FULL TEXT: UK statement at the UN Security Council: The risk of famine in Sudan is of extreme concern

NOTE, the UK and the US are permanent Members of the UN Security Council. The UK is the penholder on Sudan. The US is penholder on South Sudan, Sudan/South Sudan, Sudan sanctions and South Sudan sanctions. 

Here is a transcript of a speech delivered in the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan by UK Ambassador James Kariuki on 20 March 2024.

Speech

The risk of famine in Sudan is of extreme concern: UK statement at the UN Security Council

Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan 

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and James Kariuki

Published 20 March 2024

Location: United Nations, New York

Delivered on: 20 March 2024 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

Thank you, President. I thank Ms Wosornu, Mr Martina and Mr Skau for their briefing. We are grateful to OCHA, WFP and FAO for alerting the Council to this urgent crisis. And to Switzerland and Guyana for convening the Council so swiftly. I welcome the participation of the Representative of Sudan.

President, the risk of famine in Sudan, set out in OCHA’s White Note, is of extreme concern.  After a bad harvest, severe hunger will deepen, harming vulnerable people the most. Most of the fatalities will be children under five. We pay tribute to the UN, international and Sudanese humanitarian staff working in extreme conditions to alleviate this suffering.

I’ll make three points:

First, the White Note is clear that obstruction of humanitarian access by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces is resulting in the starvation of the Sudanese people. Using starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited by international humanitarian law. 

The Sudanese authority’s decision to allow extremely limited humanitarian access from Chad is nowhere near enough to meet the soaring humanitarian needs, especially whilst crossline access remains completely blocked.

We call on the warring parties to urgently ensure and facilitate unimpeded access via all routes, both cross-border and crossline, including through the vital route at Adre.

Second, we need increased humanitarian funding.

The United Kingdom has provided over $54 million in humanitarian aid to the people of Sudan this financial year. And we are providing financial support to those fleeing to neighbouring countries.

We welcome the upcoming France, German and EU-hosted pledging event, and appeal to the international community to increase funding to avoid the horrific scenario of one million excess deaths in Sudan this year. 

But while funding is important, this man-made crisis ultimately requires a political solution.

So third, the fighting needs to stop. The world is witnessing the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of a conflict that should never have begun.  

The failure of the SAF and RSF to implement a Ramadan ceasefire and immediately facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access in line with Council resolution 2724, is unacceptable. We call on both to stop fighting immediately and return to negotiations.

Given the clear warning of impending famine, it is imperative that the Council remains siezed of this issue and that we hold ourselves, and the warring parties, accountable for delivering the recommendations in the White Note.

Published 20 March 2024

View original: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-risk-of-famine-in-sudan-is-of-extreme-concern-uk-statement-at-the-un-security-council

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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

_______________

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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