Protection for Civilians Under Siege in El Fasher, Sudan by IASC, OCHA, UNICEF, Refuees International Sudan   30 Oct. 2025   Mounting Atrocities in El Fasher Demand Immediate International Action. (GlobalR2P)   After eighteen months under a tightening siege, El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has fallen to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following days of bombardment and the withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied groups. The RSF’s takeover has unleashed a wave of atrocities, with credible reports pointing to targeted ethnic violence, extrajudicial killings and executions – some amounting to war crimes, crimes against humanity and/or acts of genocide.   Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed, hospitals reduced to rubble and humanitarian access completely severed. Tens of thousands of civilians are now at imminent risk of mass killings and ethnic cleansing.   On 27 October UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that his office had received reports of “the summary execution of civilians trying to flee, with indications of ethnic motivations for killings, and of persons no longer participating in hostilities.”   Satellite imagery reveals house-to-house clearance operations and evidence consistent with the presence of human bodies near RSF vehicles – grim proof of atrocities unfolding in real time.   Since the siege began, the international community has watched Sudan’s conflict escalate without taking effective or decisive action. Despite repeated warnings from the UN, human rights organizations and Sudanese civil society that the RSF’s capture of El Fasher could trigger widespread and deliberate attacks on civilians, there has been no coordinated effort to protect populations, ensure accountability or halt the flow of weapons fueling these crimes.   The UN Security Council’s paralysis – driven by geopolitical rivalries and political indifference – has once again left the people of Darfur abandoned to face mass atrocities alone.   This is not only a humanitarian emergency; it is an atrocity crisis deepening by the day. The fall of El Fasher marks a critical point of no return. Without immediate and decisive action, the city could soon become the site of another mass atrocity etched into Darfur’s tragic history. It is unacceptable for the world to stand by once again as civilians are hunted, starved and killed.   We therefore call upon the international community to urgently:   Demand and enforce an immediate cessation of hostilities in and around El Fasher and other conflict hotspots. Unequivocally condemn deliberate attacks on civilians and make clear to the RSF and its supporters that all civilians in, around or attempting to flee El Fasher must be protected.   Develop diplomatic strategies to overcome barriers to humanitarian access, including flexible funding for rapid procurement of essential items, transport and emergency supplies, and creative approaches to accelerate aid delivery to communities trapped in El Fasher.   Halt the transfer of arms and financial support to parties to the conflict. Urge the United Arab Emirates to use its influence over actors in Sudan to halt attacks on civilians, uphold international humanitarian and human rights law and refrain from providing material, financial or political support to the RSF. Enhance oversight and tracking of weapons sold to the UAE to ensure they are not diverted for use in atrocities.   Call on the UN Security Council, particularly Sierra Leone, Somalia, Algeria and Russia, to actively and constructively engage in crafting a robust resolution with concrete measures to protect civilians.   Every government, every leader and every institution has the capacity – and the responsibility – to act. Whether through diplomacy, humanitarian assistance or public pressure, there are avenues to make a difference. Silence and inaction are choices. In the face of such horror, they are indefensible.   http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/mounting-atrocities-in-el-fasher-demand-immediate-international-action/ http://interagencystandingcommittee.org/inter-agency-standing-committee/inter-agency-standing-committee-statement-sudan-call-urgent-international-response http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/no-child-safe-al-fasher http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166253 http://www.who.int/news/item/29-10-2025-who-condemns-killings-of-patients-and-civilians-amid-escalating-violence-in-el-fasher--sudan http://www.msf.org/urgent-appeal-people-el-fasher http://raoulwallenbergcentre.org/en/news/2025-10-29 http://www.nrc.no/news/2025/october/sudan-carnage-in-al-fasher-must-end http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-office-prosecutor-situation-el-fasher-north-darfur http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-137/en/   http://www.nrc.no/feature/2025/al-fasher-a-calculated-campaign-of-destruction http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/31/sudan-rsf-accused-pr-stunt-after-arresting-fighters-behind-civilian-killings http://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20251028-warnings-grow-of-executions-ethnic-cleansing-in-sudan-s-el-fasher http://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/28/mass-killings-reported-el-fasher-sudan-paramilitary-group-rapid-support-forces http://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-29/sudanese-paramilitary-accused-of-killing-2-000-civilians/105945372   27 Oct. 2025   Sudan: Appalling reports of summary executions and other serious violations, as RSF makes major territorial gains in El Fasher and North Kordofan. (OHCHR)   The UN Human Rights Office is receiving multiple, alarming reports that the Rapid Support Forces are carrying out atrocities, including summary executions, after seizing control of large parts of the besieged city of El Fasher, North Darfur and of Bara city in North Kordofan state in recent days.   “In El Fasher, reports indicate an extremely precarious situation since the RSF yesterday announced its takeover of the army’s 6th Infantry Division,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk.   “The risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in El Fasher is mounting by the day. Urgent and concrete action needs to be taken urgently to ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher and safe passage for those trying to reach relative safety.”   The Office has received reports of the summary execution of civilians trying to flee, with indications of ethnic motivations for killings, and of persons no longer participating in hostilities (hors de combat).   Multiple distressing videos received by UN Human Rights show dozens of unarmed men being shot or lying dead, surrounded by RSF fighters who accuse them of being SAF fighters.   Hundreds of people have reportedly been detained while trying to flee. Given past realities in North Darfur, the likelihood of sexual violence against women and girls in particular is extremely high.   The Office has also received reports of numerous civilian deaths, including of local humanitarian volunteers, due to heavy artillery shelling from 22 to 26 October. It is difficult to estimate the number of civilian casualties at this point, given communications cuts and the large number of people fleeing.   Amid severe food shortages and exorbitant prices, the Office has also received disturbing reports of the summary execution of men by RSF fighters for attempting to bring food supplies into the city, which has been under RSF siege for 18 months.   Summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters are also being reported in Bara city, North Kordofan state in western Sudan, after it was captured by the RSF on 25 October following a major offensive. The victims were reportedly accused of supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces. Reports suggest that dozens of civilians have been killed.   “The RSF must urgently take concrete steps to end and prevent abuses against civilians in both El Fasher and Bara, including ethnically motivated violence and reprisal attacks,” Turk said. “I remind the RSF commanders of their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the protection of civilians and to ensure the passage of essential supplies and humanitarian assistance – which just days ago they again publicly committed to doing.”   The High Commissioner underlined that international humanitarian law prohibits violence against individuals no longer participating in hostilities (hors de combat). The use of starvation as a weapon of war is also strictly prohibited.   Turk reiterated his call on Member States with influence to act urgently to prevent the commission of large-scale atrocities by the RSF and allied fighters, and to intensify pressure to end this intolerable conflict.   Ensuring accountability for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law by all parties to the conflict is critical to ensure fresh cycles of violations and abuses do not recur.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/sudan-appalling-reports-summary-executions-and-other-serious-violations-rsf http://news.un.org/en/story/2025/10/1166200   UN Relief Chief calls for protection of civilians and their access to aid in El Fasher.   Statement on Sudan by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:   I am deeply alarmed by reports of civilian casualties and forced displacement amid further escalation of fighting in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in Sudan, where intense shelling and ground assaults have engulfed the city.   With fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified – shelled, starving, and without access to food, healthcare, or safety.   Safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access must be allowed to reach all civilians in need. We have lifesaving supplies ready, but intensified attacks have made it impossible for us to get aid in. Local humanitarian workers continue to save lives under fire.   We call for an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher, across Darfur and throughout Sudan. Civilians must be allowed safe passage and be able to access aid. Those fleeing to safer areas must be allowed to do so safely and in dignity. Those who stay – including local responders – must be protected. Attacks on civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations must stop immediately.   Those responsible for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law must be held to account. All parties to this conflict have strict obligations under international humanitarian law.   http://www.unocha.org/news/emergency-relief-chief-warns-security-council-attacks-el-fasher-recall-horrors-darfur-endured http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-escalating-violence-sudan-s-el-fasher-forces-thousands-flee   21 Oct. 2025 (OCHA)   The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that as escalating violence deepens the already devastating humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s North Darfur State, the UN and its partners continue to scale up their response efforts where access allows.   