Sudan: Türk says conflict must stop before it is too late to pull the country back from disaster

Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,

This Friday, Sudan will mark five months of futility.

Five months of futile suffering, death, loss and destruction.

Since the conflict began, the people of Sudan have been caught up in an endless cycle of violence generated by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

There is no reprieve in sight.  

My staff travelled to Chad and Ethiopia in June and July to gather first-hand information from people who had fled the violence in Sudan.

Their testimonies underscore the information my Office has obtained on the scale and brutality of this conflict.

We heard stories of family members being killed or raped.

Stories of their relatives being arrested, without reason.

Of disappeared loved ones.

Of piles of abandoned bodies in the streets.

Of desperate, lingering hunger.

Stories of a level of fear and uncertainty for their future unfelt before, despite the decades of turmoil in which Sudan has been embroiled.

The unbearable story of a fifteen-year-old girl, attacked and raped, and taken away from her family.

“My entire body aches; my head aches,” she said. “I am not rested because I do not know what happened to my family. I have no appetite to eat. At night, I cannot sleep thinking about my family.” 

Mr President,

This catastrophic conflict has broken a nation.

At least 1500 civilians have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health. The actual figure is likely much higher.

More than 5.1 million are uprooted from their homes.

More than one million are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.

The conflict has paralysed the economy, pushing millions to the brink of poverty. It has brought essential services in areas affected by fighting – such as education and healthcare–almost to a halt.

More than 7.4 million children are without safe drinking water and at least 700,000 are at risk of severe acute malnutrition.

And, despite repeated promises by both sides to investigate the serious human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law, the silence has been deafening, with nobody held to account.

Mr. President,

The devastating common thread to this conflict is its brutal impact on civilians.  

Indiscriminate attacks in and from densely populated areas in Khartoum and surrounding cities have killed hundreds.

In the past week, more than 103 civilians have been killed during military operations by both parties in Khartoum and Omdurman, including many women and children. At least 51 people, including 3 children and 3 women, were killed just two days ago by airstrikes in the Janoob Al Hazim district in South Khartoum, one of the highest tolls in a single incident since fighting started.

The RSF continues to occupy residential areas, forcing civilians from their homes, looting their property and in many cases, killing those who resist.

Many others are killed in the crossfire. Over the last five months, the RSF has occupied hundreds of civilian buildings, including hospitals and apartment buildings, using many of them for military purposes. In the Khartoum area, three quarters of hospitals have had to close because they were occupied, damaged by shelling, or faced severe shortages of medical supplies. Thousands of public buildings and homes have been destroyed as a result of airstrikes and shelling.

I deplore the widespread arbitrary detention of civilians by both parties. Hundreds – and likely thousands – are being held incommunicado in appalling conditions. From political activists, to courageous human rights defenders, to members of the Resistance Committees, their so-called crime is support or perceived support of the opposing party, opposing the war, or simply to be providing humanitarian assistance to those in need. Many have been tortured. At least 500 people are reported to have disappeared in Khartoum alone.

And in West Darfur, ethnically motivated attacks perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of “non-Arab” civilians primarily from Masalit communities. This has mainly occurred in the capital, El Geneina, but also in at least eight other locations. The RSF now controls all but two localities in West Darfur.

Such developments echo a horrific past that must not be repeated.

In other areas of Darfur, civilian casualties continue to mount, as does destruction of civilian infrastructure, including in Nyala, South Darfur. On 21 August, more than 39 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed there by shells that exploded close to their hiding place under a bridge. And throughout the Darfur region, people have been unable to access their farmlands because of the fighting, further compounding an already desperate food security situation.

I am deeply concerned by the calls made by SAF officials to arm civilians, including by Major-General Al-Burhan. Similar calls have been made by community leaders, including most recently the Sultan of Massalit. Civilians should not be encouraged to take part in hostilities, nor should they be exposed to the impact of  military operations.

We also see worrying signs of involvement in the conflict of militia, often affiliated along tribal or ethnic lines.  Mobilisation campaigns by the SAF pose a real risk of sparking intercommunal tension and triggering even further conflict between communities. In South Kordofan, fighting between the SAF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) is having devastating consequences for the civilian population.

Refugees fleeing the conflict have been, for the most part, welcomed by neighbouring countries. But while they may have escaped the horrors of the conflict, they have had to face precarious living conditions in overcrowded sites and shortages of vital services, such as healthcare, food and shelter. On many occasions, they have suffered harassment by security forces on the way. I am also concerned about the treatment of Sudanese refugees who have fled further north, where we have seen, especially in Tunisia and Libya, dangerous anti-migrant and anti-refugee sentiment. This situation requires the utmost attention.

Mr. President,

I am repulsed to hear of the ongoing epidemic of conflict-related sexual violence. As of 10 September, my Office has received credible reports of 45 incidents, involving at least 95 victims, including 75 women, one man and 19 children. This is likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Reports are mainly coming from Khartoum State, and the Darfur and Kordofan regions. The majority of perpetrators – around 78% - have been men in RSF uniform or armed men affiliated with the RSF.  

We have also received increasing allegations against both parties, some supported by video evidence, of the torture and killing of people who were hors de combat.

Compounding the crisis, the humanitarian effort to alleviate the suffering has been callously blocked, denied – and directly attacked. The World Health Organisation has documented 56 attacks on health care facilities. At least 19 humanitarian workers have been killed and several are missing, making Sudan one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a humanitarian. These attacks must stop, today, and to avoid further tragedy, the authorities must allow humanitarian aid to be delivered, unimpeded.

Mr. President,

The people of Sudan have endured immense suffering and sacrifice in their long pursuit of peace and justice.

This pointless conflict, and the decades of military dictatorship before it, have shown us beyond a shadow of doubt that military rule will not bring stability to Sudan.

It will not improve its governance, nor advance human rights, and nor will it improve the economy.

What it will do, however, is generate more unrest, and incredible suffering.

It is time for the two generals to cease the violence, to return to political talks, and to comply at once with their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.

It is time that the perpetrators of these gross violations are identified, investigated and held to account. It is time to break the cycle of impunity. Failure to hold those responsible for past crimes and violations to account has been a major contributor to the decades-long instability in Sudan, and it has ultimately fuelled the current hostilities.

We need coordinated political will, engagement and cooperation from those with influence in the international community to bring an end to this tragedy. And in the meantime, we need a massive increase in financial support to the humanitarian agencies who are doing all they possibly can to reach the millions of people in need.

This horrific conflict must stop before it is too late to pull Sudan back from disaster.

Thank you.