UN rights office warns of ‘dangerous tipping point’ as abuses surge in Sudan

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Tuesday sounded the alarm over escalating rights abuses in Sudan, warning that impunity is driving violations as fighting spreads and more armed groups become involved.

In a new report, UN investigators detailed multiple attacks on civilians, healthcare facilities, markets, and schools, as well as ethnically motivated summary executions.

“The continued and deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as summary executions, sexual violence and other violations and abuses, underscore the utter failure by both parties to respect the rules and principles of international humanitarian and human rights law,” said Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“Some of these acts may amount to war crimes. They must be investigated promptly and independently, with a view to bringing those responsible to justice,” he added.

Among its key recommendations, the report called for expanding the arms embargo and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to cover the whole of Sudan – not just the region of Darfur, where atrocities raged unchecked 20 years ago.

Twenty-two months of brutal war

More than 22 months of brutal fighting between Government forces and their former allied militia, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has left more than 30 million people across Sudan in need of assistance and protection.

The fighting has precipitated the world’s worst displacement crisis, with over 12 million displaced from their homes, of whom 3.3 million have fled across the border.

Food security and healthcare are also in freefall, with less than a quarter of Sudan’s health facilities functioning in areas worst hit by fighting. Nearly 25 million people are suffering from “acute” levels of hunger.

© WFP

Workers offload sacks of food aid from a barge in Sudan.

Sexual violence a weapon of war

The report highlighted the widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, with 120 documented incidents affecting at least 203 victims. Cases are likely vastly underreported due to fear, stigma, and the collapse of medical and judicial institutions.

All sides involved in the fighting have been responsible for violations, according to report, including widespread sexual violence.

“The persistent use of sexual violence as a weapon of war in Sudan is deeply shocking,” High Commissioner Türk said.

“Urgent steps must be taken by the parties to put an end to it, to hold those responsible to account and provide redress for survivors,” he stressed.

Crackdown on civic space

The report also detailed widespread disappearances and a generalised crackdown on civic space, including killings of journalists and attacks on human rights defenders.

At least 12 journalists were killed, two of them while in detention, and 31 were arbitrarily detained, including four women.

In all, throughout 2024, OHCHR documented more than 4,200 civilian killings in the context of hostilities though the real number is likely much higher.

© UNFPA Sudan

Reamins of a health clinic that was attacked and looted, leaving thousands of women and girls without access to critical care.

A dangerous tipping point

Li Fung, the head of the OHCHR office in Sudan, described the dire situation in Sudan as a “dangerous tipping point”.

Speaking to journalists at the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG) via video link from Port Sudan, she underscored the need for the international community to renew the focus on human rights.

“[The international community] must take all necessary measures to protect civilians and prevent further violations and abuses. It remains urgent to ensure critical humanitarian assistance can reach those in need,” she said.

“Together, we must stand with the people of Sudan.”