Reaffirm our shared commitment to universal human rights by UN Human Rights Special Procedures mandate holders   Dec. 2025   UN experts call for safeguarding Special Procedures system as ‘indispensable pillar’ for human rights protection.   Amid rising authoritarianism, deepening polarisation, growing intolerance, and mounting pressures on the multilateral system, Human Rights Day offers a vital moment to reaffirm our shared commitment to universal human rights, UN experts said today.   They issued a joint statement renewing their unwavering dedication to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and emphasising the urgent need for a strong, independent, and properly resourced human rights system — one capable of safeguarding dignity, justice, and equality for all.   “Standing firmly by the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, even as the multilateral order and the global human rights ecosystem face an unprecedented and existential threat, we recommit to upholding our independence as a human rights mechanism and responding to the calls and expectations of victims, survivors and all those in need.   We will continue to call for the full implementation of human rights standards and provide dedicated technical advice, grounding our work in the principles of international human rights law.   We endeavour to keep promoting positive change in people’s lives by discharging our prevention and protection mandates.   We will remain steadfast in our advocacy for stronger protection of human rights, the rule of law and democratic processes around the world. We will continue to proclaim inconvenient truths.   Over the decades, UN leaders have repeatedly affirmed the system’s significance and power. In 2006, Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed Special Procedures as the “crown jewel” of the international human rights system. His successor, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, described Special Procedures experts as the Council’s indispensable “eyes and ears,” essential for exposing violations and insisted that they must be allowed to work unhindered.   Former High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour famously characterised Special Procedures as the UN’s frontline human rights defenders — the system’s early warning and protection mechanism in action.   This mechanism has grown into a dynamic system, with committed independent experts working on a vast range of thematic and country situations.   Special Procedures mandate holders have carried out their duties with courage, impartiality and unwavering dedication — often at great personal cost — at a time when many human rights voices are being intimidated into silence. Their impact has reverberated despite severely limited capacity and resources.   As the United Nations and the Human Rights Council undergo critical moments of reform and reflection, we emphasise that these processes must create more, not fewer spaces for dialogue. Human rights protection is indispensable for peace, security and sustainable development.   We call on Member States to resist all attempts to dilute or sideline the Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures system. States and all relevant actors must act now to protect and reinforce Special Procedures as an indispensable pillar through which human rights concerns are heard.   As independent voices, we are able to defend all human rights, everywhere, even in the face of personal attacks, threats and sanctions.   On Human Rights Day, we pledge to victims across the world that we will remain your voices and your advocates – even when it seems that the world has turned away.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/12/un-experts-call-safeguarding-special-procedures-system http://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/statements/20251209-stm-sps-en.pdf http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/02/high-commissioner-turk-we-cannot-afford-human-rights-system-crisis http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/02/13/un-financial-crisis-threatens-to-halt-human-rights-work http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/efficiency-must-not-mean-doing-less-civil-societys-call-to-safeguard-the-human-rights-council/ http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/40-states-warn-protect-un-human-rights-pillar-from-devastating-funding-cuts/ http://ishr.ch/latest-updates/joint-civil-society-statement-on-outcomes-of-the-unga-80-third-committee/ http://www.fian.org/en/on-the-international-human-rights-day-we-demand-a-transformation-of-the-un-that-strengthens-accountability-and-serves-peoples-not-budgets/ Visit the related web page
