The United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution condemning the escalating violence by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allied groups in and around the city of El-Obeid, as the conflict in Sudan enters its fourth year. The resolution, adopted without a vote on Monday, was tabled by United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands and Norway. It condemns the worsening violence in North Kordofan, calls for increased international support for countries hosting Sudanese refugees, and denounces all forms of external interference fueling the conflict. Several countries, including China, Cuba, Egypt and Pakistan, distanced themselves from the consensus, citing concerns over references to the UN fact-finding mission established to investigate alleged human rights violations committed during the war.
Last week, Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued what he described as a “red alert” over the risk of atrocity crimes in and around El-Obeid, a strategically important city in central Sudan. He urged the international community to take urgent action to prevent further attacks on civilians. The Human Rights Council convened an emergency session following mounting warnings from diplomats, humanitarian organizations and rights groups that civilians in El-Obeid face an increased threat of mass violence. Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF escalated into full-scale war. Since then, the fighting has claimed at least 59,000 lives, displaced around 13 million people and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. According to UN estimates, more than 30 million people across Sudan now require humanitarian assistance, with famine conditions reported in several parts of the country as aid agencies struggle to reach affected communities.
