International Community Has Clear Duty To Act - Türk Tells Special Session On Sudan

Remarks to Human Rights Council Special Session on the situation in El-Fasher, Sudan
Geneva, 14 November 2025

Mr. President, Excellencies,

The atrocities that are unfolding in El Fasher were foreseen and preventable – but they were not prevented. They constitute the gravest of crimes.

My Office has issued more than 20 statements on El Fasher alone over the past year, based on information verified by our team.

We warned repeatedly about the strangulating, suffocating siege, under which people were reduced to eating animal feed and peanut shells.

We warned about the spread of famine, as people starved to death.

And we warned that the fall of the city to the Rapid Support Forces would result in a bloodbath.

So none of us should be surprised by reports that since the RSF took control of El Fasher, there have been mass killings of civilians; ethnically targeted executions; sexual violence including gang rape; abductions for ransom; widespread arbitrary detentions; attacks on health facilities, medical staff and humanitarian workers; and other appalling atrocities. This is a pattern that we have documented time and again in this conflict.

But our wake-up calls were not heeded.

Bloodstains on the ground in El Fasher have been photographed from space.

The stain on the record of the international community is less visible, but no less damaging.

Mr. President, Excellencies,

I thank the Member States that convened today’s special session.

The international community has a clear duty to act. There has been too much pretence and performance, and too little action.

It must stand up against these atrocities – a display of naked cruelty used to subjugate and control an entire population.

It must take action to prevent continued large-scale human rights violations, often ethnically motivated, in Darfur and beyond.

And it must ensure that civilians from El Fasher and the surrounding areas have access to the humanitarian aid and the protection they so desperately need.

Concretely, that means several things need to happen.

First, all States with influence need to take urgent, concrete action to ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher and safe passage for those trying to leave.

States must press for the unimpeded flow of aid, and fund humanitarian programmes fully.

Second, States need to make a concerted effort to hold to account all those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in this conflict.

My staff are gathering evidence of violations that could be used in legal proceedings. We have deployed several missions to areas where civilians are fleeing, and we are sending more.

The International Criminal Court has indicated that it is following the situation closely.

All those involved in this conflict should know: We are watching you, and justice must prevail.

Mr. President,

Third, the international community needs to take action against the individuals and companies that are fueling and profiting from this war.

Sudan is caught up in a proxy battle for its natural resources and commodities. Numerous countries in the region and beyond are involved.

Fourth, I urge everyone with influence to stand up for international law.

That means advocating for an urgent referral by the Security Council of the situation in the entire country to the International Criminal Court.

And it means making the arms embargo a reality, not only in Darfur, but across the whole country.

Sudan is built on the diversity of its people. The war is setting regions and communities against each other, ripping apart the social fabric, with consequences that will reach down generations.

I implore all parties to the conflict to put their country and its people first, and to engage in meaningful peace negotiations, a humanitarian truce, and a transition to inclusive civilian rule.

I urge them to fulfil their obligations under international law to ensure the protection of civilians and the passage of humanitarian aid.

Finally, I must issue another stark warning about surging violence in Kordofan. All the signs are there: bombardments; blockades; people forced from their homes; a despicable disregard for civilian lives.

Kordofan must not suffer the same fate as Darfur.

International law must not be shredded before our eyes.

The suffering of the Sudanese people must end.

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