	Children are starving to death from dehydration and malnutrition in Sudan every day by IPC, Plan International, UNICEF, agencies   Feb. 2026   Children dying because of hunger as famine risks detected in two new locations in Sudan - Save the Children International   Two more areas of Sudan have fallen into famine-levels of malnutrition, signalling a deadly expansion of a hunger crisis in the conflict-torn country that is threatening millions, Save the Children said.   New data released today by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), global acute malnutrition rates in the Um Baru and Kernoi localities have reached nearly 53% and 34% respectively, with concerns that nearby areas may also be experiencing similar catastrophic conditions, with the extent remaining unknown due to access constraints.   This latest announcement comes on top of an already severe hunger crisis sweeping through conflict affected parts of the country, with famine confirmed in Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur in August 2024. In September 2025, the expanding famine was also confirmed in El Fasher (North Darfur) and Kadugli (South Kordofan).   For famine conditions to be reached, many people must already be experiencing an extreme lack of food, with starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical acute malnutrition levels evident.   Across Sudan, acute malnutrition is expected to worsen in 2026 according to the alert, with a 13.5% increase in cases of acute malnutrition in children under five and pregnant and breastfeeding women – from 3.7 million children and women in 2025, to nearly 4.2 million in 2026. Violent conflict ensues, undermining humanitarian service delivery and disrupting people’s access to agriculture production and livelihoods, exacerbating vulnerability and suffering.   Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) – the most dangerous and deadly form of extreme hunger – is expected to increase to 800,000 cases.   Severe acute malnutrition is a life-threatening condition requiring urgent treatment, which is impossible to access across much of Sudan due to the collapse of the country’s health system, with hospitals in conflict-affected zones no longer functional due to attacks, looting, and shortages of staff, medicines, and essential supplies.   Mohamad Abdiladif, Country Director for Save the Children in Sudan, said:   “In many parts of Sudan, children’s lives are hanging by a thread, and some already dying from hunger‑related causes. Families who have escaped bullets and bombs and those who are in difficult to access areas are now facing extreme and life threating shortages of food. Every day we hear devastating stories of parents selling the last of what they own simply to keep their children alive from one day to the next. Without immediate action, more lives will be lost.   “As our frontline teams in Sudan consistently witness, extreme hunger can be both life-altering and life-ending for a child. Children facing severe malnutrition have dramatically higher death rates—succumbing not only to starvation and dehydration, but also to preventable diseases that become deadly as hunger weakens their bodies.   “We urgently need donor governments to step up now, to restore the lifeline before it breaks entirely, and to push for strong, sustained diplomatic pressure on parties to the conflict that protects civilians and guarantees safe, unhindered humanitarian access.   “Without this, any chance of restoring reliable access to food will disappear. Supporting mutual aid, strengthening communities’ coping capacities, and ensuring unimpeded, large‑scale humanitarian response are essential to prevent people from being pushed into starvation and to avert further loss of life and suffering.   Beyond immediate survival, childhood malnutrition causes irreversible long-term harm. Affected children often experience stunted growth, impaired cognitive development, and learning difficulties. They face elevated risks of chronic illnesses throughout their lives, along with lasting psychological trauma.   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-dying-because-hunger-famine-risks-detected-two-new-locations-sudan http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-143/en/ http://www.unicef.org/sudan/stories/generational-crisis-looms-sudan   Oct. 2025   2025 Right Livelihood Award: Sudan's Grassroots Emergency Response Rooms   Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) are receiving the 2025 Right Livelihood Award for their grassroots network of mutual aid in Sudan that restores dignity to local communities and sustains millions amid the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.   Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) are a Sudanese grassroots, community-led network that has become the backbone of the country’s humanitarian response amid war, displacement and state collapse. Building on local traditions of mutual aid, ERRs operate in all 18 states, providing healthcare, food assistance, education, civilian protection and psychosocial support where many international aid organisations cannot reach. Their work has sustained millions and champions a model of humanitarian aid that offers dignity and decision-making power to local communities.   ERRs organised their first community kitchens and health services to help communities cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. When war broke out in April 2023, Sudan’s already severe humanitarian crisis became the world’s largest, and ERRs expanded to fill critical gaps left by a collapsing economy and state institutions.   