The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on situation in Sudan
“I cannot overstate the seriousness of the situation in Sudan; the desperate plight of the Sudanese people; and the urgency with which we must act to ease their suffering,” the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Speaking when he presented his annual report on the situation in Sudan, the UN Human Rights Chief said, “Since the armed conflict began in April 2023 the devastating human rights crisis that has ensued has generated the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe.”
“More than six hundred thousand people are on the brink of starvation. Famine is reported to have taken hold in five areas, including Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, where the World Food Programme has just been forced to suspend its lifesaving operations due to intense fighting. Five more areas could face famine in the next three months, and a further 17 are at risk” he said.
Adding, “This is the biggest displacement crisis in the world.”
The report details horrific scope of violations and abuses committed in Sudan up to late last year and underscores the need for accountability. It says the parties to the conflict committed acts, some of which may constitute war crimes and other atrocity crimes.
“We are looking into the abyss. Humanitarian agencies warn that without action to end the war, deliver emergency aid, and get agriculture back on its feet, hundreds of thousands of people could die,” Türk warned.
“This horrific situation is the result of grave and flagrant violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and a culture of utter impunity,” he said.
“As the fighting has spread across the country, appalling levels of sexual violence have followed. More than half of reported rape incidents took the form of gang rape – an indication that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war,” he said.
“Sudan is a powder keg, on the verge of a further explosion into chaos, and at increasing risk of atrocity crimes and mass deaths from famine. We need urgent action now, to find a path to peace,” said the UN’s top human rights official.
For more information and media requests, please contact
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Seif Magango +41 79 752 0488/ seif.magango@un.org
Tag and share –
Twitter: @UNHumanRights
Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Instagram: @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on situation in Sudan
TRT: 02:28
SOURCE: OHCHR/UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: None
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 27 FEBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Interior shot: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I cannot overstate the seriousness of the situation in Sudan; the desperate plight of the Sudanese people; and the urgency with which we must act to ease their suffering.”
- Cut away: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Since the armed conflict began in 2023, a devastating human rights crisis has generated the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe.”
- Cut away: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “More than six hundred thousand people are on the brink of starvation. Famine is reported to have taken hold in five areas, including Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, where the World Food Programme has just been forced to suspend its lifesaving operations due to intense fighting. Five more areas could face famine in the next three months, and a further 17 are at risk.”
- Cut away: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“This is the biggest displacement crisis in the world.”
- Cut away: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We are looking into the abyss. Humanitarian agencies warn that without action to end the war, deliver emergency aid, and get agriculture back on its feet, hundreds of thousands of people could die.”
- Cut away: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
“This horrific situation is the result of grave and flagrant violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and a culture of utter impunity.”
- Cut away: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “
As the fighting has spread across the country, appalling levels of sexual violence have followed. More than half of reported rape incidents took the form of gang rape – an indication that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war.”
- Cut away: Room 20
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Sudan is a powder keg, on the verge of a further explosion into chaos, and at increasing risk of atrocity crimes and mass deaths from famine. We need urgent action now, to find a path to peace.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
At the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence urges Iranian authorities to end violent repression and calls for accountability.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
At the UN bi-weekly press conference in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado commented on the widespread repression and intimidation against political opposition ahead of the general elections in Uganda.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Aid agencies marked 1,000 days of war in Sudan on Friday with a grim reminder that the conflict has created the world’s biggest hunger crisis and largest displacement emergency. Every day, civilians have been “paying the price for a war they did not choose”, said the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Ravina Shamdasani, UN Human Rights spokesperson, made the following comments at the bi-weekly press briefing of the United Nations on the United States’ intervention in Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR
Venezuela: US military intervention ‘far from victory for human rights’, makes world less safe – UN rights office
The UN rights office (OHCHR) on Tuesday expressed concern over the situation in Venezuela following the United States military operation and seizure of President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, insisting that the move runs counter to international law and damages global security.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
As fighting spreads across Sudan in a dangerous new escalation, "people are scared, people are fleeing their homes," the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Friday, noting that more than 50,000 people have fled attacks and violence since late October in Kordofan region alone.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Volker Türk the UN Human Rights High Commissioner made the following remarks during and Oral update tothe Human Rights Council intersessional meeting on Venezuela.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
New flu variant is surging, but vaccination still our best bet - WHO
Amid an early start to the Northern Hemisphere influenza season a new variant of the virus is rapidly gaining ground - but vaccination remains the “most effective defence”, the UN health agency said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
In Sudan, deep concerns persist for the many tens of thousands of people believed to still be trapped in the city of El Fasher in the Darfur region, but UN aid agencies believe they may soon get access to the embattled city.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Human rights are underfunded, under attack and undermined worldwide, but activism is still powerful, undeterred and mobilising, says UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Human Rights Day press conference