He called for “all those who have any influence, including regional actors and especially those who supply the weapons and benefit economically from this war‘ to take urgent action to put an end to it.
Mr Türk last visited Sudan in November 2022. At the time, he was deeply inspired by civil society – in particular the youth and women who spearheaded the 2018 revolution that led to the overthrow of long-standing leader Omar al-Bashir.
Kudos to 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 struggle for peace, justice and freedom… has not been broken,” he affirmed.
‘I bore witness to it in Sudan the trauma of the unspeakable brutality that people have suffered – but also of the resilience and resistance of the human spirit.”
Mr Türk met with various sectors of society, including youth who organize and provide aid to their communities “often facing enormous bureaucratic hurdles, risking detention and violence.”
As one volunteer told him: “The price of the war is being paid by young people. Sudanese youth are on the front lines of this war, serving those in need of humanitarian assistance.”
End ‘unbearable attacks’ on infrastructure
The rights chief emphasized attacks on critical civilian infrastructuresuch as the Merowe Dam and the hydroelectric power station that once provided 70 percent of the national electricity needs.
It has been repeatedly hit by drones launched by the RSF, including in recent weeks. Such attacks are serious violations and could amount to war crimes.
He called on both warring sides to “cease the intolerable attacks on civilian objects essential to the civilian population, including markets, health facilities, schools and shelters.”
Mr Türk also met people displaced from the besieged town of El Fasher in North Darfur and now living in the Al Afad camp some 1,200 kilometers away. Among them was a four-year-old who lost his hearing due to bombings and a three-year-old who would not laugh.
“One woman saw her husband and only son murdered,” he said. “She remains bedridden from grief, trauma and the bullet she took in the shoulder as she tried – in vain – to protect her son.”
Women’s bodies ‘weaponized’
He shared Aisha’s testimony*20, who fled El Fasher on a donkey cart in October when armed men on camels ordered the women down. Her brother tried to intervene but was shot, while her mother begged the men to take her instead of the children.
“They beat her, took me away and told me to keep my mouth shut or they would kill my mother. What happened then? My period hasn’t come since,” she said to Mr. Türk.
In Sudan “The bodies of women and girls are weaponizedSexual violence is used as a weapon of war – including as a war crime – and it is widespread and systematic.
The UN rights chief also heard stories of widespread summary executions. He underlined that all parties to the conflict have committed “gross violations and abuses of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, especially as fighting intensifies to gain control of new areas.”
Take care of the Kordofan region
He expressed his deep concern about this The atrocities committed in El Fasher risk being repeated in the Kordofan regionwhere fighting has intensified since late October. This comes amid famine in Kadugli town and the risk of famine elsewhere, including Dilling, he said in a stark warning.
He regretted the proliferation of advanced military equipment across Sudan, especially drones, saying that “it is despicable that large sums of money are being spent on the purchase of increasingly sophisticated weapons – funds that should be used to alleviate the suffering of the population.”
Another concern is the increasing militarization of society by all parties to the conflict, including by arming civilians and recruiting and using children. Civil society and journalists also face restrictions or become targets of smear campaigns.
Focus on the Sudanese people
The UN rights chief concluded his remarks by calling on the warring sides to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure safe passage for people to leave conflict zones, and ensure unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“Measures such as humane treatment of detainees, accounting for and determining the fate of missing persons, and releasing citizens detained for alleged ‘collaboration’ with the opposing party are also priority areas,” he added.
Mr Türk reiterated the plea he made when he last visited 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.” he said.
“Once again I leave with a plea that human rights must be central to building trust and ending this war, as we resume the difficult task of building a lasting peace.”
This is difficult, he acknowledged, “but certainly not impossible, given the resilience and power of the Sudanese people.”
*Name changed for security reasons.
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