Showing posts with label Darfur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Darfur. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Sudan: World's largest humanitarian crisis in terms of displacement. 12.7m forcibly displaced. 25m in famine

Presser | United Nations 
Friday, 11 April 2025 - full copy:

Sudan: World's largest humanitarian crisis in terms of displacement


Press Conference by Shaun Hughes, World Food Programme (WFP) Regional Emergency Coordinator for the Sudan Crisis, on the situation in Sudan.


Senior World Food Programme (WFP) official in Sudan Shaun Hughes said, “By any metric, this is the world's largest humanitarian crisis in terms of displacement,” adding that “four out of every five people displaced are women and children.”


Hughes briefed reporters remotely from Nairobi today (10 Apr) on the situation in Sudan.


He said, “12.7 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes. Over eight million people displaced internally, and four million across borders arriving to countries that are already facing high levels of hunger and humanitarian needs.”


In terms of hunger, the WFP official said, “this is the only place in the world where famine is currently confirmed, and only the third famine to be classified this century.”


Hughes continued, “The scale of what is unfolding in Sudan threatens to dwarf much of what we've seen over previous decades. In the Zamzam camp alone, which has been under siege for several months. There are over 400,000 people.”


The Regional Emergency Coordinator added, “Across the country, nearly 25 million people, or half the population, face extreme hunger. Nearly five million children and mothers are acutely malnourished.”


“This is a man-made crisis, man-made because it is driven by conflict, not by drought or floods or earthquakes, and man-made because of the obstruction of access to humanitarian assistance by parties to the conflict,” the WFP official stressed.


Hughes highlighted that WFP’s goal is to scale up to reach seven million people by mid-year, “focusing primarily on those 27 areas that are classified as in famine or risk of famine.”


He continued, “we need to be able to quickly move humanitarian assistance to where it is needed, including through frontlines, across borders, within contested areas, and without lengthy bureaucratic processes.”


“We need to re-establish offices and staff presence across all areas of the country, including the Darfur and Kordofan states, so that we can be close to the people we serve and monitor assistance and the situation as it unfolds. We need to be able to obtain visas for staff and custom clearances for goods and equipment,” the WFP official added.


He stressed that humanitarian agencies alone don't have the influence to negotiate this, “it requires the world to pay attention and coherent and tenacious engagement from the international community, particularly countries that have influence on those waging war.”


The Regional Emergency Coordinator for Sudan Crisis, World Food Programme (WFP):


For the next six months in Sudan, in order to reach the objective of assisting seven million people, WFP has an 80 percent funding gap amounting to $650 million and another $150 million shortfall to take care of people that are fleeing across borders into Chad, into South Sudan, into the Central African Republic and elsewhere.


“Without funding, we're faced with the choice to either cut the number of people receiving assistance, or to cut the amount of assistance that people receive,” Hughes said.


He explained that the cut is already happening. “This month, we've reduced rations in famine areas to 70 percent of what people need, and in areas that are at risk of famine to 50 percent. The funding we need is not only for food assistance, but also for the joint services that we provide to the broader humanitarian response, including humanitarian air services and logistics services,” Hughes said.


Asked about the funding gap, the WFP official said, “none can be attributed to the broader cuts in US foreign assistance. Fortunately, all allocations that the US government has made to Sudan remain effective, for which we are grateful.”


“I think more broadly that the outlook globally for funding of humanitarian assistance is quite disastrous due to a number of changes in the approach by donors,” he concluded.


Transcript

Follow along using the transcript at videohttps://youtu.be/UwQIXSImTGs


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Monday, April 14, 2025

The London Conference on Sudan 15th April 2025

Presidential Palace Khartoum 2012 by the author

Sudan - can the UK's "progressive realism" help?

Sir Nick Kay

Former Ambassador


April 11, 2025

The world’s worst humanitarian crisis and one of its most dangerous, complex, bloody wars gets a moment in the spotlight in London on 15 April. Foreign ministers and senior officials from international organisations will meet at Lancaster House to discuss Sudan. After two years of conflict, the UK is taking a diplomatic initiative that many believe long overdue given its historical ties and current responsibility at the United Nations Security Council to hold the pen on Sudan resolutions.


