The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a “red alert” on 3 July 2026 during an urgent debate at the Human Rights Council, warning that a new human rights catastrophe is unfolding in El-Obeid, North Kordofan. The city, under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for 18 months, faces critical water shortages and has been struck by at least 15 drone strikes between 6 and 28 June, killing 45 civilians and wounding 41, according to UN figures. The debate was convened at the request of the United Kingdom, with support from Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway, amid fears that an RSF assault could displace up to half a million people, mirroring the fall of El-Fasher last year.

In its statement to the council, the United Arab Emirates called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, an expansion of the existing UN arms embargo to all of Sudan, and guaranteed humanitarian access. The UAE condemned violations by both warring parties and insisted that only a civilian-led political process, independent of the belligerents and extremist groups, can resolve the conflict. Viewed from Tehran, however, the UAE’s role is cast differently. Iranian state-linked media, citing documented reports, allege that the UAE has provided arms, financial and logistical support to the RSF, enabling widespread crimes against civilians. A Sudan affairs analyst at the Peace and Conflict Resolution Evidence Platform told France 24 that while the war is not a proxy conflict in the strict sense, “without international support, the war would not go on like this,” and that no external actor—the UAE, the United States or Saudi Arabia—currently has the leverage to force a ceasefire.

The draft resolution, expected to be voted on Monday 6 July, strongly condemns the escalation of violence by the RSF in El-Obeid and calls for a humanitarian truce leading to an immediate ceasefire. Türk urged world leaders to act, warning that the same methods used in El-Fasher—where the RSF was accused of mass atrocities—are now being replicated. He also called for tackling the “war economy,” noting that national and foreign actors profit from the carnage. On the ground, residents are selling belongings to flee, but high transport costs and attacks on roads trap many. Those who remain risk arbitrary detention, while those escaping RSF-controlled areas are often accused of collaboration, amid rising hate speech, the UN rights office reports.

The UAE, as a member of the Sudan Quad, welcomed the outcomes of the Berlin Conference and the Quintet’s efforts to advance the civilian track, but the gap between its diplomatic posture and the accusations from Tehran highlights the international divisions that have stymied peace efforts. With the RSF massing forces and the army struggling to break the siege, the window to avert what Türk called “another El-Fasher” is narrowing. The Council vote will test the willingness to move beyond urgent debates to concrete measures, even as the war economy continues to fuel a conflict that has already created one of the world’s largest displacement crises.