Sudan: On 23 Nov humanitarians reached C.Darfur, Zalingei, Golo, Rokero, from Kosti 1st time since April

GOOD news posted by @UNOCHA_Sudan to microblogging platform X on 28 Nov says: "On 23 Nov humanitarians reached Central Darfur, Zalingei, Golo and Rokero, from Kosti for the first time since April. The trucks carrying medical supplies started on 18 Oct as part of the 44 trucks moving to Kordofan and Darfur. The trucks have been delayed due to insecurity".

On 23 Nov, humanitarians reached Central Darfur, Zalingei, Golo and Rokero, from Kosti for the first time since April.
The trucks carrying medical supplies started on 18 Oct as part of the 44 trucks moving to Kordofan and Darfur. The trucks have been delayed due to insecurity. pic.twitter.com/7afDL7Fg0c

— UN OCHA Sudan (@UNOCHA_Sudan) November 28, 2023

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Sudan: UN Security Council Briefing & Consultations

From What's In Blue 
Dated Wednesday, 15 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan: Briefing and Consultations

Tomorrow afternoon (16 November), the Security Council will convene for an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO) Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee is expected to brief on the Secretary-General’s latest 90-day report (S/2023/861), which was circulated to Council members on 10 November and covers developments from 21 August to 31 October. Director of OCHA’s Operations and Advocacy Division Edem Wosornu is likely to brief Council members in the closed consultations. The UK, the penholder on Sudan, is expected to propose press elements in connection with OCHA’s briefing.

This is likely to be the Council’s last meeting on Sudan before the expiry of UNITAMS’ mandate on 3 December. Council members are currently negotiating a UK-authored draft resolution renewing the mission’s mandate.

In a 6 November letter addressed to the president of the Security Council, the Secretary-General announced his decision to initiate an independent strategic review of UNITAMS. The letter said that the strategic review seeks to provide the Council with recommendations to ensure that the UN is best positioned to support peacemaking and peacebuilding efforts in Sudan over the next 12 to 18 months. It further noted that the findings and recommendations of the strategic review will be shared with Council members in January 2024.

The decision to initiate the strategic review comes against the backdrop of devastating fighting that erupted on 15 April between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military leader and chairperson of the Transitional Sovereign Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemeti). Despite several calls for a ceasefire from regional stakeholders and the broader international community, fighting has persisted over the past seven months, resulting in dire political, security, and humanitarian consequences.

During the period covered by the Secretary-General’s 10 November report, fighting continued in the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, Bahri, as well as in Darfur and Kordofan states, and expanded to new areas, such as White Nile and Gezira states. In recent weeks, the fighting has intensified across several parts of the country, particularly in Darfur. According to the Secretary-General’s report, following heavy fighting on 26 October, the RSF gained full control over the SAF base in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. Moreover, following a 30 October RSF attack on the SAF base in Zalingei, Central Darfur state, the warring parties reached a settlement resulting in the withdrawal of SAF forces and the RSF gaining de facto control over Zalingei and its main roads.Nder

In a 14 November statement, Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu expressed alarm about the renewed escalation of fighting in Nyala, Geneina, and Zalingei. The statement said that “[t]he latest reports from the Darfur region depict a deeply disturbing picture of continued systematic and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, including along ethnic lines”, adding that “the risks of genocide and related atrocity crimes in the region remain grimly high”. It further voiced concern about “serious allegations of mass killings in an area housing a camp for displaced families in Ardamata, Geneina, where more than 800 people were reportedly killed and 8,000 others fled to neighbouring Chad”.

The Secretary-General’s report notes that UNITAMS has continued to exercise its good offices in support of efforts to end the conflict and prepare for an eventual return to a political transition. During the reporting period, the mission carried out field-based and remote monitoring and reporting on human rights violations and abuses, while maintaining strategic engagement and advocacy with key stakeholders. The report further notes that UNITAMS continues to face several operational challenges, including communication disruptions, security conditions, and access limitations. The mission is currently operating inside Sudan, and also has temporary presences in Nairobi and Addis Ababa.

At tomorrow’s meeting, Pobee is expected to update members on developments regarding the ongoing regional and international efforts aimed at resolving the crisis. The Saudi-US facilitated talks between the Sudanese warring parties in Jeddah resumed on 26 October with the participation of a joint representative of the AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). (The talks, which began on 6 May, had been suspended following the SAF’s withdrawal on 31 May.)