But is the conference likely to lead to anything positive for the Sudanese people? 


Expectations are understandably low. The de facto Sudanese authorities led by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have criticised the UK for not inviting them to the conference. They object strongly to the UAE being invited because they consider it an ally of the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and therefore a party to the conflict. On the ground both the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have pledged to continue the war until they achieve complete victory. No impartial observer thinks that possible. As the war drags on, Sudan suffers from political polarisation, fragmentation and continued external meddling.


It's too easy to look the other way and too easy to think this is just a messy, protracted struggle that will continue inconclusively. But the immediate future may not be a continuation of the last two years. 


Red warning lights are flashing. Sudan’s neighbour South Sudan is teetering on the brink of civil war and the Sudanese conflict is playing its part in destabilising South Sudan and vice versa. Other neighbouring countries are also vulnerable to fall-out from Sudan: Chad in particular. With any expansion of war in the region, the humanitarian consequences and political risks of spiralling conflict magnify. Within Sudan itself the increased presence of Islamist extremists, armed militia and potentially international terror groups is another flashing light. Geopolitical tensions - already existing - may escalate. The Sudan Armed Forces have been ostracised by western powers and have entered agreements with Russia and Iran in their search for arms. Both countries see establishing a presence on Sudan’s Red Sea coast as a prize. But such a move would be highly provocative for others, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.


Over the last two years efforts to broker ceasefires have failed, only limited progress has been made on improving humanitarian access and efforts to bring about a comprehensive political settlement between the various actors - the two military forces, political parties, armed movements and civil society actors - have all led to nought. Many have tried, including the UN, AU, IGAD, the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey but none has succeeded. These “track 1” efforts have been complemented by multiple “track 2” initiatives led by NGOs and peace foundations. But so far the willingness to give as well as take in any negotiation is sorely missing.

Proposals


Absent political will by the protagonists and their external backers, what can be achieved in London? 


Limited but important steps can be agreed in three areas: the humanitarian response, political process and international cooperation. 


On the humanitarian front, the key challenges remain both funding and access. In April 2024 at a conference in Paris, donors made generous pledges totalling USD $2 billion. Much of that has yet to be disbursed. London is not a pledging conference, but should be the opportunity for partners to live up to their past commitments and renew their determination to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance for the 11 million Sudanese forced to flee their homes— food, shelter, medicines and healthcare at a minimum. The challenges for humanitarians are enormous: Sudan’s domestic political and ethnic complexity compounded by the regional tensions with and between Sudan’s neighbours necessitate an enhanced international aid effort coordinated by a senior UN figure. 


A political process remains the missing element and in London agreement may be possible on how to deal with the most immediate challenge as well as on the essential elements for a future process. Since the SAF now control the capital Khartoum again, it is likely they will press ahead with their own political roadmap and appoint a civilian government subordinate to the military to take forward a transition towards eventual restoration of democracy. 


How should the international community respond to this - reject, ignore, embrace, or shape it? Given the risk of Sudan being partitioned into two warring regions - Darfur and the South controlled by the RSF and the North, East and centre being controlled by the SAF - no SAF-imposed roadmap is going to be the final word. Not only will it not include the RSF and its supporters, but also many of the political actors who supported the 2019 revolution, which overthrew General Bashir’s military rule, will have nothing to do with the SAF roadmap. So the challenge for the international community is to try to work within the new political reality on a temporary and tentative basis. The aim should be to shape the SAF’s actions in order to move towards a credible inclusive political transition. The London conference could agree criteria by which such a political process will be judged. Key questions will be: how inclusive is the process and what genuine efforts are made to ensure inclusiveness of all Sudan; how are civil and political rights protected; how will security, justice and reconciliation be achieved; what are the criteria for selection of members of a transitional administration; what real authority will the administration have over economic and budgetary affairs; what are the provisions and realistic timetable for an all-inclusive Sudanese national dialogue? Above all, how firmly enshrined is the commitment to full democratic and civilian rule in Sudan, for which Sudanese men, women and youth struggled and died over the years? 


