He called “all those who have any influence, including regional actors and, in particular, those who supply the weapons and benefit economically from this war“Act urgently to put an end to it.
Mr. Türk last visited Sudan in November 2022. Back then, he was deeply inspired by civil society, particularly the youth and women who led the 2018 revolution.
I salute the people’s struggle for peace
While the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “has plunged the country into an abyss of unfathomable proportions” – affecting the entire nation and all its people – “the spirit of the fight for peace, justice and freedom… is not broken,” he said.
“I bore witness in Sudan to the trauma of the unspeakable brutality that people have suffered, but also the resilience and defiance of the human spirit.”
Türk met with various sectors of society, including young people who organize and deliver aid to their communities “often in the face of enormous bureaucratic obstacles, risking arrests and violence.”
As one volunteer told him, “The price of war is paid by young people. Sudanese youth are on the front lines of this war, serving those who need humanitarian aid.”
End ‘intolerable attacks’ on infrastructure
The rights holder highlighted attacks on critical civilian infrastructuresuch as the Merowe Dam and Hydroelectric Station, which once supplied 70 per cent of the entire country’s electricity needs.
It has been repeatedly attacked by drones launched by RSF, including in recent weeks. These attacks constitute serious violations and may constitute war crimes.
He called on both parties in the conflict to “cease intolerable attacks on civilian assets that are indispensable to the civilian population, including markets, health facilities, schools and shelters.”
Mr. Türk also met with displaced people from the besieged city of El Fasher in North Darfur, who now live in Al Afad camp, some 1,200 kilometers away. Among them was a four-year-old boy who lost his hearing due to the bombing and a three-year-old boy who did not smile.
“A woman saw her husband and only son killed,” he said. “She is still bedridden from the pain, trauma and the bullet she received in the shoulder while trying, in vain, to protect her son.”
Women’s bodies ‘turned into weapons’
He shared Aisha’s testimony.*20-year-old, who was fleeing El Fasher in a donkey cart in October when armed men on camels ordered the women to get off. Her brother tried to intervene but was shot, while her mother pleaded with the men to take her instead of the children.
“They beat her, they took me away and told me to stay quiet or they would kill my mother. Then what happened… happened. I haven’t had my period since then,” he said to Mr. Türk.
In Sudan, “The bodies of women and girls have been turned into weapons.“Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war – also a war crime – and is widespread and systematic.
The UN human rights chief also heard accounts of widespread summary executions. He stressed that all parties to the conflict “have perpetrated serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, particularly when fighting intensifies to control new areas.”
Concern for the Kordofan region
He expressed deep concern that Heinous crimes committed in El Fasher risk being repeated in the Kordofan regionwhere fighting has intensified since late October. This is happening amid famine conditions in Kadugli town and risk of famine elsewhere, including Dilling, he said in a stern warning.
He deplored the proliferation of advanced military equipment throughout Sudan, particularly drones, saying that “it is despicable that large sums of money are being spent on the acquisition of increasingly advanced weaponry, funds that should be used to alleviate the suffering of the population.”
Another concern is The growing militarization of society. by all parties to the conflict, including through the arming of civilians and the recruitment and use of children. Civil society and journalists also face restrictions or are targeted by smear campaigns.
Focus on the Sudanese people
The UN human rights chief concluded his speech by calling on parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure safe passage for people to leave conflict zones, and ensure unimpeded access for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“Measures such as the humane treatment of detainees, accountability and establishment of the fate of missing persons and the release of civilians detained for alleged ‘collaboration’ with the opposing party are also priority areas,” he added.
Mr. Türk repeated the call he made during his last visit to Sudan.
“I urge all involved to put aside entrenched positions, power plays and personal interests and focus on the common interests of the Sudanese people.“, said.
“Once again, I say goodbye with a call for human rights to be fundamental to building trust and ending this war, to resume the difficult task of building a sustainable peace.”
This is difficult, he acknowledged, “but certainly not impossible, with the resilience and power of the Sudanese people.”
*Name changed for protection reasons.