Human Rights Council hears of ongoing risk of further genocidal violence in Sudan

The brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was the focus of debate as the Geneva-based Council holds its first session of the year. 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk delivered remarks alongside Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan established by the Council in October 2023. 

Rise in civilian deaths 

Mr. Türk presented his latest report, outlining “yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty.” As fighting has intensified, violations by all parties have surged “while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said. 

Documentation by his office, OHCHR, “points to over a two and a half times increase in killings of civilians” in 2025, compared with the previous year.

Latest data indicates that at least 11,300 civilians were killed last year – nearly triple the number in 2024 – while many thousands are still missing or unidentified. 

Women’s bodies ‘weaponised’ 

Both the RSF and the Sudanese army have continued to use explosive weapons in densely populated areas, and often without warning, displaying “utter disregard for human life,” the High Commissioner said. 

Schools, hospitals, markets, religious sites and critical infrastructure have all been attacked. 

“The bodies of Sudanese women and girls have been weaponised to terrorize communities,” he added 

“In 2025, we identified over 500 victims of sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, sexual torture, and slavery – in some cases resulting in death. And when I was in Sudan earlier this year, I listened to the harrowing testimonies of at least 10 of them.” 

‘Carnage’ in El Fasher, concern for the Kordofans 

Meanwhile, the RSF’s capture of the Zamzam camp in North Darfur in April, and its offensive in the besieged state capital, El Fasher, six months later “unleashed carnage that claimed thousands of lives, amounting to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.” 

The UN rights chief recalled that although he had repeatedly warned about the risks facing the city, the massacre was not prevented. 

“As the epicentre of the war shifts to the Kordofan region, I am extremely worried these crimes may be repeated. Because these are patterns – of heinous, ruthless brutality.” 

He noted that there is already “a worrying escalation in drone strikes and blockades by both the RSF and the SAF in Kordofan and beyond, including on humanitarian aid convoys.” These attacks have killed or injured nearly 600 civilians since the beginning of the year. 

Genocidal fears 

The fact-finding mission for Sudan issued its latest report last week and Mr. Othman warned of the ongoing risk of further genocidal violence the longer the war continues. 

He said the situation around El-Fasher “exhibits clear hallmarks of genocide” by the RSF against the Zaghawa and Fur communities, as evidenced by mass killings, causing serious bodily and mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part. 

El Fasher had been under siege for more than a year and the mission documented widespread and systematic killings across the city.  He highlighted the bloodshed at El-Saudi hospital, where more than 460 people – including patients, doctors and wounded persons – were killed. 

“Videos recorded and circulated by perpetrators show executions accompanied by ethnic slurs,” he said. 

“Survivors recount statements such as: ‘Is there anyone Zaghawa among you? If we find Zaghawa, we will kill them all,’ and ‘We want to eliminate anything black from Darfur.’”  

The crimes in El Fasher “reflect continuity and escalation of patterns of violence and risk spreading further, including into Kordofan,” he said, warning that “without urgent protection and credible accountability, the risk of further genocidal violence remains grave and ongoing.”