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UNOG RUSH CONF HRC61 ID on Sudan 09FEB2026 Continuity
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Statements , Conferences | HRC
Oral update of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in and around El Fasher in Sudan
Speakers:
- Oral update by Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
- Mr. Hassan Hamid Hassan, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations Office at Geneva (country concerned)
The video includes three audio tracks: first track Interlingua (= floor), second track English and third track Arabic.
Teleprompter
Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, I declare open the meeting for the interactive dialogue on the human rights situation in and around Al Fasher in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan.
In this resolution S/308/1, the Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present, before its 61st session, an oral update on the human rights situation in and around Al Fasher in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan, to be followed by an interactive dialogue.
In this regard, I have the pleasure to welcome Mr Volcker Turk, the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
We will present the oral update.
Sir, you have the floor, Mr.
President, Excellence is distinguished.
Delegates, The events that unfolded in Al Fasher in Sudan last October were a preventable human rights catastrophe.
After imposing 18 months of siege, starvation and bombardment, the Rapid Support Forces unleashed a wave of intense violence.
Thousands of people were killed in a matter of days and 10s of thousands fled in terror.
Our collective job is to hold those responsible accountable and to make sure this never happens again.
Since I last briefed you on Al Fasher, I have visited Sudan and heard first hand accounts from some of those who survived that final offensive.
I have rarely seen people so traumatised by their experiences and my staff have interviewed more than 140 victims and witnesses in northern state and eastern Chad.
They consistently reported mass killings and summary executions of civilians and those no longer participating in hostilities both inside the city and as people fled.
They spoke of rape and other sexual violence, torture and I'll treatment, detention, disappearances and abductions for ransom.
In one horrific example, people who fled to separate locations thousands of kilometres apart gave consistent accounts of the mass killing of hundreds of people sheltering at Al Fascia University.
Others spoke of attacks on health facilities and healthcare workers.
We heard convincing testimony that some victims were targeted based on their non Arab ethnicity, in particular members of the Sagawa ethnic group.
Survivors also spoke of seeing piles of dead bodies along roads leading away from Al Fasher in an apocalyptic scene that one person likened to the Day of Judgement.
Sexual violence was systematically used as a weapon of war by the RSF and it's allied militia.
During my visit, I met survivors who gave consistent and harrowing testimony of gang rape and other sexual violence against women and girls.
My staff documented many accounts of sexual violence during abductions and searches of women and girls as they attempted to flee.
RSF fighters and their allies abducted people as they fled and charged exorbitant ransoms for their release.
Most victims were men and adolescent boys judged to be of fighting age, but women and children were also targeted.
Thousands remain missing.
Some were undoubtedly killed, Others are believed to be held in inhumane, inhumane detention conditions, subjected to torture and I'll treatment.
Thousands were reportedly transferred to Tigris prison in Nyala in South Darfur, where we know conditions are horrific.
The RSF and its allies detained people perceived to be affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces and their allied Joint forces, government officials, medical professionals, journalists, teachers, and local humanitarian volunteers.
Former detainees reported that more than 2000 men were held in Alfasha's Children's Hospital.
Those who died in detention were reportedly buried near the hospital.
My staff also documented the recruitment and use of children by the RSF, either through pressure on communities or through direct coercion.
The International Criminal Court told the Security Council last month that it assessed that both war crimes and crimes against humanity had taken place in al fascia during the culmination of the RSF siege of the city.
Our own findings are fully consistent with this conclusion and they will be detailed in a public report to be issued in the coming days.
Distinguished delegates, my office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of Al Fasher for more than a year.
We had previously documented patterns of such atrocities several times, including during the RSF offensive to capture some some camp for displaced people in April 2025.
The threat was clear, but warnings were not heeded.
Responsibility for these atrocity crimes lies squarely with the RSF and their allies and supporters.
At the same time, the international community must do better.
If we stand by wringing our hands while armies and armed groups commit well flagged international crimes, we can only expect worse to come.
In fact, I'm extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kodafan region.
Fighting there has intensified since the capture of Al Fascia.
In the last two weeks, the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied joint forces broke the sieges on Kaduli and Dillinge.
But drone strikes by both sides continue, resulting in dozens of civilian deaths and injuries.
Civilians are at risk of summary executions, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and family separation.
In a period of just over 2 weeks to six February, based on documentation by my office, some 90 civilians were killed and 142 injured in drone strikes by the RSF and the SAF.
These struck a World Food Programme convoy markets, health facilities and residential neighbourhoods in South and North Kordofan.
Nearly three years into this conflict, my office continues to document flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of international human rights law, with no effective measures to address or prevent them.
Hate's Bridge is a frequent catalyst for ethnically motivated violence.
Leaders use dehumanising rhetoric against communities to justify atrocities, mobilise fighters and deepen divisions.
I myself saw the effects of that language in the stories and faces of the survivors I met.
I urge every state to consider what it could have done to prevent the death of many thousands of civilians in Al Fasher and it what and what it will do to prevent a repeat.
Elsewhere in Sudan, my office has drawn up a list of confidence building measures based on human rights that are intended to support mediation efforts and foster trust.
I have shared these with both parties to the conflict.
All countries need to get behind these concrete steps to protect civilians and deescalate violence and pressure the parties to abide by their legal obligations.
This starts with commitments not to target civilians or residential areas with explosive weapons, to take steps to reduce harm to civilians, to enable the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, to end arbitrary detention, and to treat those deprived of liberty humanely and in and in accordance with international law.
And it means ending attacks on civilian infrastructure.
During my visit, I witnessed the damage done by RSF attacks on Marawi Dam and Hydroelectric power Station, which once supplied 70% of Sudan's electricity.
Repeated drone strike strikes have disrupted power and water supplies to huge numbers of people with a serious impact on healthcare and livelihoods.
Distinguished delegates, I will provide the Council with a more extensive update on Sudan on 26th February, but it is essential in the meantime for the international community to take broader measures to address the human rights crisis in the country, first and foremost by addressing the continuous inflow of weapons.
Advanced weaponry systems used by both sides are now putting civilians in danger wherever they are.
I urge you to press for the arms embargo on Darfur to be extended across the whole of Sudan.
I also call on you to help strengthen resilience against divisive ideologies and hate speech by supporting civil society, human rights defenders and journalists, and empowering religious and community leaders to promote peaceful dialogue.
All states with influence need to do everything possible to promote local, regional and international mediation efforts and to put pressure on those who are benefiting from this senseless war.
During my visit to Sudan, one thing became very clear to me.
The spirit of the struggle for peace, justice and freedom is still very much alive.
The Sudanese people hold the key to sustainable peace in their country and they will prevail.
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I thank the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In accordance with established practise, we will begin by listening to the delegation of the country concerned.
I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Sudan.
You have a total of 5 minutes.
You have the floor.
Shukran SE the race Sudan let you hear the.
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