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 | UNICEF
A little over one year since a ceasefire agreement was announced between Hamas fighters and Israel, more than 340 children have been reported killed and hundreds more injured, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.