Yesterday in the town of Tawila, an OCHA team met families who had walked for four days to escape the violence in the besieged state capital El Fasher, which is about 50 kilometres away. On Sunday and Monday alone, some 350 families – mostly women, children and older people – arrived in dire condition, some of them injured along the way. Dozens of young men who fled with the group are still missing, raising serious protection concerns.   The UN and its humanitarian partners have provided food, water and basic medical care to the new arrivals, but needs far exceed available resources. Tawila now hosts more than 600,000 people displaced from El Fasher and surrounding areas – and many displaced families lack shelter, adequate food or safe water. OCHA is coordinating with authorities, donors and partners to mobilize additional capacity, resources and support.   On the ground in El Fasher, repeated attacks continue to imperil civilians. Local sources report that yesterday, heavy shelling struck central parts of the city, endangering thousands of civilians in one of El Fasher’s most densely populated areas.   Local authorities report that more than 109,000 people are displaced across 127 sites, most lacking food, clean water and medical care. Several community kitchens shut down last week due to the depletion of supplies.   Once again, OCHA stresses that the siege on El Fasher must be lifted immediately, and safe passage must be ensured for civilians wishing to flee and for humanitarians determined to deliver vital aid.   Elsewhere in North Darfur, a drone strike reportedly hit the main market in Kabkabiya town, underscoring the severe risks facing civilians amid expanding hostilities. In the localities of As Serief and Kernoi, the International Organization for Migration estimates that about 10,000 people were displaced on Sunday due to heightened insecurity. Most have fled to nearby locations within Kernoi.   Meanwhile, in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, drones reportedly struck the international airport at dawn today, just one day before it was due to reopen for domestic flights for the first time since the conflict began.   The attack raises grave concerns over the safety of vital transport infrastructure in the country. OCHA reiterates the Secretary-General’s call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need.   http://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-news-occupied-palestinian-territory-sudan-ukraine-13 http://www.wfp.org/news/iom-unhcr-unicef-and-wfp-urge-immediate-action-address-escalating-humanitarian-crisis-sudan http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/sudan-worlds-largest-humanitarian-crisis-and-children-are-paying-highest-price%C2%A0   Oct. 2025   Joint Statement: Safe Passage: Protection for Civilians Under Siege in El Fasher, Sudan:   Time is running out for the estimated 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, trapped in El Fasher, Darfur’s final battleground between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).   The RSF has besieged the North Darfur capital for over 500 days, using starvation as a weapon of warfare by blocking food and lifesaving humanitarian assistance from entering. They have built over 38km of earthen walls (berms) at the edges of the city to “control population flow from all directions to and from El-Fasher” according to Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab.   The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reports that there are no safe exit routes from El Fasher. The berms will allow the RSF and allied militias to continue to strangulate the civilian population by blocking the entry of food and medicine into the city and obstructing civilians from fleeing.   We, the undersigned civil society organisations and humanitarian actors, urgently call for safe humanitarian access, including voluntary evacuation routes for the civilians trapped in El Fasher. Evacuation routes need to be secured without delay to provide civilians in El Fasher safe, voluntary, and dignified passage.   Over 470,000 people have been displaced from El Fasher and surrounding areas since the start of the siege in May 2024. In the past four weeks, conflict between the belligerents and their allied militias has sharply escalated, along with atrocity crimes against civilians. Testimony from civilians who recently fled El Fasher recount that men and adolescent boys are being killed on the road and that leaving El Fasher is now more dangerous than staying despite the constant daily shelling.   Global paralysis in the response to the Sudan war is contributing to the loss of lives across the country. Words of condemnation will not save lives in El Fasher. However, decisive action by the international community can still prevent the continued massacre of civilians trapped in El Fasher.   It has been almost a year since the UN Secretary General published his recommendations on civilian protection in Sudan. This anniversary marks a year of failure by the international community to make any progress towards protecting civilians in Sudan.   The greatest solution to address civilian protection threats in Sudan is a comprehensive nationwide ceasefire. Whilst negotiations continue, action must be taken to immediately address the protection needs of the population in El Fasher.   A humanitarian access plan must be developed and executed as a matter of urgency, in accordance with international humanitarian law, and with binding agreements from all parties to the conflict to respect and uphold the safety of civilians.   