The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has reiterated his accusations against General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese army and head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), for committing war crimes. Turk expressed regret over the country’s ongoing destruction.
In his global report presented at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, Turk stated that Sudan “is being destroyed before our eyes.” He accused the conflicting parties of fueling ethnic tensions, obstructing humanitarian aid, arresting human rights defenders, and blatantly disregarding the rights of their people.
“I have informed both generals of their responsibility for potential war crimes and other serious atrocities, including sexual violence and ethnically motivated attacks,” said Turk. “I have made it clear to them that they are ultimately accountable for the impact of their actions on civilians, including mass displacement, impending famine, and the worsening humanitarian disaster.”
Turk criticized the warring factions for exceeding “the bounds of what is acceptable and legal on many fronts, with utter contempt for each other,” and emphasized the urgent need to find a path back to peace.
He pointed out that the gap between humanitarian funding requirements and available resources stands at $40.8 billion, noting that humanitarian appeals are funded at an average of only 16.1%, while global military spending last year reached $2.5 trillion.
Data collected by his office indicates that the number of civilian casualties in armed conflicts increased by 72% in 2023. The number of women killed has doubled, and the number of children killed has tripled compared to the previous year.
“Daily, civilians are being killed and injured. Daily, vital infrastructure is being recklessly and destructively attacked. Children are being shot, hospitals are being bombed, and heavy shells are being fired at entire communities. Alongside all this, hate speech, division, and inhumanity are spreading,” Turk added.