ERRs are a nationwide network of over 735 Emergency Response Rooms and nearly 10,000 volunteers. Operating in all 18 Sudanese states, they provide healthcare, food, education, civilian protection and psychosocial support at a time when violence and lack of funding have forced many international organisations to scale down their presence.   By decentralising decision-making and drawing on Sudan’s tradition of nafeer—community mutual aid—ERRs have built a model of humanitarian action that puts communities themselves in charge of identifying needs and directing resources. Professionals like farmers, bankers, engineers and teachers all contribute their skills to create a solidarity economy rooted in dignity and resilience.   Despite bombardments, arbitrary arrests and the loss of over one hundred volunteers, ERRs continue to operate hospitals, run communal kitchens, organise education programmes, evacuate civilians from active war zones and support survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Their efforts have saved countless lives while nurturing a culture of compassion and solidarity that lays the groundwork for Sudan’s future civil society and democratic renewal.   Right Livelihood’s jury said that ERRs were receiving the Award “for building a model of mutual aid amid war and state collapse that sustains millions of people with dignity.”   Sanosi Adam, ERRs’ External Communications Officer, said:   “Receiving the Right Livelihood Award is not only a recognition of our work, but also a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of ordinary Sudanese people who, in the face of war and neglect, chose solidarity over despair. This award belongs to the countless volunteers and communities who continue to risk everything to keep one another alive. It strengthens our resolve to carry forward our struggle for dignified aid and solidarity of the people of Sudan.”   Ole von Uexkull, Right Livelihood’s Executive Director, said:   “As Sudan endures the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) show how communities can rise to the gravest challenges, delivering aid that is dignified, effective and rooted in solidarity. In honouring ERRs, we celebrate the power of people to confront systemic crises by building just and cooperative alternatives to violence and division.”   http://rightlivelihood.org/the-change-makers/find-a-laureate/emergency-response-rooms http://www.mutualaidsudan.org/   Sep. 2025   The Rafto Human Rights Prize 2025 is awarded to The Emergency Response Rooms of Sudan (ERRs) for their courageous work to preserve the most fundamental human right - the right to life.   The Emergency Response Rooms of Sudan are grassroot networks that emerged in the wake of the war in Sudan in 2023. They consist of thousands of volunteers who engage in collaborative, community driven efforts to meet urgent humanitarian needs of others, at great personal risk. The ERRs save lives and maintain human dignity in a place of misery and despair.   Saving lives and strengthening communities in one of the worst humanitarian crises of our times.   After the brutal war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out in April 2023, the Sudanese state collapsed. As a consequence, civilians have an enormous need for humanitarian assistance.   In a desperate attempt to save lives, ordinary Sudanese took matters in their own hands and formed self-help groups to offer services supporting basic life, welfare, and human dignity through Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs).   To mitigate excessive loss of life and human suffering, ERRs provide key services such as health, food, water, body retrieval and burial. They also work on monitoring, documenting, and responding to cases of sexual violence.   Sudan is now torn by death, hunger, disease, displacement and general despair. Since the outbreak of the war, more than 150 000 people have died. More than half of the country’s population –30 million people– need humanitarian assistance. 25 million face acute food insecurity. 12 million have fled from their homes.   Women and children have been disproportionally affected, including by an alarming rise in gender-based violence. In this dire situation, ERR members continue to provide life-saving mutual aid, strengthening communities and keeping a hope for a democratic Sudan alive under almost impossible conditions.   The Rafto Prize 2025 honours the Emergency Response Rooms and the thousands of individuals protecting the right to life and health, who are building hope in Sudan, at tremendous risk to their own lives.   The prize is also a recognition of the significance of their grassroot mobilization and collective effort in ensuring basic human rights in times of conflict. The need for protection of human rights and humanitarian assistance is becoming greater by the day. In these trying times, we must all stand in solidarity with the people of Sudan.   