Statement by Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Samuel Žbogar at the UNSC meeting on the Reports of the Secretary-General on the Sudan and South Sudan

I thank all briefers for their insights.

Sudan today is not confronting tragedy by chance, but through sustained and deliberate conduct. This war has crossed every moral, legal, and human boundary. Slovenia condemns unequivocally the destruction of civilian lives across Sudan.

I wish to make three points.

First – the pattern of harm in Sudan leaves no room for misinterpretation. Civilians are attacked, killed, besieged, starved, bombed, raped, and displaced by design. Violence is not incidental; it is calibrated. Hunger is not a by-product; it is imposed.

El Fasher is most compelling example. For eighteen months, a city has been surrounded, suffocated, and attacked from both ground and air. As we heard, these same methods are now spreading beyond Darfur. In Kordofan, violence is accelerating rapidly, with drone warfare adding a new and terrifying dimension – remote, indiscriminate, and devastating.

This war has turned children into targets. In South Kordofan, a horrific attack on kindergarten, killing children, fully exposed the moral collapse of this conflict. Months ago, UNICEF warned that children are being subjected to horrors of sexual violence. Our position is clear: there is no circumstance, no justification, and no explanation that can excuse violence against children. We condemn it in the strongest terms.

On 13 December, this same disregard for life extended to those mandated to protect it, when a drone attack on UNISFA logistics base in Kadugli killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers.

A day later, according to WHO, a hospital in Dalanj was attacked, killing nine health workers – one of many deadly assaults on health care that are stripping civilians of lifesaving services across Sudan.

Slovenia condemns all these attacks in the strongest possible terms and expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the fallen peacekeepers. We demand that those responsible be identified and held accountable. We equally condemn the use of siege, starvation, and terror as methods of warfare.

Second – responsibility must be addressed. All civilian deaths, regardless of location, affiliation, or perpetrator, are equally unacceptable and demand the same clarity of condemnation and commitment to justice. A number of reports has made it clear: both parties bear responsibility for harm to civilians.

The crimes committed by the RSF stand apart for their scope, intensity, and brutality. RSF is waging a campaign of violence against civilians that is systematic, deliberate, and sustained. These are not isolated incidents or failures of discipline; they are operational choices. Slovenia condemns these acts unequivocally and stresses that such conduct demands clear accountability for RSF atrocities.

Reporting by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Fact-Finding Mission has also documented serious violations by the Sudanese Armed Forces, including indiscriminate airstrikes and attacks affecting populated areas. Slovenia condemns these attacks and calls on the SAF to cease such conduct and to comply fully with international humanitarian law.

Third – this war is being enabled from the outside. Sudan continues to receive weapons, including drones, logistical and financial support that enables hostilities – despite overwhelming evidence that this support is directly used to target civilians.

Slovenia calls on all external actors to halt the transfer of arms and military materiel and to cease any support that fuels this war, in full compliance with UN arms-embargo obligations.

We need to be clear: there can be no illusion of neutrality. Those who provide military or logistical assistance share responsibility and accountability. In a war defined by mass atrocities, there is no neutral supply chain.

In conclusion,

Slovenia supports all genuine mediation efforts, including those led by the Quad, the Quintet, the UN, the AU, and regional actors. The Sudan roadmap to peace must be matched by genuine commitment. As other colleagues have said: there is no military solution to this war.

Slovenia calls directly on both warring parties to step up and engage seriously in mediation efforts, rather than undermine or fragment these efforts. The responsibility now lies with the parties to demonstrate, through actions rather than words, that they are prepared to end this war.

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