These are difficult questions that have defied easy answers since 2019. Helping Sudanese actors address them will require substantial and coordinated international action. 


The third way the London conference could contribute is by setting out agreed principles and a framework for the international community. The Sudan crisis is of such a complexity and international nature that it requires a creative and collaborative approach. The conference could propose that an international panel of mediators be appointed, led by the African Union but comprising additional senior figures from beyond Africa. Rank is important and ideally the panel would be at former head of state or government level and mandated by a UN Security Council resolution. The panel’s focus should be on advancing a comprehensive political settlement. Early consultation with the SAF, RSF and Sudanese civil and political actors about the terms of reference will be essential. The conference could agree who should take forward this consultation and a time frame.


Conclusion

Foreign Secretary David Lammy convened the conference after seeing at first hand the devastating impact of the war on Sudanese women and children on the Chad-Sudan border. Just because the Sudan war is complicated and far from our TV screens, we cannot in all conscience ignore it. This is a moment to put the Foreign Secretary’s doctrine of “progressive realism” into action.


 [These are the personal views of the author and do not represent the views of any organisation with which he is associated.]

CMI — Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation 

Diplomats without Borders 


View original: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sudan-can-uks-progressive-realism-help-sir-nick-kay-nc3be/

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Related 


Sudan Watch - 19 Nov 2010

British Ambassador in Khartoum Nicholas Kay is blogging the drama and scale of the change taking place in Sudan

The British government's Foreign & Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, has started a blog about the work of the British Ambassador to Sudan. The blog is authored by Nicholas Kay CMG, Her Majesty's Ambassador to Sudan. Mr Kay (pictured below) arrived in Khartoum to take up his role as HM Ambassador to Sudan on 29 May 2010. Here is a copy of his first two blog posts followed by several related reports.

Full story: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2010/11/british-ambassador-in-khartoum-nicholas.html

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Sir Nicholas Kay KCMG
British Ambassador to the Republic of Sudan 2010 to 2012
https://www.gov.uk/government/people/nicholas-kay

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Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Sudan's army retakes Khartoum airport from rebels

SUDAN'S army recaptures Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, military sources said on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan's army said in a statement it had also taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF's main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum. Read more here below.

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Report from BBC News
By Barbara Plett Usher
BBC News, Port Sudan
Dated Wednesday, 26 March 2025 - full copy:

Sudanese army recaptures Khartoum airport from civil war rivals

Image source, AFP. Image caption, Civilians have been celebrating the army's recent territorial gains, from the presidential palace to the airport in the capital Khartoum


The Sudanese army has told the BBC it has recaptured the airport in the capital, Khartoum, from the paramilitary RSF, marking its latest territorial gain in the brutal two-year civil war.


Gen Mahomed Abdel Rahman al-Bilawi said troops had fully secured it and might be able to clear the rest of the RSF fighters by the end of day.


The army has been moving swiftly since recapturing the presidential palace on Friday, and civilians have been celebrating in the streets as it advances.


The RSF had controlled most of the capital since the war began in April 2023. Nationwide, hundreds of thousands have been killed, and millions have been forced to flee their homes.


An army spokesperson told the BBC that troops have seized Manshiya Bridge, the last RSF-held bridge, along with a military camp in the group's southern stronghold.


But the war is far from over.


The RSF still holds almost all the Darfur region in western Sudan, where earlier this week, eyewitnesses said dozens of civilians were killed when the air force bombed a market.


View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2g0ppj9lyo

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Related


Report from AP

By Associated Press

Dated Wed, 26 Mar 2025 Updated 1:49 PM GMT

Sudan’s military captures key RSF base as it consolidates control over Khartoum area

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s army said Wednesday it had recaptured a camp which was being used by the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group as a key base during its hold on the capital, Khartoum.


The development brings the military a step closer to declaring the capital fully liberated as it continues its advance toward key locations, including the airport. Troops last week retook the Republican Palace, which had been a stronghold of the RSF during the war that began in April 2023.


