UN GENEVA PRESS BRIEFING
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Consequences of 1,000 Days of War in Sudan
Jens Laerke for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today marked 1,000 days since the start of the war in Sudan — 1,000 days of civilians paying the price for a war they did not choose. Nearly 34 million people needed humanitarian support and the scale of suffering was staggering. The entire region was suffering from the spillover of the crisis.
Sudan was the largest displacement crisis in the world — 9.3 million people were uprooted inside the country and more than 4.3 million had fled across borders, placing immense strain on neighbouring countries. At the same time, large-scale population movements had been recorded in Khartoum, where people were returning to a capital ravaged by the war and littered with explosive hazards.
Fighting continued across multiple fronts. In Kordofan, sieges had cut off the towns of Kadugli and Dilling, restricting food, health care and access to farms and markets. In Darfur, fighting on the ground and drone attacks from the sky continued, and there had been long-range strikes on civilian infrastructure far beyond the front lines.
Famine had been confirmed in El Fasher and Kadugli with at least 20 other areas at risk. More than 21 million people were currently estimated to be acutely food insecure across the country. Horrifying reports continue to emerge of alleged violations of international law committed during the Rapid Support Force’s takeover of El Fasher in late October, including mass killings.
Women were bearing the heaviest burden. Sexual violence and abuse were rampant and nearly 12 million people — mostly women and girls — were at risk of gender-based violence. Female-headed households were now three times more likely to be food insecure - three-quarters of these households reported not having enough to eat. Hunger was becoming increasingly gendered.
The health system in Sudan was also collapsing. Less than half of health facilities were fully functional, with significantly lower coverage in areas of active conflict. Cholera had been reported in all 18 states, with over 72,000 suspected cases last year alone. In West Kordofan and Aj Jazirah states, women reported giving birth in overcrowded shelters, schools and on the move, without clean water, light or medical support.
Humanitarians were delivering where they could. Nearly 19 million people were reached in 2025, with local and women-led organizations leading from the front. These groups were often the first — and sometimes only — responders in hard-to-reach and high-risk areas and they were facing growing threats to their safety. More than 125 humanitarian workers had been killed since April 2023 and access remained dangerous, inconsistent and politically constrained. Funding for the response — as elsewhere — was falling short: only 36 per cent of OCHA’s 4.2 billion United States dollar (USD) appeal last year was funded.
Cuts in financial support had forced an even tighter prioritisation of the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan. Partners aimed to assist some 20 million people of the nearly 34 million estimated to require humanitarian support in Sudan. Some 2.9 billion USD was required to implement this plan, which was around 70 per cent of last year’s ask. This reduction reflected the realities of the current funding environment, not of the level of needs on the ground.
One thousand days was nearly half the last World War. Today, OCHA’s call was urgent: first, an immediate cessation of hostilities and real steps towards a lasting peace; second, adherence to international humanitarian law, with access facilitated across conflict lines and protection of civilians, including aid workers, and civilian infrastructure; and third, a renewed push on funding, with particular emphasis on supporting local networks, women-led organization and national partners who remained front and centre of this response.
Ricardo Pires for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today marked a grim milestone: 1,000 days since war erupted in Sudan. One thousand days of agony for millions of children across the country. For the children of Sudan, the world was 1,000 days late.
Since April 2023, Sudan had become perhaps the largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis in the world. More than 33 million people — two-thirds of the population — now needed urgent humanitarian assistance. Half of them were children.
More than five million children had been forced from their homes. That was the equivalent of 5,000 children displaced every single day since this conflict began. Many had been displaced not once, but repeatedly — with violence following them wherever they fled.
Children continued to be killed and injured. Just this week, eight children were reportedly killed in an attack in Al Obeid, North Kordofan.
Famine had been confirmed in Al Fasher and Kadugli, with 20 additional areas at risk across Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan. An estimated 21 million people faced acute food insecurity this year.
In North Darfur — the epicentre of Sudan's malnutrition emergency — nearly 85,000 children with severe acute malnutrition were treated between January and November last year — one child every six minutes.
Measles and other preventable diseases were resurging as immunity gaps widened. Outbreaks had already been reported in several localities, with a growing risk of large-scale transmission in overcrowded camps. In remote communities, measles vaccine coverage had dropped by 46 per cent and routine immunisation, measured by the first dose of the vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, fell to just 48 per cent in 2024, threatening decades of progress in child health. The situation was particularly alarming
Sexual violence was also being used as a weapon of war, and millions of children were at risk of rape. Survivors included children as young as one year old.