On 7 November, the co-facilitators of the Jeddah talks announced that the Sudanese warring parties had committed to participating in a joint humanitarian forum led by OCHA to resolve impediments to humanitarian access and delivery of assistance. They further agreed to implement confidence-building measures relating to, among other matters, the establishment of communication channels between the warring parties and arrest of prison escapees and fugitives.

The first meeting of the humanitarian forum was convened on 13 November by Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths and Deputy Special Representative for Sudan and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Clementine Nkweta-Salami. The meeting was attended by SAF and RSF representatives, along with the co-facilitators of the Jeddah talks. In his remarks at the meeting, Griffiths said that more than 10,000 people have reportedly been killed since the start of the conflict and that 25 million people in Sudan remain in need of aid. He emphasised the need for safe and unhindered humanitarian access and called on parties to the conflict to ensure protection of civilians in areas under their control. He added that he was “appalled by the horrific reports of extreme violence against civilians, including ethnic-based attacks and sexual violence”. At tomorrow’s meeting, some Council member may welcome the convening of the humanitarian forum and call on the warring parties to adhere to their obligations, while stressing the need for ensuring unfettered humanitarian access.

Amid the escalating violence in the country, on 13 November, al-Burhan visited Nairobi to meet Kenyan President William Ruto. According to a joint statement released following the meeting, the leaders agreed to work towards convening an urgent IGAD summit to find ways to accelerate the talks in Jeddah towards cessation of hostilities in Sudan. The statement added that the IGAD summit “will also agree on a framework for an all-inclusive Sudanese dialogue”. (Kenya is currently chairing the IGAD-led mediation process for Sudan, comprising Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Sudan.) Tomorrow, some Council members may call for coordination of, and cooperation among, the different diplomatic initiatives aimed at resolving the conflict.

Council members are likely to condemn the violence in Sudan and emphasise the need for a ceasefire. Some members may raise concerns about the high incidence of conflict-related sexual violence and are likely to continue stressing the need to ensure accountability and justice. According to the Secretary-General’s 10 November report, since the onset of conflict, the Joint Human Rights Office has received credible reports of 53 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence involving at least 106 victims, primarily in Khartoum, Darfur, and Kordofan states.

Another important issue raised by the Secretary-General’s 10 November report concerns increasing incidents of violence against children in Sudan. During the period covered by the Secretary-General’s report, the UN country task force on monitoring and reporting on grave violations against children in armed conflict (CTFMR) verified 314 grave violations against 303 children. (The six grave violations are child recruitment and use; killing and maiming; abductions; rape and other forms of sexual violence; attacks on schools and hospitals; and the denial of humanitarian access.)

Several Council members are expected to express concern about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, rising food insecurity, attacks against civilian infrastructure (including schools and hospitals), and the worsening health situation in the country. According to a 25 October OCHA press release, 70 percent of hospitals in conflict-affected states are not functional, while facilities in states not affected by the conflict have been overwhelmed by an influx of people displaced by the fighting.

According to data presented by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), approximately 4.63 million people have been displaced internally across Sudan’s 18 states since the conflict began. At the same time, more than 1.17 million people have sought refuge in Sudan’s neighbouring countries, including the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

At tomorrow’s meeting, the briefers and several Council members might call for enhanced funding from the international community to support the humanitarian response in Sudan. At the time of writing, Sudan’s 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan, requiring $2.57 billion, was 33.4 percent funded.

View original: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2023/11/sudan-briefings-and-consultations.php

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13 Nov 2023, Kenyan President William Ruto received Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, in Nairobi.

Source: https://www.president.go.ke/joint-statement-at-the-conclusion-of-consultations-between-h-e-president-william-ruto-and-h-e-president-abdel-fattah-al-burhan/

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Sudan: RSF eradicating the Masalit from West Darfur

The EU stressed that Sudan's warring sides "have a duty to protect citizens". It said it was working with the International Criminal Court to document violations "to ensure accountability". Read more.

From The Barron's Daily
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Dated Sunday, 12 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

EU 'Appalled' By Reports 1,000 Killed In Darfur

The EU said Sunday it was "appalled" by reports of  more than 1,000 people killed this month in Sudan's West Darfur in an apparent "ethnic cleansing campaign"by the paramilitary  Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"These latest atrocities are seemingly part of a wider ethnic cleansing campaign conducted by the RSF with the aim to eradicate the non-Arab Masalit community from West Darfur, and comes on top of the first wave of large violence in June," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.