The Teiba al-Hasnab camp was the RSF’s last stronghold in Khartoum, army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Nabil Abdullah Ali said in a post on Facebook.


Full story: https://apnews.com/article/sudan-khartoum-army-rapid-support-forces-76b105423863fdc2e9243ceb54435033

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Report from RFI (Radio France Internationale)

Dated Wed, 26 Mar 2025 - 14:05

Sudanese army retakes Khartoum airport from rebels

The Sudanese army recaptured Khartoum airport and surrounding areas, military sources said on Wednesday, marking another gain in its two-year-old war with a rival armed group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).


Sudan's army said in a statement it had also taken control of the Tiba al-Hassanab camp in Jabal Awliya, describing this as the RSF's main base in central Sudan and its last stronghold in Khartoum.


The army secured both sides of Manshiya bridge, which crosses the Blue Nile in Khartoum, leaving the Jabel Awliya bridge just south of the capital as the only crossing out of the area still under RSF control.


Full story: https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250326-sudanese-army-retakes-khartoum-airport-from-rebels

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Thursday, December 19, 2024

Civilians fleeing war in Sudan to Uganda give harrowing testimony to UN Fact-Finding Mission

MEMBERS of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan expressed concern about the escalating impact of the conflict on civilians after meeting about 200 people from almost all states of Sudan during a visit to Uganda from 1 to 18 December 2024. The experts:

  • commend the Ugandan authorities for opening their borders to Sudanese and other refugees and supporting them where possible, including with humanitarian assistance.
  • call on international community to support Uganda and other countries hosting large numbers of Sudanese refugees to ensure the refugees have access to basic facilities, including nutrition, healthcare, hygienic needs, education and live in humane conditions and with dignity. 

Note that these refugees are able to exercise freedom of expression, association and movement. As a result, Uganda has become a main hub for Sudanese civil society and human rights defenders. Read full story below.


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Press Release
By UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Dated Thursday, 19 December 2024 - full copy:

Civilians fleeing war in Sudan to Uganda give harrowing testimony to United Nations Fact-Finding Mission


GENEVA – Dozens of men, women and children who fled Sudan have offered vital testimony about the country’s deadly conflict to human rights experts visiting a settlement camp in neighbouring Uganda.


Members of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan expressed concern about the escalating impact of the conflict on civilians after meeting about 200 people from almost all states of Sudan during a visit to Uganda from 1 to 18 December. 


“Instead of contributing positively to the rebuilding of Sudan, millions of Sudanese refugees are trapped in dire conditions in camps and settlements in neighbouring countries as the conflict rages on,” Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, said. “They have no means or employment while waiting desperately to be able to return to their home country.”


Visiting a location for new arrivals in Kiryandongo, Uganda, which hosts more than 50,000 refugees mostly from Sudan and South Sudan, the experts met refugees from the capital Khartoum as well as Blue Nile, Darfur, Gezira, Kordofan and White Nile, and observed first-hand their dire circumstances, as the conflict enters a new phase moving eastward.


The visit also shed light on key incidents, including the siege of El Fasher city and its surroundings in North Darfur since April 2024. The Fact-Finding Mission collected harrowing testimonies of widespread destruction, killings, rape and other sexual violence. The siege has been accompanied by relentless shelling between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, and resulting in catastrophic humanitarian conditions.


The experts further heard from Sudanese women about the huge challenges they had faced and their suffering before reaching Uganda.


Several women highlighted an increase in miscarriages, while others had been disproportionately hit by airstrikes or shelling directed at markets, both as vendors, and as they were obtaining essential supplies for their families. Women also reported sexual harassment, including by individuals wearing RSF uniforms, and speaking foreign languages. Many women spoke about their desire to shape the future of Sudan and not to leave the future of the country in the hands of the warring men.


“The women and children of Sudan are not only the main victims of this senseless conflict, but they also hold the key to a peaceful and dignified life for all Sudanese,” Mona Rishmawi, a member of the Fact-Finding Mission, said. “They must have a seat at any negotiations as equal stakeholders.”


