He described the human rights situation as among the world’s forgotten crises.
“We are at a dangerous point, where rising violence is combined with growing uncertainty about South Sudan’s political trajectory, while the peace agreement is under serious strain,” he warned.
Civilians under attack
Since December, both the government and opposition forces and their allied militias have launched attacks on residential areas in seven states, including Jonglei, where more than 280,000 people have fled their homes.
The High Commissioner’s office, OHCHR, documented that 189 civilians were killed in January and many more were injured, while rights violations and abuses increased 45 percent from the previous month.
“Civilians are the most affected by an increase in indiscriminate attacksincluding aerial bombings, deliberate killings, kidnappings and conflict-related sexual violence,” he said.
Lack of military discipline
Mr. Türk noted that on both sides, “Military discipline seems to have collapsed.” in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria state “where troops have shown almost total disregard for the protection of civilians.”
He said the recent escalation comes against a backdrop of rising tensions and civilian deaths over the past year. According to OHCHR, more than 5,100 people were killed or injured in 2025, a 40 percent increase from 2024. The death toll included two UN staff members.
OHCHR also monitored more than 250 individual cases of conflict-related sexual violence, although the actual number of women and girls affected is likely much higher.
Opposition forces and their allies also kidnapped 550 civilians, representing “a disturbing increase.”
Hate speech, humanitarian crisis
Rising tensions are characterized by hate speech and incitement to violence against entire communities and ethnic groups, the human rights chief said.
He highlighted an audio recording, authenticated by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), in which “a senior military officer urged his forces not to spare lives and to destroy homes, livestock and property of civilians.”
Mr. Türk also referred to the dire humanitarian situation, with millions of people in need of assistance, and the cross-border war that has brought an influx of refugees and returnees, as both are “intrinsically linked to increased insecurity and broader human rights violations and abuse.”
Code red for human rights
Concluding his remarks, Mr. Türk stated that “human rights monitoring provides a warning system” and “it is in the red for South Sudan.”
He called for an immediate end to hostilities and urged the warring parties to recommit to inclusive dialogue.
More than 1.3 million people fleeing Sudan face uncertainty
More than 1.3 million people, mainly South Sudanese, have returned to the country after fleeing the ongoing war in Sudan, the UN migration agency IOM reported on Friday.
In an update from Juba, the agency’s Deputy Director of Operations, Ugochi Daniels, highlighted that South Sudan is one of the countries most affected by displacement in the world, although the situation rarely appears in the world’s media.
“Almost 10 million people need humanitarian assistance and more than 2.3 million people are displaced within the country” he told reporters in Geneva via video. “In the last two months alone, more than 250,000 people have been displaced and yet this has barely registered on the international scene.”
Aid workers killed
The development follows an alert on Monday to the people of South Sudan issued by the UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher. Before that warning, three aid workers were killed earlier this month in Jonglei and Upper Nile states.
Clashes have been reported in both northeastern states between government forces and those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar, who is on trial for treason and remains under house arrest.
Violent insecurity has severely hampered humanitarian access, and UN aid operations have been suspended in parts of Upper Nile and the northern Jonglei states. In some cases, river corridors are being used to provide food and nutrition aid where needs are greatest.
Access to appeal
“We have received assurances of improved access, but the reality is that it is fragile,” said Ms. Daniels of the IOM. “There may be access today, but not tomorrow. The impact on our operations is enormous.”
He noted that in Bentiu, the country’s largest displacement site, more than 109,000 people live surrounded by floods and are “increasingly exposed” to the impacts of climate change.
To counter this, IOM has supported flood mitigation efforts with the Government of South Sudan and the World Bank, which have led to successful land reclamation.