Since April, forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan -- Sudan's de facto head of state -- have been at war with the RSF commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The European Union statement said there were "credible eyewitness reports (that) more than a thousand members of the Masalit community were killed in Ardamta, West Darfur, in just over two days, during major attacks carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its affiliated militias".

The toll was higher than a previous one of 800 given by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), which said 100 shelters in a displaced persons' camp in Ardamta had been razed.

"What is happening is verging on pure evil," the UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said Friday, citing reports of young girls being raped in front of their mothers.

She voiced fears of a repeat of the genocide campaign that gripped Darfur in the early 2000s.

The EU stressed that Sudan's warring sides "have a duty to protect citizens". It said it was working with the International Criminal Court to document violations "to ensure accountability".

"The international community cannot turn a blind eye on what is happening in Darfur and allow another genocide to happen in this region," it said.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the Sudan conflict so far, according to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.

The war has displaced more than 4.8 million people within Sudan and has forced a further 1.2 million to flee into neighbouring countries, according to UN figures. rmb/bp 

The Barron's news department was not involved in the creation of the content above. This story was produced by AFP. For more information go to AFP.com. © Agence France-Presse

Source: https://www.barrons.com/news/eu-appalled-by-reports-1-000-killed-in-darfur-3b306234

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UK has a key role to play in fighting for peace in Sudan

RIGHT NOW IN SUDAN, over five million people have been displaced and many thousands killed. Twenty-four million people – half the population – need humanitarian assistance, 15 million suffer from acute food insecurity and 19 million children are out of school. Recent analysis has shown that at least 68 villages in Darfur have been burnt to the ground by armed militia in the past few months.  The UK's APPG hopes that more can be done to stop the flow of arms to warring parties by putting greater pressure on their regional backers, enforcing the existing UN arms embargo on Darfur and extending it to the entire country. Read more in the following article.

From Politics Home, UK

By Vicky Ford MP @vickyford

Dated Thursday, 9 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

The UK has a key role to play in fighting for peace in Sudan

Wreckage in Khartoum (Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo)

October marked six months since the beginning of the war in Sudan and two years since the military coup that first dashed hopes of Sudan’s swift road to democracy. There is no clear winner and no end in sight.

Over five million people have been displaced and many thousands killed. Twenty-four million people – half the population – need humanitarian assistance, 15 million suffer from acute food insecurity and 19 million children are out of school. Of the $2.6bn required for humanitarian assistance, only $859m is available. 

Members of the [UK Govt] All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Sudan and South Sudan met with Liela Musa Medani, a Sudanese woman who has previously lived in the United Kingdom for over 20 years. She escaped from Khartoum in July but remains in touch with family members. Of the 50 households that used to live in her street, only four remain. 

For the past six months, they have faced killings and artillery shelling every single day. There is no food, and anyone who tries to transport food risks their life. There is no electricity, no water, no medicine and no humanitarian aid. The few people left in that once mighty city cannot leave. School buildings are now cemeteries. Girls have learned to disfigure themselves to try to avoid being raped.

Ethnic cleansing has returned to Darfur. Twenty years ago, during the genocide, between 300,000 and 400,000 people were killed, either directly in the conflict or indirectly. Recent analysis has shown that at least 68 villages in Darfur have been burnt to the ground by armed militia in the past few months.  

Since the war began, many of those forced to leave their homes have fled towards Chad and South Sudan. Over 320,000 Sudanese have crossed the border into Egypt, while many others are still stranded at the borders.

The UK has a key role to play due to our close historical relations with Sudan, the trust many Sudanese people still place in us and our role as a penholder in the United Nations Security Council. The significant Sudanese diaspora community in the UK includes NHS doctors. 

The UK has sanctioned some of the financial networks of the warring parties, sponsored a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council establishing an independent Commission of Enquiry to investigate alleged human rights violations and provided diplomatic and practical support to help pro-democracy civilians cohere around a common platform.

The UK should continue to press for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian access, scale up life-saving support and support better co-ordination between different regional and international mediation initiatives. 

The APPG hopes that more can be done to stop the flow of arms to warring parties by putting greater pressure on their regional backers, enforcing the existing UN arms embargo on Darfur and extending it to the entire country. Targeted sanctions should also be extended to old regime loyalists who are calling for the continuation of the war.   

