Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoOHCHR / SUDAN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
STORY: OHCHR / SUDAN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
TRT: 04:42
SOURCE: OHCHR / UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
DATELINE: 18 FEBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (OTHER LOCATIONS AND DATE SEE SHOTLIST BELOW)
18 FEBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Entrenched impunity is fueling gross human rights violations and abuses in Sudan as fighting spreads to more parts of the country and involves additional armed actors. roader international effort towards accountability and to stem the flow of arms. ”
4. Wide shot, briefing room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“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.”
6. Wide shot, briefing room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“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.”
8. Wide shot, briefing room
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The international community should, among other measures, expand the arms embargo and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to cover the whole of Sudan. They currently cover only the region of Darfur.”
10. Wide shot, briefing room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Conflict related sexual violence has also been documented, and urgent steps must be taken by the parties to put an end to the persistent use of sexual violence, and to hold those responsible to account and to provide redress for survivors.”
12. Wide shot, briefing room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Li Fung, head of the UN Human Rights Office in Sudan (OHCHR):
“As at the end of December 2024, our office had documented 152 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, involving at least 251 victims. Reports of sexual violence appeared to follow a geographic pattern as the fighting spread across the country, illustrating its consistent use as a weapon of war by a growing number of actors. More than half of the reported incidents involved gang rape. Cases of sexual violence remain vastly under-reported.”
12 FEBRUARY 2025, KASSALA REGION, SUDAN
14. Various shots, OHCHR mission to Kassala, visit to IDP gathering site
18 FEBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Li Fung, head of the UN Human Rights Office in Sudan (OHCHR):
“In 2024, we documented multiple reports of disappearances and missing persons, including through widespread arbitrary arrests and detention. In this context, civic space came under increasing threat.”
12 FEBRUARY 2025, KASSALA REGION, SUDAN
16. Various shots, stills Li Fung, head of the UN Human Rights Office meeting IDPs in camp
18 FEBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Li Fung, head of the UN Human Rights Office in Sudan (OHCHR):
“The report finds that gross violations and abuses of international human rights law, as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law, have been committed by the parties to the conflict. As entrenched impunity was one of the drivers of the conflict and continues to fuel it, accountability is critical to prevent further violations and abuses.”
12 EBRUARY 2025, KASSALA REGION, SUDAN
18. Various shots, stills, Li Fung, head of the UN Human Rights Office meeting IDPs in camp
18 EBRUARY 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Li Fung, head of the UN Human Rights Office in Sudan (OHCHR):
“Since the beginning of 2025, the situation has escalated further, with ongoing battles in multiple hotspots – regrettably, civilians continue to bear the brunt of the escalating violence.”
13 OCTOBER 2024, NEAR IRBA, CHAD
20. Wide shot, Sudanese refugees in Iridimi refugee camp near Irba, Chad
21. Various shots, Sudanese refugees waiting in front of UNHCR office in Iridimirefugee camp near Irba, Chad
22. Various shots, UN human rights officers in camp before a meeting Iridimi refugee camp near Irba, Chad
23. Various shots, UN human rights officers meeting with Sudanese refugees Iridimi refugee camp near Irba, Chad
The report of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Sudan, being issued on the 18 February, highlights the expansion of the conflict across the country in 2024. The report is due to be presented to the Human Rights Council on 27 February.
At the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, presented the findings of this latest report.
“Entrenched impunity is fueling gross human rights violations and abuses in Sudan as fighting spreads to more parts of the country and involves additional armed actors. broader international effort towards accountability and to stem the flow of arms,” Ravina Shamdasani said.
The report details attacks on densely populated areas, as well as IDP camps, health facilities, markets, and schools. It also documents ethnically motivated summary executions. The report also highlights a sustained pattern of attacks on medical facilities. Between 9 May and 23 June 2024, the UN Human Rights Office documented nine attacks, targeting healthcare facilities in El Fasher city, mostly attributed to the RSF.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
“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,” she added.
The report also notes that further investigation is required to establish whether other serious international crimes, including atrocity crimes, have been committed.
“The international community should, among other measures, expand the arms embargo and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to cover the whole of Sudan. They currently cover only the region of Darfur,” Shamdasani said.
Some 120 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence were documented from April 2023 to November 2024, affecting at least 203 victims, including 162 women and 36 girls. Reports appeared to follow a geographical pattern as the fighting spread across the country, with a multiplicity of actors allegedly perpetrating these violations, illustrating the consistent use of sexual violence. However, cases remained vastly under-reported, in large part due to stigma, fear of reprisals, and the collapse of medical and judicial institutions.
“Conflict related sexual violence has also been documented, and urgent steps must be taken by the parties to put an end to the persistent use of sexual violence, and to hold those responsible to account and to provide redress for survivors,” Shamdasani said.
“Since April 2023, when the conflict began, it has triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis, and an unprecedented food security situation, with half the population facing acute food insecurity and with famine conditions confirmed in at least five locations,” she added.
In all, throughout 2024, the Office documented more than 4,200 civilian killings in the context of hostilities. * The total number of civilian casualties is likely much higher, given the significant security, access and telecommunications challenges.
“We stressed that accountability, regardless of the rank and affiliation of the perpetrators, is critical to breaking the recurring cycle of violence and impunity in Sudan,” Shamdasani said.
The head of the UN Human Rights office in Sudan, Li Fung, spoke to journalist at the briefing from Port Sudan, Sudan.
“As at the end of December 2024, our office had documented 152 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, involving at least 251 victims. Reports of sexual violence appeared to follow a geographic pattern as the fighting spread across the country, illustrating its consistent use as a weapon of war by a growing number of actors. More than half of the reported incidents involved gang rape. Cases of sexual violence remain vastly under-reported,” Fung said.
Last week she visited Kassala in eastern Sudan, where she witnessed first-hand the scale of the impact of the conflict in areas where there are no active hostilities.
Kassala is hosting hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons who have fled conflict and violence. With the human rights team, she heard from women who have been displaced multiple times. This made clear the major challenges of providing for such large numbers of IDPs, and of planning for safe and sustainable returns.
“In 2024, we documented multiple reports of disappearances and missing persons, including through widespread arbitrary arrests and detention. In this context, civic space came under increasing threat,” she said.
“The report finds that gross violations and abuses of international human rights law, as well as serious violations of international humanitarian law, have been committed by the parties to the conflict. As entrenched impunity was one of the drivers of the conflict and continues to fuel it, accountability is critical to prevent further violations and abuses,” she added.
“Since the beginning of 2025, the situation has escalated further, with ongoing battles in multiple hotspots – regrettably, civilians continue to bear the brunt of the escalating violence,” Fung said.
* Figures have been updated beyond the time period covered by the report.
Download
There is no media available to download.
