UN Sudan: Civilians fleeing Sudan’s war need safe passage. The parties to the conflict must ensure it

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Here is some hope for people trying to flee the fighting in Sudan. Part of the below copied statement issued by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan clearly states: "All people fleeing the fighting in Sudan must be able to do so in safety. The Sudanese people, as well as refugees in the country, have the right to seek safety in Sudan or in neighbouring countries. I appeal to all parties to ensure this fundamental right is upheld. All civilians, including refugees and others, who are trying to escape conflict zones must be allowed to do so safely, without impediments, and under the protection of the parties to the conflict."

At the request of the UK, the penholder on Sudan, the UN Security Council is meeting today on Sudan. Hopefully, the following statement will be circulated and addressed. Click here to read the Sudan Briefing for today's meeting posted Tue 08 Aug 2023 at UN Security Council org What's in Blue. 

Tomorrow (9 August), the #UNSC will hold a briefing on #Sudan at the request of @UKUN_NewYork, the penholder on the file. SRSG and head of @UNITAMS @volkerperthes and @UNOCHA Dir. of Operations and Advocacy Division @EdemWosornu will brief.

📖 Read more: https://t.co/T90dj3bC6G

— Security Council Report (@SCRtweets) August 9, 2023

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Press Release 

From UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA)

Dated Wed 09 Aug 2023 - [SW Ed: here is full copy, beige highlight is mine]:

Statement 

By the Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami 

on Civilians Fleeing Sudan’s War Need Safe Passage, 9 August 2023

(Port Sudan, 09 August 2023): In the fourth month of the worsening conflict in Sudan, civilians – including refugees – continue to endure horrific violations. The killing and targeting of vulnerable people held hostage by this ongoing war are unacceptable and must stop immediately.

Many of those trapped by the fighting have been unable – and in some cases actively prevented – from seeking safety elsewhere. And those that can escape face other dangers: They are vulnerable to abuse, theft and harassment during their journeys to safer areas.

Last week, I met Eritrean refugees who had been living in the capital Khartoum, until the fighting forced them to leave for the Wad Sharife settlement in Kassala state. They spoke of the dangers involved in leaving the capital and their fears of being harassed during the passage. All people fleeing the fighting in Sudan must be able to do so in safety. The Sudanese people, as well as refugees in the country, have the right to seek safety in Sudan or in neighbouring countries. I appeal to all parties to ensure this fundamental right is upheld.

In Khartoum, the killing of 28 refugees during heavy clashes on 25 June was yet another stark reminder of the horrors that refugee communities are facing. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, continues to help refugees stranded in Sudan’s capital by providing protection counselling via hotlines and trying to find ways to safely relocate them whenever possible. But access is exceedingly difficult, and needs are growing by the day.

In West Darfur, we have received reports that some civilians trying to flee intense clashes in Sirba town on 26 July were prevented from crossing the border into Chad. UNHCR has also recorded a number of cases in which refugees trying to flee the flighting in Sudan, notably to return back home to South Sudan, have faced difficulties along the route. 

The parties to the conflict in Sudan must ensure the safe passage of civilians fleeing violence in Khartoum, Darfur and other areas of active hostilities. This is what was agreed in Jeddah on 11 May by the signatories to the Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, and the parties must follow through on their commitments to respect international humanitarian law and human rights law.

After sixteen weeks of conflict in Sudan, more than 4 million people have been displaced within the country and across borders into neighbouring countries. Over 71 per cent of the more than 3 million people internally displaced in Sudan fled from Khartoum state, according to the International Organization for Migration. Before this crisis, there were 1.1 million refugees in Sudan, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

My message as Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan is unequivocal: All civilians, including refugees and others, who are trying to escape conflict zones must be allowed to do so safely, without impediments, and under the protection of the parties to the conflict. 

_____

For further information, please contact:

Amanda Price, amanda.price@un.org, +1 917 853 2839

View original: https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/civilians-fleeing-sudans-war-need-safe-passage-parties-conflict-must-ensure-it-statement-clementine-nkweta-salami-humanitarian-coordinator-sudan-enar

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Red Crescent Monitors HIV Rates in Eastern Sudan

SPEAKING to SRS at Wad Sharifay refugee camp on the outskirts of Kassala town on Wednesday, the Health Coordinator of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohammed, says that out of 600 tested people only 3 cases of HIV infection were reported. Full report here below.

Red Crescent Monitors HIV Rates in Eastern Sudan
From Sudan Radio Service (SRS) on Thursday, 18 February 2010:

(Wad Sharifay) - The Sudanese Red Crescent Society says that the rate of HIV infection in the refugees’ camps in Eastern Sudan is lower than the rates of towns like Kassala.

Speaking to SRS at Wad Sharifay refugee camp on the outskirts of Kassala town on Wednesday, the Health Coordinator of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohammed, says that out of 600 tested people only 3 cases of HIV infection were reported.

[Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohamed]: “At the VCT centre here more than 600 people have come to us and there are only three cases that were positive. There is cooperation between us and the Ministry of Health. If there are cases that need solutions, for example, a person may need antiretroviral drugs, we would refer them to the teaching hospital in Kassala where they receive treatment regularly. In fact now we need to carry out a survey in order to know the magnitude of the problem. Also we have a surveillance program where pregnant women come to the clinic and we take their blood samples and send it to the Federal Ministry of Health in order to test and record the rate of infection and truly we found out also that the rate was much lower than one percent in our camps. The rate of infection in camps is lower than in the city.”

Dr. Badawi denied accusations that the presence of refugees in Eastern Sudan is the cause of high rates of HIV prevalence in Kassala state.

[Dr. Badaradeen Badawi Mohamed]: “It is not true because refugees have been in camps years before HIV and AIDS were discovered. These refugees have been here in this area for more than thirty years. So they have been here before the disease was discovered but there are indicators among recent refuges and there was a need to carry out a survey amongst them in order to find out the prevalence rate. Of course the prevalence rate of HIV in Eritrea is higher than Sudan. Perhaps the new arrivals may have an impact but there is supposed to be an additional program for the new arrivals of refugees and they are now at the Shagarab area. There is an awareness programs and condoms are available at Shagarab."

He said the World Bank supports the HIV and AIDS awareness campaign amongst refugees in camps in Eastern Sudan through the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, IGAD.