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Sudan UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s remarks during the Human Rights Council urgent debate on situation in El Obeid, Sudan
“The signs from El Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan, this time in the capital of the strategic state of North Kordofan. Civilians have been subjected to siege-like conditions for 18 months, battered by relentless drone strikes as the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces battle for control over areas surrounding the city,” Türk said.
“My Office documented 15 drone strikes on El Obeid and surrounding areas between 6 and 28 June, which killed at least 45 civilians and injured 41. The actual number of civilian casualties is likely higher. Across the Kordofan region, drones launched by both sides have repeatedly struck markets, schools, fuel stations, water infrastructure, and civilian vehicles. In recent weeks, we documented damage to at least 13 fuel stations in El Obeid and Al Rahad from RSF drones,” the High Commissioner said.
These attacks, and fuel shortages, have a compound impact, making it difficult for civilians to access clean water, food, transport and healthcare, and to communicate with each other and the outside world.
He expressed concern at the challenges those trying to flee the city are facing and warned that those who are staying behind are also at risk of violations.
“Some people are selling their belongings to finance their escape from the city. For many, the exorbitant cost of transport, and constant attacks on vehicles along exit routes, make leaving impossible,” he said.
“Those who stay in El Obeid are also at risk of arbitrary arrest and detention. People who have fled areas controlled by the RSF and allied forces are frequently accused of collaboration. All this takes place against a backdrop of rising hate speech,” he added.
He called on the international community to take action.
“The international community cannot allow a repeat of the widespread atrocities that took place in Zamzam camp for displaced people, and in El Fasher in North Darfur last year. My Office assessed that at least 6,000 people were killed in the span of just three days when the RSF captured El Fasher. We found the RSF and allied militia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, and torture,” he urged.
“These crimes were foreseen, with repeated warnings by myself and my Office. But they were not prevented,” he added.
“This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of Heads of State and government around the world. Their phones should be running hot in the coming days and weeks, with ideas on how to prevent atrocity crimes in El Obeid and in other places in Kordofan, where the same strategies are being deployed,” said the High Commissioner.
He urged leaders to use their influence to exert pressure on all parties, and particularly the RSF, to stop an offensive on El Obeid, end strikes on civilians and essential infrastructure and comply with their obligations under international law. He also called for a humanitarian pause.
“We urgently need a humanitarian pause to allow for the unhindered delivery of food and humanitarian aid into the city and its surroundings,” he said.
“My Office records and publishes information on business interests in other situations around the world; we are ready to do the same on Sudan. We also need to end the steady supply of weapons from outside the country to all sides, which continues with complete disregard for their use in contravention of international law. Without action to end this, the conflict risks continuing indefinitely. I repeat my call for the arms embargo on Darfur to be extended to the whole country,” said Türk.
ENDS
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STORY: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s remarks during the Human Rights Council urgent debate on situation in El Obeid, Sudan
TRT: 04:49
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNOG
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/ NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 3 July 2026 – Geneva, Switzerland
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Wide shot : Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The signs from El Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan, this time in the capital of the strategic state of North Kordofan. Civilians have been subjected to siege-like conditions for 18 months, battered by relentless drone strikes as the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces battle for control over areas surrounding the city.”
- Cutaways: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “My Office documented 15 drone strikes on El Obeid and surrounding areas between 6 and 28 June, which killed at least 45 civilians and injured 41. The actual number of civilian casualties is likely higher. Across the Kordofan region, drones launched by both sides have repeatedly struck markets, schools, fuel stations, water infrastructure, and civilian vehicles. In recent weeks, we documented damage to at least 13 fuel stations in El Obeid and Al Rahad from RSF drones.”
- Cutaways: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Some people are selling their belongings to finance their escape from the city. For many, the exorbitant cost of transport, and constant attacks on vehicles along exit routes, make leaving impossible.”
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “Those who stay in El Obeid are also at risk of arbitrary arrest and detention. People who have fled areas controlled by the RSF and allied forces are frequently accused of collaboration. All this takes place against a backdrop of rising hate speech.”
- Cutaways: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “The international community cannot allow a repeat of the widespread atrocities that took place in Zamzam camp for displaced people, and in El Fasher in North Darfur last year. My Office assessed that at least 6,000 people were killed in the span of just three days when the RSF captured El Fasher. We found the RSF and allied militia committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, and torture.”
- Cutaways: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “These crimes were foreseen, with repeated warnings by myself and my Office. But they were not prevented.”
- Cutaways: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of Heads of State and government around the world. Their phones should be running hot in the coming days and weeks, with ideas on how to prevent atrocity crimes in El Obeid and in other places in Kordofan, where the same strategies are being deployed.”
- Cutaways: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “We urgently need a humanitarian pause to allow for the unhindered delivery of food and humanitarian aid into the city and its surroundings.”
- Cutaways: Hall A
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: “My Office records and publishes information on business interests in other situations around the world; we are ready to do the same on Sudan. We also need to end the steady supply of weapons from outside the country to all sides, which continues with complete disregard for their use, in contravention of international law. Without action to end this, the conflict risks continuing indefinitely. I repeat my call for the arms embargo on Darfur to be extended to the whole country.”
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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:
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- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
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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