UN News Today 04 December 2025 |

Sudan: UN rights chief Türk condemns worsening situation in Kordofans

Sudan’s dire humanitarian emergency threatens to cause yet more misery for millions of civilians caught up in heavy fighting between government and paramilitary forces, the UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, warned on Thursday.

In an alert he said that the situation in central Kordofan region is rapidly deteriorating – and that he feared “another wave of atrocities”.

Since late October, hundreds of civilians have been killed and tens of thousands more have fled aerial strikes, shelling and summary executions.

From the High Commissioner’s team, here’s spokesperson Marta Hurtado:

“Intensified violence in the past months has also triggered mass civilian displacement, with over 45,000 people fleeing their homes to seek safety within or outside the Kordofan region. Safe passage for those fleeing the horror of famine, death and destruction is essential and a human rights imperative.”

The UN rights chief urged all States with influence over the warring parties to halt the fighting and stop arms flows that he maintained are fuelling the conflict.

Malaria: Drug resistance and underfunding threaten progress

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that resistance to antimalarial drugs poses one of the most acute risks to prevention efforts across Africa and beyond.

The mosquito-borne disease is both preventable and curable, but it remains a deadly global threat, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives – mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.

WHO-partnered efforts to control malaria have saved an estimated 14 million lives worldwide since the turn of the century and today, 47 countries are certified free from the disease.

Nevertheless, there were still more than 280 million malaria sufferers worldwide in 2024 and the disease killed more than 600,000.

A full 95 per cent of cases were concentrated in the Africa region and most were in just 11 countries.

Arab region pushed to limits by climate extremes as 2024 smashes heat records

The Arab region is heating at nearly twice the global average, UN weather experts warned on Thursday, after 2024 saw unprecedented heat, destructive storms and worsening water scarcity.

In its first report on climate extremes impacting Arab states, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted that temperatures of above 50°C or 122°F were often recorded last year.

At the same time, average temperatures for 2024 were over 1°C (or 33.8°F) higher than from 1991 to 2020.

Here’s WMO’s Claire Ransom, Associate Scientific Officer at the agency’s Climate Monitoring & Policy Section:

“The Arab region really stands on the front lines of climate change and timely information and coordinated action are no longer optional; they’re absolutely essential. Fortunately, there is progress. Nearly 60 per cent of Arab countries now have multi-hazard early warning systems in place and many are prioritizing water security strategies to cope with the mounting climate risks. that we’ve seen in 2024 and beyond.”

In related news, the agency said that there’s a 55 per cent chance of a weak La Niña weather pattern influencing the world’s climate over the next three months.

La Niña has a cooling effect on the Pacific Ocean which can impact rainfall and winds. Accurate La Niña forecasts help governments, farmers, businesses and humanitarian agencies to plan ahead, reduce economic losses and protect lives.

WMO noted that despite the temporary cooling effect of La Niña, “many regions are still expected to be warmer than normal”.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.