About half of Sudan’s population - nearly 26 million people - are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, with nearly three million facing acute hunger. Over 11 million civilians have been displaced internally, and nearly three million refugees have fled the country. This includes 64,000 who have fled to Uganda since the beginning of the current conflict in April last year.


“The sheer figures about hunger and displacement reemphasize the imperative of inquiring into the root causes of the violence and promoting accountability for the atrocity crimes to ensure that the cycle of violence ends,” Mr. Othman said.


The Fact-Finding Mission heard from the refugees that they faced gruelling journeys marked by numerous checkpoints where they were interrogated, detained and accused of collaborating with the opposite warring faction. Many were stripped of all possessions, including cash and mobile phones, with some forced to beg at mosques and appeal to charities to afford transportation out of the country.


The experts also heard of the challenges faced by persons with disabilities who endured displacements without access to necessary support or services. Individuals with mobility impairments recounted the extreme difficulties of fleeing conflict zones without adequate accommodations or assistance. Those with hearing impairment faced violence at checkpoints, being accused of spying for the other side.


The experts spoke to several Sudanese who fled the Gezira state, who described rape, forced labour, and other serious human rights and international humanitarian law violations, largely perpetrated by the RSF. Pillage and looting targeting civilian households and farms by the RSF have also exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Gezira state. The SAF also caused significant human casualties with aerial bombardments of civilian areas.


The experts commend the Ugandan authorities for opening their borders to Sudanese and other refugees and supporting them where possible, including with humanitarian assistance. Particularly welcome is the ability of these refugees to exercise freedom of expression, association and movement. As a result, Uganda has become a main hub for Sudanese civil society and human rights defenders.


Sudanese refugees can enter the job market and access health care and education in the same way as Ugandan nationals. Despite being highly skilled, however, their ability to benefit from this generosity is limited by economic and language barriers, and the inability to provide documentation to prove their qualifications due to their rapid displacement.


“Therefore,” expert Joy Ngozi Ezeilo said, “the Fact-Finding Mission Sudan calls on the international community to support Uganda and other countries hosting large numbers of Sudanese refugees to ensure that the refugees have access to basic facilities, including nutrition, health care, hygienic needs and education, and that they can live in humane conditions and with dignity.”


The Fact-Finding Mission Sudan also visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where it engaged in constructive dialogue with the African Union and UN agencies. This is in line with its mandate to work with other national, regional and international efforts to address the human rights and international humanitarian law violations, and related crimes, in Sudan and advance peace, justice and accountability.


Background: The Human Rights Council established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan in October 2023 with resolution A/HRC/RES/54/2, and extended its mandate until October 2025 with resolution A/HRC/RES/57/2


Its key task is “to investigate and establish the facts, circumstances and root causes of all alleged human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, including those committed against refugees, and related crimes in the context of the ongoing armed conflict that began on 15 April 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, as well as other warring parties.” 


The Fact-Finding Mission is also mandated to collect and analyze evidence in view of any future legal proceedings; to identify, where possible, individuals and entities responsible; and to make recommendations with a view to ending impunity and ensuring accountability and access to justice for victims and survivors. The three experts were appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council in December 2023. 


The Fact-Finding Mission presented two reports to the Human Rights Council in September (A/HRC/57/23) and October 2024 (A/HRC/57/CRP.6), respectively. The September report was also transmitted to the UN General Assembly. 


For media queries, please contact: Todd Pitman, Media Adviser for the UN Investigative Missions, todd.pitman@un.org / (+41) 76 691 1761; or Pascal Sim, Human Rights Council Media Officer, simp@un.org / +41 79 477 4411.


View original: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/12/civilians-fleeing-war-sudan-uganda-give-harrowing-testimony-united-nations

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Related Report


Sudan Watch - Dec 04, 2024

Uganda welcomes Sudanese refugees with a plot of land to live & farm, 5-year residency, school education

Over 60,000 Sudanese refugees have fled to Uganda where, reportedly, asylum processes are dealt with swiftly. Once new arrivals have registered with the UNHCR in Uganda, they are granted a five-year residency permit. ...

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2024/12/uganda-welcomes-sudanese-refugees-with.html


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