Negotiations on safe passage and humanitarian access should be actively pursued by diplomatic missions, regional entities, and international stakeholders to ensure unimpeded civilian evacuation.   Humanitarian access to El Fasher must be secured to provide life-saving assistance, including medical care, to these vulnerable populations. The humanitarian response across North Darfur must also be scaled up to meet the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) with direct and unrestricted support provided to local groups. 35 hospitals have been attacked since the RSF began their siege on El Fasher.   A significant portion of El Fasher’s population are not able to safely evacuate the city because they are starving, weak, sick, elderly, disabled, or injured. Humanitarian aid must include water, electricity, fuel, food, and medical supplies. Aid access is also urgent to counter confirmed famine and the worst cholera outbreak Sudan has seen in years, having already caused at least 350 deaths in Darfur.   The immediate provision of safe and unhindered passage for people seeking to evacuate from El Fasher is critical to preventing further atrocities. All civilians, who are trying to escape El Fasher must be allowed to do so safely, voluntarily, and without impediments.   The parties engaged in the conflict are obliged under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, ensure safe passage, and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access.   The international community has watched the siege of El Fasher and failed to take the actions needed to protect civilians. At this moment, when the atrocity risk is at its highest, there must be a concerted effort to take action and save lives.   http://www.refugeesinternational.org/advocacy-letters/safe-passage-protection-for-civilians-under-siege-in-el-fasher/ http://www.unocha.org/publications/report/sudan/north-darfur-deliberate-targeting-civilians-must-stop-statement-united-nations-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-sudan-denise-brown http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/sudan-turk-calls-urgent-action-protect-civilians-and-prevent-large-scale http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-experts-demand-urgent-action-protect-civilians-sudan-conflict-intensifies http://www.unocha.org/publications/report/sudan/el-fasher-civilians-urgently-need-protection-and-safe-passage-statement-united-nations-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-sudan-denise-brown http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/after-500-days-under-siege-children-sudans-al-fasher-face-starvation-mass http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/ingos-condemn-persistent-violations-international-humanitarian-law-ihl-el-fasher-where-civilians-are-starving-and-besieged
	We are putting the stability of the entire life support system on Earth at risk by Johan Rockstrom Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)   Sep. 2025   Scientists announce that 7 of 9 key 'planetary boundaries' have been crossed. (AFP)   A team of global scientists issued a new report this week, highlighting that seven out of nine of key "planetary boundaries" have been crossed.   Humans are gambling with the very stability of Earth’s life support systems, scientists warned, cautioning that ocean acidity is yet another key planetary threshold to be breached.   The team of global scientists assessed that seven of nine so-called “planetary boundaries” – processes that regulate Earth’s stability, resilience and ability to sustain life – had now been crossed.   Climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, freshwater depletion, overuse of agricultural fertilisers, and the release of artificial chemicals and plastics into the environment were all already exceeded.   In their new report, the scientists said all seven were “showing trends of increasing pressure – suggesting further deterioration and destabilisation of planetary health in the near future".   Destructive and polluting activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are driving these further into risky territory and increasingly interacting with each other.   “We are putting the stability of the entire life support system on Earth at risk,” said Johan Rockstrom, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), at a press conference to launch the research.   “We are moving even further away from the safe operating space, risking destabilising our Earth and with an increasing risk growing year by year,” said Levke Caesar, co-lead of Planetary Boundaries Science at PIK.   Many of the causes of deterioration are interlinked, showing both the wide-ranging impact of human activities but also avenues for action.   The use of fossil fuels is a key example, driving climate change as well as fuelling plastic pollution and the rise in ocean acidification. The world’s seas are estimated to have absorbed roughly 30 percent of the excess carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the burning of oil, gas and coal.   This alters the pH of the ocean, affecting the ability of organisms such as corals, shellfish and some forms of plankton to form shells and skeletons. Scientists said there was already evidence of shell damage, particularly for marine animals in polar and coastal regions.   “What we see in the data is no longer abstract. It is showing up in the world around us right now,” said Caesar.   