The essentials for survival in the town which was overrun by paramilitary fighters in October have been “completely obliterated”, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.

“The little that’s known at the moment about the current conditions in El Fasher is indeed beyond horrific,” said Ross Smith, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response for the World Food Programme (WFP). “We know that there’s anywhere between 70 and 100,000 people potentially remaining trapped inside the city itself.”

Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fighters who have been at war with the Sudanese army since April 2023 overran El Fasher – the regional capital of North Darfur – in October, after a 500-day siege.

That ordeal reduced people to eating peanut shells and animal feed, the UN human rights office warned at the time, while satellite footage indicated bloodstains from mass killings of civilians and executions based on ethnicity.

Access agreement

Securing access for aid teams remains an urgent priority, humanitarian agencies insist, amid network blackouts that have largely cut off communication with those remaining inside El Fasher.

Testimonies from survivors “describe the city as a crime scene with mass killings, with burnt bodies, with abandoned markets”, Mr. Smith explained.

“We are calling for and we’ve continued to call for unimpeded access into El Fasher to urgently respond to those that remain trapped in the city,” the WFP official stressed.

“I understand from discussions yesterday that we have agreement in principle with the Rapid Support Forces for a set of minimum conditions to enter the city; so, we anticipate to be able to do that very soon, to do some initial assessments and reconnaissance. After more than a year and a half under siege, the essentials for survival have been completely obliterated.”

Desert town becomes ‘massive’ IDP camp

Mr. Smith noted that those who have managed to flee El Fasher have risked their lives along roads “littered with mines” and unexploded ordnance.

Many have reached shelter in Tawila – until recently a small desert town but which is now “a sprawling, massive displacement settlement” for more than 650,000 people, which is equivalent to the size of Luxembourg. Others have sought safety in Ad Dabbah in Northern State.

As UN aid teams and partners continue to push for access to all those in need, WFP-supported convoys are “en route to Tawila now, with enough for 700,000 people for the next month”, Mr. Smith said.

“These are families that have endured famine for many months on end and mass atrocities and are now living in overcrowded conditions with very limited support. There’s not enough shelter for people, many are staying in very makeshift structures: grass, straw structures, et cetera. Cholera and disease outbreak is widespread.”

12 million people displaced

Sudan is the world’s largest displacement crisis with more than 12 million people uprooted inside and outside the country.

Meanwhile, a worrying update from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Friday confirmed that the security situation in nearby Kordofan has deteriorated further since 1 December.

After a week of heavy fighting, the RSF reportedly seized control of a Sudanese Armed Forces base in Babanusa, West Kordofan.

In South Kordofan, “civilians remain trapped in besieged cities such as Kadugli and Dilling, and as women, children, and the elderly find ways to escape, men and youth are often left behind due to specific high risks they face along flight routes such as detention by armed groups for perceived affiliation with parties to the conflict,” UNHCR said.

Latest data points to more than 40,000 people displaced from North Kordofan since 18 November. “UNHCR, through partners on the ground, is responding to the urgent needs of those displaced, but access remains challenging, and resources are critically low,” it said.

UN News asked Astrid Van Genderen Stort, OHCHR chief of external engagement and partnerships, about hers.  

“My everyday essentials are my family, a sense of belonging, knowledge, safety and the freedom to speak, do and live the way I deem best,” she responded.

With the help of artificial intelligence, UN News has analysed the most popular themes based on the answers submitted by people across the world, from freedom to “enjoy nature” to “living in peace”.  

Ms. Van Genderen Stort spoke to UN News about the campaign and what the responses say about the world today.  

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

UN News: What responses from the campaign stood out to you the most? 

Astrid Van Genderen Stort: Every answer shows exactly how human rights are essential to our daily life. As a human rights advocate, I was particularly touched by the answers: “to be human to all beings”, the “right to live my culture” and “speaking and living without being scared”.  

These statements are a testimony to the issues so many people still, or again, face around the world and the times we are in. They make me even more determined and committed to doing my work.  

UN News: What do the responses say about the world we live in today?

Astrid Van Genderen Stort: Many individuals are suffering and living in very difficult circumstances. Yet what stands out to me from all the answers, is that people all around the world, whether in Afghanistan, the USA, Mexico and many other places, want the same and value the same: their basic human rights, their everyday essentials — a safe place to live, access to education, to be recognised as equal human beings, freedom to explore and enjoy.  

This is the essence of our campaign: human rights are not something far-fetched, which we cannot influence; they are the basis of our existence and everyone has a role to play to ensure they are adhered to.  

UN News: Many responders mentioned family, nature, and clean water. What can be done for the people who don’t get to enjoy those rights?  

Astrid Van Genderen Stort: At these times of high conflict, it is imperative for us to continue to monitor, report and advocate for those whose rights are being violated. We have done so through the voice of High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and our communications and media colleagues. Through statements, reports, stories and social media, we document and push for accountability.  

UN News: Which rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) have seen the most progress since the drafting of the document in 1948, and which have seen the least?  