There are two potentially encouraging developments. The Jeddah talks, suspended since June, have resumed and Sudanese civilian leaders have met in Addis Ababa aiming to build a united Democratic Civilian Front to end the war, deliver vital humanitarian assistance and secure a path to democratic government. This may create momentum for further unification of democratic civilian voices. Nevertheless, the prospects for ending the war remain very uncertain.  

It is in the UK’s strategic interest to try to prevent the spread of terrorism, increased migration and the destabilisation of the wider region. Therefore it remains important that the UK continues to play an active diplomatic role and try to find a path to peace.

Vicky Ford, Conservative MP for Chelmsford, former minister for Africa and chair of the APPG for Sudan and South Sudan

View original: https://www.politicshome.com/thehouse/article/uk-key-role-play-fighting-peace-sudan

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OCHA Sudan: Statement of Commitments adopted in Jeddah & new OCHA Humanitarian Forum for Sudan

Press Release

Source: OCHA

Posted Tuesday, 7 Nov 2023 - here is a copy in full:

Statement by the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan on Statement of Commitments adopted in Jeddah

(Port Sudan, 7 November 2023) The Statement of Commitments adopted in Jeddah today by the parties to the conflict in Sudan marks a moment of truth for the country. The promises made by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – to protect civilians and provide unimpeded humanitarian access – are promises that must be kept.

I thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development – representing IGAD and the African Union – for their role in facilitating these critical negotiations.

In particular, I welcome the agreement to establish a Humanitarian Forum for Sudan led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs representing the humanitarian community and with the participation of the parties to the conflict. The forum will further facilitate the implementation of the commitments made in Jeddah.

It comes -and not a moment too soon. After almost seven months of war, half of Sudan’s population – nearly 25 million people – need humanitarian assistance. Displacement, disease and sexual violence are rampant.

The tangible commitments agreed by the SAF and RSF today must now be followed by immediate and tangible actions. It is critical that the obstacles – bureaucratic and otherwise – that keep us from delivering life-saving relief at speed and at scale are cleared away once and for all.

We must have reliable guarantees from all parties to ensure that relief items, humanitarian workers and assets can move safely across conflict lines. We simply cannot reach Khartoum, Darfur, the Kordofans and other war-torn areas of the country without these assurances.

The parties to the conflict have a shared obligation to honour the commitments made in Jeddah. For the sake of the millions of civilians in Sudan who want no part of this war and in the spirit of today’s agreement, they must work toward a permanent cessation of hostilities. The people of Sudan deserve nothing less.

 

***

Download Report

(PDF | 129.07 KB)

For further information, please contact: 

Karlsson, Sofie, karlsson2@un.org, +249 912 17 44 56

View original: https://reliefweb.int/report/saudi-arabia/statement-humanitarian-coordinator-sudan-statement-commitments-adopted-jeddah

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OCHA SUDAN: Humanitarian Update (2 Nov 2023)

ANALYSIS from OCHA
Sudan Humanitarian Update (2 November 2023)

SITUATION OVERVIEW

HIGHLIGHTS

• An estimated 5.8 million people have been displaced within and outside Sudan since mid-April 2023.
 

• A least 85,800 people fled Sudan over the past month seeking safety and protection in neighbouring countries.
 

• At least 17 people were killed and 17,500 people displaced due to renewed clashes between SAF and RSF in Nyala Town, South Darfur.
 

• Over 140 people were reportedly killed due to inter-communal fighting in As Sunta and Buram localities in South Darfur.
 

• Conflict has severely affected agriculture in many parts of the country raising concerns on food security in the coming months.
 

• The revised 2023 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan appeal is only 33.6 per cent funded as of 2 November.

For previous humanitarian updates:

• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 26 October 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 19 October 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 13 October 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 7 October 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 28 September 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 22 September 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 14 September 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 7 September 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 31 August 2023
• Sudan Humanitarian Update, 23 August 2023

View full analysis and map: 

https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/card/1TLaNU0UWB

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Sudan: Humanitarian Key Messages (November 2023):

News and Press Release 

Source OCHA 

Posted 2 Nov 2023 

Originally published 2 Nov 2023

Download Report (PDF | 153.62 KB)

View original: https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-humanitarian-key-messages-november-2023

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