The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to Human Rights Council Special Session on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan
“The atrocities that are unfolding in El Fasher were foreseen and preventable – but they were not prevented. They constitute the gravest of crimes. My Office has issued more than 20 statements on El Fasher alone over the past year, based on information verified by our team,” he said.
“We warned repeatedly about the strangulating, suffocating siege, under which people were reduced to eating animal feed and peanut shells. We warned about the spread of famine, as people starved to death. And we warned that the fall of the city to the Rapid Support Forces would result in a bloodbath,” he added.
“So none of us should be surprised by reports that since the RSF took control of El Fasher, there have been mass killings of civilians; ethnically targeted executions; sexual violence including gang rape; abductions for ransom; widespread arbitrary detentions; attacks on health facilities, medical staff and humanitarian workers; and other appalling atrocities,” he said.
This is a pattern that we have documented time and again in this conflict, the High Commissioner said.
“But our wake-up calls were not heeded. Bloodstains on the ground in El Fasher have been photographed from space. The stain on the record of the international community is less visible, but no less damaging,” he added.
The international community has a clear duty to act, said Türk. The High Commissioner said there has been too much pretence and performance, and too little action. It must stand up against these atrocities – a display of naked cruelty used to subjugate and control an entire population. It must take action to prevent continued large-scale human rights violations, often ethnically motivated, in Darfur and beyond. And it must ensure that civilians from El Fasher and the surrounding areas have access to the humanitarian aid and protection they so desperately need.
“First, all States with influence must take urgent, concrete action to ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher and safe passage for those trying to leave. States must press for the unimpeded flow of aid, and fund humanitarian programmes fully,” he said.
“Second, States need to make a concerted effort to hold to account all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in this conflict,” Türk said.
“My staff are gathering evidence of violations that could be used in legal proceedings. We have deployed several missions to areas where civilians are fleeing and are sending more,” he added.
“The International Criminal Court has indicated that it is following the situation closely.
All those involved in this conflict should know: We are watching you, and justice will prevail,” he added.
“Third, the international community needs to take action against the individuals and companies that are fueling and profiting from this war,” Türk said.
“Fourth, I urge everyone with influence to stand up for international law. That means advocating for an urgent referral by the Security Council of the situation in the entire country to the International Criminal Court. And it means making the arms embargo a reality, not only in Darfur, but across the whole country,” the High Commissioner said.
Sudan is built on the diversity of its people, the Human Rights Chief said. The war is setting regions and communities against each other, ripping apart the social fabric, with consequences that will reach down generations.
The High Commissioner implored all parties to the conflict to put their country and its people first, and to engage in meaningful peace negotiations, a humanitarian truce, and a transition to inclusive civilian rule. He urged them to fulfil their obligations under international law to ensure the protection of civilians and the passage of humanitarian aid.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
In Geneva:
Liz Throssell: +41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
Jeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Marta Hurtado: +41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
Tag and share - X: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY : Remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to Human Rights Council Special Session on the situation in El-Fasher, Sudan
TRT: 04:01
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 14 November 2025, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shots : Palais des Nations
- Interior shots : Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The atrocities that are unfolding in El Fasher were foreseen and preventable – but they were not prevented. They constitute the gravest of crimes. My Office has issued more than 20 statements on El Fasher alone over the past year, based on information verified by our team.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We warned repeatedly about the strangulating, suffocating siege, under which people were reduced to eating animal feed and peanut shells. We warned about the spread of famine, as people starved to death. And we warned that the fall of the city to the Rapid Support Forces would result in a bloodbath.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “So none of us should be surprised by reports that since the RSF took control of El Fasher, there have been mass killings of civilians; ethnically targeted executions; sexual violence including gang rape; abductions for ransom; widespread arbitrary detentions; attacks on health facilities, medical staff and humanitarian workers; and other appalling atrocities,.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “But our wake-up calls were not heeded. Bloodstains on the ground in El Fasher have been photographed from space. The stain on the record of the international community is less visible, but no less damaging.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “First, all States with influence need to take urgent, concrete action to ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher and safe passage for those trying to leave. States must press for the unimpeded flow of aid, and fund humanitarian programmes fully”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Second, States need to make a concerted effort to hold to account all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in this conflict.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “My staff are gathering evidence of violations that could be used in legal proceedings. We have deployed several missions to areas where civilians are fleeing and are sending more.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The International Criminal Court has indicated that it is following the situation closely.
- All those involved in this conflict should know: We are watching you, and justice will prevail.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Third, the international community needs to take action against the individuals and companies that are fueling and profiting from this war.”
- Cut away: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Fourth, I urge everyone with influence to stand up for international law. That means advocating for an urgent referral by the Security Council of the situation in the entire country to the International Criminal Court. And it means making the arms embargo a reality, not only in Darfur, but across the whole country.”
- Cut away: Hall A
Similar Stories
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.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.