Astrid Van Genderen Stort: Overall, we have seen progress on many of the rights represented in the UDHR. Article 26 — the right to education, has seen the biggest improvement. From 1950 to 2023, the percentage of literate adults rose from 56 per cent to 87 per cent globally. To put it another way, in 1950, when the UDHR was adopted, only one in two adults worldwide could read or write. By 2023, that had jumped to nine in 10 adults globally.  

The article with the least progress has been Article 15, the right to nationality. At the time of the 75th anniversary of the declaration, one in four children globally, 166 million, did not exist on paper.  

UN News: Why did OHCHR decide to go with the theme “Human Rights, Our Everyday Essentials” for this year’s Human Rights Day campaign?  

Astrid Van Genderen Stort: The UN human rights office has been one of the bulwarks against increasing cynicism regarding human rights marked by mis- and disinformation, insecurity and a move toward more authoritarian policies. It is in this period of turbulence and unpredictability that we saw a need not only to reaffirm the values of human rights, but to show that they remain a winning proposition for everyone, everywhere, every day. Human rights are in so many small actions and things that we take for granted. They are in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the books we are able to read. Like atoms, human rights are fundamental; they make up everything.  

UN News: What is the purpose of the international day and why should people be aware of their rights?  

Astrid Van Genderen Stort: UN international days serve as reminders, commemorations and celebrations. They are a chance to highlight particular issues or to remind us of events or movements that have helped to shape us. International Human Rights Day reminds us that the rights we enjoy are our own, inalienable and attainable. They can be violated if we do nothing to advocate for them. Everyone needs to know their rights, so they can claim them and ultimately defend them.  

Briefing the Security Council, Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, and Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said nearly half the population will need protection and humanitarian assistance in 2026.

Women and girls remain “systematically excluded” from almost all aspects of public life, Ms. Gagnon said, as the ban on secondary and higher education for girls has now entered its fourth year, depriving the country of future doctors, teachers and leaders.

“Media freedom is increasingly restricted. Journalists face intimidation, detention and censorship, reducing the space for public debate and public participation,” she added.

Afghans – both women and men – also face daily intrusions under the de facto authorities’ law on the “propagation of virtue and prevention of vice,” she added, describing a pattern of systematic interference in private life.

Humanitarian needs surging

At the same time, humanitarian needs are surging. Mr. Fletcher said that nearly 22 million people will need assistance next year, with Afghanistan now ranking among the world’s largest humanitarian crises.

“For the first time in four years, the number of people facing hunger has gone up,” he warned. Some 17.4 million Afghans are now food insecure, while massive funding cuts have left the response “stretched to breaking point.”

More than 300 nutrition delivery points have closed, leaving 1.1 million children without lifesaving nutrition, while 1.7 million face the risk of death without treatment. The health system is also buckling: 422 health facilities were closed in 2025, cutting three million people off from lifesaving care.

Refugees returning to hardship

Adding to the strain, Afghanistan has seen record refugee returns, with over 2.6 million Afghans returning in 2025 alone, bringing the two-year total to more than four million. Most arrive with few possessions and are absorbed into already impoverished communities.

“Women and children made up 60 per cent of all returns this year,” Mr. Fletcher noted – returning to a country where women are barred from education, work and, in some cases, healthcare.

Economic pressures are worsening despite modest growth. While GDP is expected to rise by 4.5 per cent, per capita income will fall by about four per cent due to population growth, according to World Bank figures cited by Ms. Gagnon.

Rural livelihoods have also been devastated by the third year of the opium cultivation ban. Although welcomed internationally, UN agencies report a 48 per cent drop in rural incomes, with more support needed for alternative livelihoods.

Aid delivery crippled

While security conditions appear calmer than in past decades, tensions with Pakistan are rising amid cross-border exchanges linked to militant activity. At the same time, the closure of key border posts for two months has hurt trade and civilian life on both sides.

Meanwhile, women’s participation in humanitarian work remains under direct assault. Since September, female national UN staff have been barred from accessing UN premises nationwide, a restriction Mr. Fletcher called “unacceptable” and warned was crippling aid delivery.

“There can be no effective humanitarian response without women,” he said. “Afghanistan needs them.”

A family runs across a dusty street in Herat, Afghanistan.

Rights increasingly out of reach

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also warned that rights in the country remain “out of reach for too many,” especially for women and girls. Involuntary returns are also placing journalists, former officials and civil society figures at heightened risk of reprisals.

“Human rights are not optional. They are the everyday essentials that sustain life,” Ms. Gagnon said in a separate UNAMA statement. “For Afghanistan, ensuring women and girls can learn, work, and participate fully is indispensable to recovery.”

Call for international support

Despite severe constraints, the UN continues to deliver aid. More than $40 million in emergency funding has been released in recent months to respond to earthquakes, drought and mass returns.

But Mr. Fletcher warned that underfunding is now costing lives.

“As we look to 2026, we risk a further contraction of lifesaving help at a time when food insecurity, health needs a strain on basic services and protection risks are all rising,” he said.

He stressed that without urgent attention of and support from the international community, the crisis would only worsen.