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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk remarks to the Human Rights Council on Sudan
“Both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces have continued to use explosive weapons in densely populated areas, often without warning – showing utter disregard for human life. The parties attacked schools, hospitals, markets, and religious sites, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” he added.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights lamented the impact of increased use of advanced long-range drones in the conflict. “The increased use of advanced long-range drones has expanded harm to civilians in areas far from the front lines that were previously peaceful. The parties – predominantly the RSF – repeatedly used drones to strike critical infrastructure, including power stations, dams, and fuel storage tanks, with enormous impacts on civilians. An attack by the RSF on electrical infrastructure in Kosti, White Nile, early last year crippled water treatment systems, allowing cholera to spread like wildfire,” he said.
On use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said: “The bodies of Sudanese women and girls have been weaponized to terrorize communities. In 2025, we identified over 500 victims of sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, sexual torture, and slavery – in some cases resulting in death.”
He also reiterated his concern about heinous violations committed in El Fasher recurring in the Kordofan region. “I warned about the risks facing El Fasher many times, but the massacre was not prevented. As the epicentre of the war shifts to the Kordofan region, I am extremely worried these crimes may be repeated. Because these are patterns – of heinous, ruthless brutality. We are already seeing a worrying escalation in drone strikes and blockades by both the RSF and the SAF in Kordofan and beyond, including on humanitarian aid convoys. Since 1 January, these attacks have killed or injured nearly 600 civilians,” said Türk.
“This war is ugly. It’s bloody. It’s senseless. I cannot help but wonder how those driving or benefiting from this madness – both inside and outside the country – can sleep at night. If much of the international community continues to act as a passive bystander, then something is fundamentally wrong with our collective moral compass,” he said.
Recalling the devastation he saw during his recent visit to Sudan, the High Commissioner called on the international community to address the flow of sophisticated weapons into the country. “During my visit in January, I personally witnessed the devastation caused by modern, sophisticated weaponry that continues to flow into the country. We must reverse this flow: let aid in, and keep weapons out,” he said.
He also hailed Sudanese people for their strength and spirit amid the continued conflict. “I said earlier that this conflict has almost turned Sudan into a land of despair, but I need to correct myself. What holds that despair back is the strength and spirit of the Sudanese people, particularly women and youth. During my visit, I saw that this spirit remains undimmed. They will prevail. That is inevitable,” said Türk.
ENDS
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STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk addresses Human Rights Council on Sudan
TRT: 04:44
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 February 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Various exterior shots: Palais des Nations
- Interior shots: Assembly Hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Both the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces have continued to use explosive weapons in densely populated areas, often without warning – showing utter disregard for human life. The parties attacked schools, hospitals, markets, and religious sites, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The increased use of advanced long-range drones has expanded harm to civilians in areas far from the front lines that were previously peaceful. The parties – predominantly the RSF – repeatedly used drones to strike critical infrastructure, including power stations, dams, and fuel storage tanks, with enormous impacts on civilians. An attack by the RSF on electrical infrastructure in Kosti, White Nile, early last year crippled water treatment systems, allowing cholera to spread like wildfire.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The bodies of Sudanese women and girls have been weaponized to terrorize communities. In 2025, we identified over 500 victims of sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, sexual torture, and slavery – in some cases resulting in death.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “I warned about the risks facing El Fasher many times, but the massacre was not prevented. As the epicentre of the war shifts to the Kordofan region, I am extremely worried these crimes may be repeated. Because these are patterns – of heinous, ruthless brutality. We are already seeing a worrying escalation in drone strikes and blockades by both the RSF and the SAF in Kordofan and beyond, including on humanitarian aid convoys. Since 1 January, these attacks have killed or injured nearly 600 civilians.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “This war is ugly. It’s bloody. It’s senseless. I cannot help but wonder how those driving or benefiting from this madness – both inside and outside the country – can sleep at night. If much of the international community continues to act as a passive bystander, then something is fundamentally wrong with our collective moral compass.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human: “During my visit in January, I personally witnessed the devastation caused by modern, sophisticated weaponry that continues to flow into the country. We must reverse this flow: let aid in, and keep weapons out.”
- Cutaways: Assembly hall
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human: “I said earlier that this conflict has almost turned Sudan into a land of despair, but I need to correct myself. What holds that despair back is the strength and spirit of the Sudanese people, particularly women and youth. During my visit, I saw that this spirit remains undimmed. They will prevail. That is inevitable.”
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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
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- 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”.
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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.
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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.
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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”.
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