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FILE – UN Ambassador to Sudan Al-Harith Idris Al-Harith Mohamed (third from bottom right) speaks to the Security Council on the situation in Sudan on Thursday, as Karim Khan, third from the top, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court hear it. , July 13, 2023, at United Nations Headquarters. Sudan has been torn by war for a year, with fighting between the military and the notorious militia Rapid Support Forces. (AP Photo/Mary Altafer, File)
PARIS (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that donors around the world have pledged more than 2 billion euros in aid to Sudan, where a year-long civil war has pushed its people to the brink of starvation. It was announced that there was.
President Macron spoke at the end of an international conference in Paris aimed at increasing support for the Sudanese people. He did not provide a detailed timeline or breakdown of the funding.
In a final statement, diplomatic envoys, UN officials and aid agencies gathered at the conference also called on Sudan’s parties to the conflict to end rights abuses and allow access to humanitarian aid. Members of Sudan’s civil society attended the Paris conference, but neither the Sudanese military nor rival militias were represented.
Sudan was plunged into conflict in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and paramilitary rapid support forces exploded into open fighting in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
President Macron said this was “one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises” and created a “real risk of starvation”.
United Nations humanitarian operations will need about $2.7 billion this year to reach 24 million people, nearly half of Sudan’s 51 million people, with food, medical care and other supplies. So far, donors have provided only about 5%, or $145 million, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency, known as OCHA.
After Monday’s meeting, President Macron said: “Today’s aid to Sudan is 2 billion euros.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on the international community to donate generously and support UN life-saving efforts to help the people of Sudan, who are living in a “bloody nightmare”.
More than 14,000 people have been killed and at least 33,000 injured in the year-long war. According to the United Nations, nearly 9 million people have been forced to flee to safer areas within Sudan or to neighboring countries, and hunger, sexual violence against women and girls, and continued displacement are widespread. , much of the country’s infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, and residences, has been destroyed. The school was reduced to rubble.
“We cannot erase this nightmare from our sight,” Guterres said in a video message to the Paris conference.
“It’s time to support the Sudanese people. It’s time to silence the guns,” he added.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Séjourne said the conference’s aim was to mobilize humanitarian funds to help the Sudanese people, victims of both a “terrible war” and “international indifference.”
“It’s a monumental task,” Séjourne said. “This is a war that the Sudanese people did not want and one that will only create chaos and suffering.”
European Union crisis commissioner Janez Lenarčić said the 27 member states want to ensure Sudan is not forgotten as wars in Gaza and Ukraine dominate international news.
“The Sudanese people caught up in this emergency are almost invisible,” Lenarčić said. He said Sudan had become one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the history of the African continent, adding: “It is our duty not to look away.”
International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Sporjaric warns that humanitarian work is becoming increasingly politicized in Sudan, with humanitarian workers risking their lives to get vital aid to people. did. She called on all parties to the war to facilitate “the safe, rapid and unhindered transport of humanitarian personnel and supplies into and within Sudan through all available routes.”
“We cannot pursue military superiority without regard for human sacrifice,” Sporjaric said.
The United States and Saudi Arabia initially led efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict. But those efforts were unsuccessful, and since October the fighting has been overshadowed by the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, threatening to escalate into a broader regional conflict.
Meanwhile, relief workers warn that Sudan is heading towards an even bigger famine disaster, with mass casualties likely to occur in the coming months. Food production and distribution networks have collapsed, and aid agencies are unable to reach the hardest-hit areas.
The conflict has also been marked by widespread reports of atrocities, including killings, forced displacement, and rape, particularly in the capital and western Darfur region.
According to OCHA, at least 37% of the population above crisis level suffers from hunger. Save the Children has warned that around 230,000 children, pregnant women and mothers of newborns could die from malnutrition in the coming months.
“Hunger is a reality in Sudan,” said Abdallah al-Dardari, United Nations Development Program regional director. He told diplomats gathered in Paris that humanitarian workers needed access and vital aid to millions of people caught up in conflicts “that are rapidly deteriorating due to a lack of respect for human rights and international law.” appealed for increased funding.
The forces led by General Abdul Fattah Burhan and the RSF, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, are cutting through Khartoum, exchanging indiscriminate shelling with each other. In 2021, Burhan and Dagalo were uneasy allies who led a military coup. They overthrew the internationally recognized civilian government that was supposed to lead Sudan’s democratic transition.
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Magdy reported from Cairo.
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