Behind every one of these numbers was a child — frightened, hungry, and wondering why the world had not come to help.
Despite extraordinary insecurity and access constraints, UNICEF and partners continued to deliver life-saving assistance wherever it could. It was treating severe malnutrition, vaccinating children against deadly diseases, and providing safe water and protection services to those affected by violence and displacement. These efforts were keeping children alive, but they were not enough. Humanitarian action could save lives, but it could not replace the protection that only peace could provide.
UNICEF was urgently calling for an immediate end to the fighting. All parties needed to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law: protect civilians, stop attacks on hospitals, schools and water systems, and allow safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan.
Children in Sudan were not statistics. They were frightened, displaced and hungry — but they were also determined, resourceful and resilient. Every day, they strove to learn, to play, to hope, even as they waited for the world to act.
Ending this conflict was not a political ask; it was a moral necessity. One thousand days was far too long. Children could not wait.
In response to questions, Mr. Laerke said Sudan was one of the countries that would benefit from the two-billion-dollar allocation announced recently by the United States. Sudan could be the first country to make a memorandum of understanding with the United States that would guide allocation of this funding. Such an agreement could be a template for other countries to follow.
Kadugli remained under siege to this day.
There was no data on the number of female-headed households in Sudan. However, OCHA had surveyed groups within the country and had found that female-headed households were three times more likely to be food insecure than male-headed households. Existing gender-based inequality in Sudan had been exacerbated during the war. This was why it was important that female and women-led organisations received support, as they had specialised knowledge and were best placed to support these households.
OCHA and the United Nations had been talking about the crisis in Sudan from day one, repeating the same statements, but had not seen action needed to address the situation from the international community. While the crisis continued, OCHA would continue to treat it as a high priority.
Concerns about Upcoming Elections in Uganda
Marta Hurtado for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented a new OHCHR report showing that next week’s elections in Uganda would take place in an environment marked by widespread repression and intimidation against the political opposition, human rights defenders, journalists and those with dissenting views.
The report highlighted how the authorities had, since the last election in 2021, enacted or amended a series of laws entrenching repression and impunity, particularly against the opposition, and restricting the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly ahead of the 15 January polls.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called on the Ugandan authorities to uphold the rights of all Ugandans to take part in the public affairs of their country.
“The Ugandan authorities must ensure all Ugandans can participate fully and safely in the election, as is their right under international law,” said Türk. “They must, among others, ensure that no unnecessary or disproportionate force, including lethal force, is used to disperse peaceful protests.”
Ugandan authorities had arrested and detained opposition leaders and activists, raided the premises of political opposition parties and confiscated their property, as well as suspended radio stations, arrested bloggers, and tightened control over non-governmental organizations.
The leading opposition figure Kizza Besigye remained in detention on questionable treason charges since he was abducted in neighbouring Kenya in November 2024. He and his associate Obeid Lutale had been repeatedly denied bail on unclear grounds. The recent arrest of renowned human rights defender Sarah Bireete, as well as the Government’s recent directive imposing a blanket ban on live broadcasting of “riots” and “unlawful processions” were the latest in a series of concerning developments.
Security forces, including police, the military and the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force, had unlawfully used firearms and live ammunition to disperse peaceful assemblies in the lead up to the elections, and to carry out arbitrary arrests and prolonged pre-trial detentions, particularly targeting the political opposition. Security forces often used unmarked vans –known as “drones” – to abduct opposition party members and supporters and held them in incommunicado detention at unauthorised sites known as “safe houses”.
All those responsible for election-related human rights violations, including unresolved violations from the 2021 elections, needed to be held to account through fair proceedings following effective, thorough, and impartial investigations.
To read the full report, click here.
Announcements
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, said the United Nations flag was flying at half-mast today as a mark of respect for the victims of the tragic fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in the framework of the mourning day declared by the latter. The United Nations family extended its deepest condolences to the bereaved families and stood in solidarity with the wounded.
Jens Laerke for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Ricardo Pires for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) also expressed condolences and sympathy with the victims, survivors, family and friends across the world who were affected by this tragedy.
Ms. Vellucci said the Committee on the Rights of the Child would open next Monday morning at 10 a.m. its one hundredth session (12-30 January, Palais Wilson), during which it would review the reports of Maldives, Ghana, Uganda, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Colombia, Spain and Malaysia. The Committee would further have a meeting with States in the afternoon of Thursday, 29 January.
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