UN News Today – 07 September 2026 |

Human rights chief Türk renews call for end to spiralling Sudan war

The war in Sudan continues to claim the lives of ordinary people trying to go about their daily lives and it must end, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Monday.

Speaking at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Mr. Türk also warned about the deteriorating situation in Kordofan, Blue Nile, and North and West Darfur, stressing that non-combatants remain at “imminent” risk:

“In its fourth year, the war in Sudan is expanding. Parties to the conflict continue to launch attacks on markets, hospitals, fuel stations and other civilian infrastructure…Again, there needs to be an immediate ceasefire, an end to foreign involvement, and a return to inclusive civilian rule.”

The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has created a massive humanitarian emergency; today, more than six million people displaced internally and another 4.5 million have been forced to seek shelter across Sudan’s borders.

The High Commissioner’s appeal follows the publication of a new report into the conflict commissioned by the Human Rights Council. 

It highlights the increasing use of long-range drones against civilians and the significant support allegedly provided to paramilitary rebel fighters by “individuals and entities” in the United Arab Emirates, Chad, southeastern Libya and Puntland in Somalia. Third party States have denied involvement.

AI: Türk urges action before it becomes an ‘existential risk to humanity’

Staying with the Human Rights Council, where Volker Türk insisted on the need for “cast iron” controls and oversight on AI.

The UN rights chief warned that the revolutionary technology could become an “existential risk to humanity” if left unchecked.

Mr. Türk raised the prospect of AI systems becoming so powerful that their developers could no longer control them.

In future, this could lead to AI “that escapes its testing environment, or blackmails developers to prevent itself from being turned off”, the High Commissioner said, in a call for unbreakable guarantees for the safety and security of AI “before it is too late”.

The UN is leading efforts to strengthen international AI governance, including through the Global Dialogue on AI and the International Independent Scientific Panel on AI. There are also initiatives in Europe and the Republic of Korea.

But Mr. Türk stressed that the challenge goes beyond technical safety in a world where a “handful of men” have “almost unlimited power over AI”.

Wildfires linked to above-average air pollution across Spain, Canada, Africa: WMO

Northern hemisphere wildfires have been identified as a key factor in higher air pollution levels, despite a reduction in emissions from industry and transport, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday.

According to the agency, “increased fire activity” in 2025 caused higher-than-average concentrations of microscopic pollution particles known as PM2.5 in northern Canada, part of Russia and western-central Africa.

Northwestern Spain was also a hot spot because of exceptional fires in late summer 2025, although in South America’s Amazonia, pollution from burning was lower in 2025 than in previous years.

In China, PM2.5 levels remained below the long-term national average in 2025, reflecting a decline in emissions from human activities.

India continued to have above average levels of pollution caused by burning organic matter and other pollution, according to WMO’s Bulletin.

The agency noted that extreme wildfires are increasing globally, with major health consequences because of the high toxicity of smoke.

And although regulations in Europe and North America have reduced industrial and transport emissions of PM2.5 matter, exposure to fire-related PM2.5 has increased.

One study cited by the WMO Bulletin indicates that extreme fire-smoke events have tripled globally since the 1990s, contributing to an estimated nearly 100,000 additional deaths per year between 2010 and 2018 – although this may well be an underestimate.WMO noted that current air quality risk assessments often fail to capture sufficiently the “enhanced toxicity” of wildfire smoke.

It cited one study showing that conventional risks models based on total PM2.5 concentrations may underestimate wild-fire-attributable mortality by up to 93 per cent, highlighting the need to account for the damaging effects of fire-derived particles in modelling.

“Meeting the World Health Organization air quality guidelines will become progressively more difficult, since extreme fire weather is expected to increase in the future,” WMO said.

Daniel Johnson, UN News.