The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights says the devastating human rights crisis in Sudan has created the world's largest humanitarian catastrophe. Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on Thursday, Volker Türk also warned of an increasing risk of atrocity crimes and mass deaths from famine as a result of the conflict, which began in April 2023.
The scale of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented. On April 15, 2023, war broke out between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), causing an escalation of humanitarian needs across the country and widespread displacement.
“I cannot overstate the seriousness of the situation in Sudan; the desperate plight of the Sudanese people; and the urgency with which we must act to ease their suffering,” the High Commissioner told the Human Rights Council.
“More than six hundred thousand people are on the brink of starvation. Famine is reported to have taken hold in five areas, including Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, where the World Food Programme has just been forced to suspend its lifesaving operations due to intense fighting.”
Some 24.6 million people - almost half of Sudan's population - face severe food insecurity (IPC phase 3 or worse). The rapid deterioration of food security in Sudan has left at least 638,000 people in catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while 8.1 million people are estimated to be in emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4).
Famine has been declared in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in the western region of Darfur and the western Nuba Mountains. Catastrophic hunger is expected to worsen by May, when the lean season begins. With fighting continuing and basic services collapsing across most of the country, the crisis is set to deteriorate further.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a further 17 areas are at risk of famine. In addition, areas of intense conflict, including parts of Khartoum and Al Gezira states, may already be experiencing famine conditions (IPC Phase 5).
The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday that fierce fighting in Zamzam camp in Sudan's North Darfur state has forced the UN agency to temporarily suspend the distribution of life-saving food and nutrition assistance in the famine-stricken camp for displaced people.
Zamzam camp, home to an estimated 500,000 displaced people, is one of three displacement sites in the El Fasher region where famine conditions have been identified.
“Without immediate assistance, thousands of desperate families in Zamzam could starve in the coming weeks,” Laurent Bukera, WFP Acting Country Director for Sudan, said in a statement.
“We must resume the delivery of life-saving aid in and around Zamzam safely, quickly and at scale. For that the fighting must stop, and humanitarian organizations must be granted security guarantees.”
The WFP move came two days after the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) said it was forced to halt its activities in Zamzam following an escalation of attacks in and around the camp.
“Despite widespread starvation and immense humanitarian needs, we have no choice but to take the decision to suspend all our activities in the camp, including the MSF field hospital,” the medical humanitarian organization, the main provider of health and nutrition services in Zamzam, said in a statement on Monday.
The area has seen heavy fighting between the Rapid Support Forces and a coalition of armed groups allied to the Sudanese Armed Forces. The RSF, who have been besieging and shelling the town of El Fasher for the past ten months, have stepped up their offensive in recent weeks, launching attacks against the Zamzam camp.
With 30.4 million people - two-thirds of Sudan's population - in need of humanitarian assistance inside the country as a result of the war, the situation has become the world's largest humanitarian crisis and, for many, the world's worst emergency, disrupting the lives of millions of children, women and men every day.
“We are looking into the abyss. Humanitarian agencies warn that without action to end the war, deliver emergency aid, and get agriculture back on its feet, hundreds of thousands of people could die,” High Commissioner Türk said.
Some 15.9 million people are currently displaced by conflict in Sudan, making it the largest displacement crisis in the world. The vast majority of the displaced - more than 12.6 million women, children and men - have been uprooted by the war that erupted in April 2023 and continues unabated.
As of February, 11.9 million people were internally displaced in Sudan, including 2.8 million displaced before April 2023. At least 500,000 Sudanese had fled to neighboring countries before the outbreak of the current conflict. The total number of Sudanese refugees is now estimated at over 4 million.
Over the course of 22 months, more than 9.1 million people - including refugees already living in the country - have been internally displaced, and more than 3.5 million have been forced to flee to neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Also on Thursday, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, expressed her extreme concern about recent reports of civilians being unable — and in some cases actively prevented — from leaving conflict areas.
She said in a statement that civilians were “basically being held hostage in areas of active fighting”, reminding that the passage of civilians fleeing to safety must be ensured, as called for under international humanitarian law.
Fighting has intensified in many parts of the country in recent weeks.
“Following a series of attacks attributed to the Rapid Support Forces around Al Qetina in White Nile State last week, there were shocking reports of hundreds of people killed, and others raped and abducted,” Türk said.
“As the fighting has spread across the country, appalling levels of sexual violence have followed. More than half of reported rape incidents took the form of gang rape – an indication that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war.”
He noted that cases of sexual violence are vastly under-reported due to stigma, fear of reprisals and the collapse of medical and judicial institutions.
“Child recruitment by both parties and their allied militias is driven in part by poverty and school closures. In some cases, children joined the fighting to protect their families,” he added.
Türk said, “Sudan is a powder keg, on the verge of a further explosion into chaos, and at increasing risk of atrocity crimes and mass deaths from famine,”
Despite ongoing mediation efforts, Sudan remains in a political stalemate while the bloodshed continues unabated.
“The danger of escalation has never been higher. Recent moves towards establishing a governing authority in areas under RSF control are likely to further entrench divisions and the risk of continued hostilities,” the High Commissioner said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also warned on Monday that the RSF’s move could deepen the nearly two-year-old civil war.
“This further escalation in the conflict in the Sudan deepens the fragmentation of the country and risks further entrenching the crisis,” Guterres said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.
“Preserving the Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity remains key for a sustainable resolution of the conflict and the long-term stability of the country and the wider region.”
The Secretary-General also condemned the persistent violence perpetrated by both parties to the conflict against civilians throughout Sudan, including ethnically motivated attacks. Sudanese women, children and men are paying the heaviest price for the ongoing military offensives by the warring parties, he said.
“There is an intense struggle for control of natural resources, strategic assets, and economic interests, leading both parties to seek regional and international alliances to sustain the war economy,” Türk said.
“The continued supply of weapons from outside the country – including new and more advanced arms – also poses a serious risk.”
The High Commissioner said all countries must use their influence to exert diplomatic and political pressure on the parties and their regional and international allies for a ceasefire, effective protection of civilians and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.
“They must also ensure compliance with the arms embargo on Darfur, while considering its expansion to cover the whole country,” he said.
“We must do much, much better for the people of Sudan.”
Further information
Full text: Sudan is a powder keg, High Commissioner Türk warns Human Rights Council, speech by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, UN Human Rights Council, delivered on February 27, 2025
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/02/sudan-powder-keg-high-commissioner-turk-warns-human-rights-council?sub-site=HRC