Remarks to Human Rights Council Urgent
Debate on the situation of human rights in and around El
Obeid, North Kordofan, in the context of the ongoing
conflict in Sudan
Geneva, 3 July 2026
Mr
President, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates,
The
signs from El Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another
human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan, this time in
the capital of the strategic state of North
Kordofan.
Civilians have been subjected to siege-like
conditions for 18 months, battered by relentless drone
strikes as the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support
Forces battle for control over areas surrounding the
city.
My Office documented 15 drone strikes on El
Obeid and surrounding areas between 6 and 28 June, which
killed at least 45 civilians and injured 41. The actual
number of civilian casualties is likely higher.
Across
the Kordofan region, drones launched by both sides have
repeatedly struck markets, schools, fuel stations, water
infrastructure, and civilian vehicles. In recent weeks, we
documented damage to at least 13 fuel stations in El Obeid
and Al Rahad from RSF drones.
These attacks, and fuel
shortages, have a compound impact, making it difficult for
civilians to access clean water, food, transport and
healthcare, and to communicate with each other and the
outside world.
Shortages of clean water are reaching a
critical point in El Obeid. As the rainy season starts, this
puts people at risk of waterborne diseases, including
cholera. An influx of tens of thousands of people fleeing
violence in other parts of Kordofan is straining resources
even further.
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Some people are selling their belongings
to finance their escape from the city. For many, the
exorbitant cost of transport, and constant attacks on
vehicles along exit routes, make leaving
impossible.
We have documented patterns of summary
executions, abductions, torture and ill-treatment, sexual
violence, and looting along the routes taken by displaced
people across the Kordofan region.
Those who stay in
El Obeid are also at risk of arbitrary arrest and detention.
People who have fled areas controlled by the RSF and allied
forces are frequently accused of collaboration. All this
takes place against a backdrop of rising hate
speech.
Mr. President,
The international
community cannot allow a repeat of the widespread atrocities
that took place in Zamzam camp for displaced people, and in
El Fasher in North Darfur last year.
My Office
assessed that at least 6,000 people were killed in the span
of just three days when the RSF captured El Fasher. We found
the RSF and allied militia committed war crimes and crimes
against humanity, including mass killings, summary
executions, sexual violence, and torture.
These crimes
were foreseen, with repeated warnings by myself and my
Office. But they were not prevented.
This is not a
drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of
Heads of State and government around the world. Their phones
should be running hot in the coming days and weeks, with
ideas on how to prevent atrocity crimes in El Obeid and in
other places in Kordofan, where the same strategies are
being deployed.
Reports by my Office and others, and
this Urgent Debate, call for strong action at the highest
level. The UN Security Council needs to fulfil its
responsibilities to prevent atrocity crimes. El Obeid is a
classic case that shows why the use of the veto should be
limited, as proposed by France and Mexico more than ten
years ago.
All leaders must use their influence to
exert pressure on all parties, and particularly the RSF, to
stop an offensive on El Obeid; to end strikes on civilians
and essential infrastructure; to stop the flow of weapons;
and to comply with their obligations under international
law.
There also needs to be accountability for the
crimes that have been committed. I welcome the continued
engagement of the International Criminal Court on Sudan as a
path to that end, in addition to efforts based on universal
jurisdiction.
The safe and voluntary movement of
civilians out of El Obeid must be guaranteed. We urgently
need a humanitarian pause to allow for the unhindered
delivery of food and humanitarian aid into the city and its
surroundings.
Mr. President,
We also need to pay
far closer attention to the political economy of this war.
The leaders of the warring parties bear the greatest
responsibility for three years of appalling suffering. But
behind them, domestic and foreign players are benefiting
from the carnage.
Our upcoming report will focus on
how conflict resources, specifically the trade in gum
arabic, are fuelling the war economy in Sudan. Other key
commodities include gold and livestock.
My Office
records and publishes information on business interests in
other situations around the world; we are ready to do the
same on Sudan.
We also need to end the steady supply
of weapons from outside the country to all sides, which
continues with complete disregard for their use in
contravention of international law. Without action to end
this, the conflict risks continuing indefinitely. I repeat
my call for the arms embargo on Darfur to be extended to the
whole country.
And I urge concerted efforts by the
international community to assume its responsibilities to
protect the people of Sudan, and support their efforts to
build a peaceful, inclusive and democratic
future.
Thank
you.
