world’s worst crises, fueled by impunity and zero-sum power struggles feeding on ethnic tensions, driven by vested political and economic interests. The international community cannot let this continue, this tragedy needs to end, now.].”

  1. Cutaway: Human Rights Council


Audio Files 1
Download UN Human Rights Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al Nashif speech on Sudan 57th HRC (Edited Story)
Download

Similar Stories

Gaza - Israel war 7 October 2025 - OCHA - UNICEF - WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO

Gaza - Israel war 7 October 2025 - OCHA - UNICEF - WHO ENG FRA

Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians

Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.

Justice for Syria's disappeared - Riyad Avlar – 06 October 2025

1

1

1

Edited News

Justice for Syria's disappeared - Riyad Avlar – 06 October 2025 ENG FRA

Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end”

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk at Human Rights Council on Ukraine: “This war needs to end” ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.

30 minutes in a Gaza hospital - UNICEF - WHO - ICRC

1

1

1

Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC

30 minutes in a Gaza hospital - UNICEF - WHO - ICRC ENG FRA

Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital 

UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s Oral update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Haiti

2

1

2

Edited News | OHCHR

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s Oral update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in Haiti ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.

The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, OCHA 30 September 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF

Gaza aid update - UNICEF, OCHA 30 September 2025 ENG FRA

Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire

UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.

Gaza healthcare attacks – WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO

Gaza healthcare attacks – WHO ENG FRA

The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.

UN Report: Civilian detainees subjected to troubling patterns of torture and ill treatment since Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Report: Civilian detainees subjected to troubling patterns of torture and ill treatment since Russia’s full scale attack on Ukraine ENG FRA

A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022. 

Sudan cholera update WHO - UNICEF

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO , UNICEF

Sudan cholera update WHO - UNICEF ENG FRA

Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur

Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.

Afghanistan earthquake response – UN Women 19 September 2025

2

1

2

Edited News , B-roll | UN WOMEN

Afghanistan earthquake response – UN Women 19 September 2025 ENG FRA

Women and girls still reeling from Afghanistan's recent deadly earthquake face even greater suffering rebuilding their lives and livelihoods without much more help from the international community, UN Women said on Friday.

UN report: Sudan crisis deepens amid rising civilian casualties - UN Human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence and OHCHR Sudan Representative Li Fung

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN report: Sudan crisis deepens amid rising civilian casualties - UN Human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence and OHCHR Sudan Representative Li Fung ENG FRA

Rising civilian casualties, growing ethnic violence and the grim humanitarian situation in Sudan underscore how the crisis there is deepening, according to a UN Human rights report published today.

'Not a Target' UN Geneva Protest - 18 September 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | UNITED NATIONS

'Not a Target' UN Geneva Protest - 18 September 2025 ENG FRA

United Nations agencies staff demonstrates on Place des Nations in Geneva to denounce the killing of their colleagues in Gaza.