One positive in this year’s dire report is that aerosol emissions have fallen, despite the continued scourge of severe particulate pollution in some regions. The final boundary – ozone depletion – remains within safe bounds, which scientists said demonstrates the success of global co-operation to restrict ozone-depleting pollutants.   Scientists have quantified safe boundaries for these interlocking facets of the Earth system, which feed off and amplify each other. For climate change, for example, the threshold is linked to the concentration of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere.   This hovered close to 280 parts per million (ppm) for at least 10,000 years prior to the Industrial Revolution, and researchers suggest the boundary is 350 ppm. Concentrations in 2025 are 423 ppm.   The assessment of the world’s biodiversity and ecosystems is even more perilous. “Nature’s safety net is unravelling: extinctions and loss of natural productivity are far above safe levels, and there is no sign of improvement,” the report states.   24 Sep. 2025   Johan Rockstrom, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) address to heads of state at the United Nations General Assembly:   "It’s now 10 years since the world in Paris entered a legally-binding agreement to avoid dangerous climate change. Since then, science has become overwhelmingly clear: allowing long-term global warming to exceed 1.5°C constitutes danger.   And yet, greenhouse gas emissions continue rising and in 2024 annual global temperature change was pushed beyond 1.5°C for the first time on our watch. This is a deep concern. An even deeper concern is that warming appears to be accelerating, outpacing emissions.   The long-term average warming is now between 1.3 and 1.4°C. We are on a path to breach the 1.5°C multi-decadal boundary within the next 5-10 years. Here, we must admit failure.   Failure to protect peoples and nations from unmanageable impacts of human-induced climate change.   But we don’t have to keep failing. Returning to below 1.5°C by the end of the century must remain the obligation for all international efforts to limit dangerous climate change.   Extreme heat, fires, droughts, water scarcity, flooding and soil degradation, reinforced by us, are already impacting the lives of billions of people around the world. Beyond 1.5°C, these dangers will become increasingly unmanageable. Every tenth of a degree of avoided warming saves lives and livelihoods – this is not the time for resignation.   Beyond 1.5°C there is also a real risk of crossing tipping points. The most recent science concludes we are therefore dangerously close to triggering fundamental and irreversible changes.   If we make the right choices going forward, there are still ‘overshoot’ pathways that could bring temperatures back below 1.5°C by the end of this century. Such a narrow escape remains possible, but it will be extremely challenging. It requires deep and rapid reduction of all greenhouse gases, involving the near complete transition – starting now – away from fossil fuels.   We also know that cutting emissions won’t be enough. We need to massively scale up carbon dioxide removal (through natural processes). For each 0.1°C of planetary cooling, 200 billion tons need to be removed from the atmosphere.   But even if this succeeds, we fail, unless we safeguard the world’s most powerful carbon sink and cooling system - a healthy planet.   If we don’t return to the "safe operating space” of the nine Planetary Boundaries that regulate Earth’s stability, (including biodiversity, pollutants, land, nutrients and the ocean) a safe climate will be out of reach – irrespective of our mitigation efforts.   Don’t be fooled: we are currently following a path that will take us to 3°C in just 75 years.   An existential threat we have not experienced in the last 3 million years, and there is no guarantee that efforts to cool our planet will succeed.   My message today: science is clear – we have a planetary crisis on our watch. And we do have scalable solutions for phasing out fossil fuels, efficient resource use and transformation to healthy and sustainable food. Pathways that make us all winners. The window to a manageable climate future is still open, but only just. Failure is not inevitable. It is a choice".   http://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/johan-rockstrom-addresses-heads-of-state-during-united-nations-general-assembly-201cfailure-is-not-inevitable-it-is-a-choice201d http://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/seven-of-nine-planetary-boundaries-now-breached-2013-ocean-acidification-joins-the-danger-zone http://www.planetaryhealthcheck.org/ http://news.exeter.ac.uk/research/new-reality-as-world-reaches-first-climate-tipping-point/ http://global-tipping-points.org/ http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv2906 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/development-cannot-be-achieved-dying-planet-un-committee-issues-new-guidance http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/ec12gc27-general-comment-no-27-2025-economic-social http://www.solargeoeng.org/african-ministers-call-for-a-non-use-agreement-on-solar-geoengineering http://www.ciel.org/geoengineering-biodiversity-risks/ http://climateandhealthalliance.org/press-releases/cross-cutting-report-reveals-devastating-global-health-impacts-of-fossil-fuels-thru-production-life-cycle-across-human-lifespan http://forestdeclaration.org/resources/forest-declaration-assessment-2025/ http://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/banks-make-26-billion-in-a-decade-of-financing-deforesting-companies/ Visit the related web page
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