http://www.rafto.no/en/the-rafto-prize/emergency-response-rooms-of-sudan-err http://www.refugeesinternational.org/advocacy-letters/safe-passage-protection-for-civilians-under-siege-in-el-fasher/ http://www.mutualaidsudan.org/ http://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/el_fasher_emergency_loc/ http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/emergency-response-rooms-in-sudan http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2025/04/15/eight-stories-about-mutual-aid-mark-two-years-war-sudan   Aug. 2025   Children are starving to death from dehydration and malnutrition in Sudan every day - IPC, Plan International, UNICEF, agencies   In response to the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report on the situation of famine in Sudan, Plan International Sudan’s Country Director, Mohamed Kamal, says: “We are already seeing signs of mass starvation in camps where mothers arrive unable to feed their children and today’s IPC forecast is a grave warning the situation is only going to get worse. Our fears are becoming a reality.   “This is the worst hunger crisis is the world right now – the conflict is entering its third year and the IPC have warned the situation is expected to deteriorate dramatically between July and September, with children most at risk. 24.6 million people in Sudan face high levels of acute food insecurity with 8.1 million facing emergency levels.   “Famine was detected in 5 areas in El Fasher and the Western Nuba Mountains and these areas are particularly difficult to reach to provide humanitarian aid as the security situation is so severe here. With the impending rainy season due, travel will be further hindered which will also drive-up food insecurity levels in the months ahead.   “Children are starving to death from dehydration and malnutrition in Sudan every day. Hundreds of thousands are malnourished. A 10-year-old girl recently told us that for months her only meal has been lentil soup every day and that she dreams of fruit.   “For girls and young women, the impact is especially severe – girls often eat last and least and are at greater risk of early marriage, as families struggle to feed their children.   “The inaccessibility of safe water has led to a widespread outbreak of cholera in many parts of the country with over 32,000 suspected cases recorded this year. Cholera can be deadly for malnourished and dehydrated children.   “Last month we saw an attack on a joint UN humanitarian convoy in North Darfur in which aid workers were killed and life-saving food and nutrition supplies destroyed rather than reach starving families. It is getting increasingly hard to operate in the most at need regions.   “As the conflict continues, farming is disrupted and Sudan faces serious economic instability and high inflation which limits people’s access to food. This has been compounded with overseas aid cuts as community kitchens who relied on this money can no longer operate.   “This is the world’s largest humanitarian emergency the international community must urgently support a peaceful resolution to this conflict, which has been devastating the people of Sudan for over 2 years.”   Dr. Unni Krishnan, Global Humanitarian Director at Plan International said:   “Hundreds of thousands of people are on the brink of famine, while tens of millions more have dangerously little to eat. Without a permanent ceasefire that allows aid to reach all parts of the country and a rapid, large-scale increase in humanitarian funding, countless more children will die from hunger and preventable disease. Now is the time to act to save lives.”   http://plan-international.org/news/2025/07/11/children-starve-famine-risk-persists-sudan/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-132/en/ http://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Alert_Sudan_July2025.pdf http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/en/?maptype=77108 http://www.wfp.org/news/one-year-after-famine-first-confirmed-sudan-wfp-warns-people-trapped-el-fasher-face-starvation http://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/sudan-attacks-kordofan-states-hundreds-deaths-displacement-collapse-services http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases/famine-tightens-grip-on-sudan-ingos-call-for-immediate-access-for-aid http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-sudan-reduced-skin-and-bones-unicef-calls-urgent-action http://www.unicef.org/sudan/press-releases/over-640000-children-under-five-risk-cholera-spreads-sudans-north-darfur-state   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/sudan-un-human-rights-chief-appalled-continued-killing-civilians-el-fasher http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/sudan-un-expert-concludes-official-visit-port-sudan-expressing-alarm http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/number-severely-malnourished-children-doubles-north-darfur-nutrition-crisis-deepens http://www.savethechildren.net/news/sudan-children-reveal-harrowing-violence-latest-north-darfur-mass-displacement http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/ipc-alert-famine-affected-areas-sudan http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-women-food-insecurity-and-famine-risk-sudan-gender-snapshot-21-july-2025   * IPC Child Acute Malnutrition Classification latest: http://tinyurl.com/4n25jjbz Visit the related web page
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