Highlight horrors overshadowed by other conflicts. The international community, meeting this Monday, April 15 in Paris during a humanitarian conference for Sudan, urged to break the taboo surrounding the war which has been raging for a year in this country and called for the coordination of the various mediations to put an end to this devastating conflict. “For a year, the Sudanese have been victims of a terrible war […] which produces only chaos and suffering,” lamented the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, believing that the Sudanese were “victims of oblivion and of indifference.” He therefore called for “breaking the silence surrounding this conflict and mobilizing the international community”.
More than 2 billion euros were pledged during this conference, co-chaired by France, Germany and the European Union. “In total, we can announce that more than 2 billion euros will be mobilized,” declared French President Emmanuel Macron, specifying that before Monday’s meeting, only 190 million commitments had been recorded. Of the 2 billion, the member countries of the European Union will contribute 900 million euros, including 110 million by France. The event is divided into three components: a political component with the participation mainly of ambassadors and foreign ministers (South Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya, Chad in particular), a humanitarian component to collect donations and a meeting of a forty members of Sudanese civil society.
This conference is being held while eyes are on the situation in the Middle East after Iran’s attack on Israel, underlined German Minister Annalena Baerbock. However, the international community must not ignore the war in Sudan which has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, she declared, referring to the “unspeakable suffering” and the feeling of abandonment of the Sudanese, victims of the war that lead “two ruthless generals”. War broke out on April 15, 2023 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and those of Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, his former deputy and commander of the rapid support paramilitary forces. The multiple mediation initiatives have remained ineffective, she continued, calling “to work for better coordination” and to “act in concert to bring the belligerents to the negotiating table and achieve a ceasefire “.
“Only international pressure” will push the belligerents to negotiate, added the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell. “Beyond financing, we must put pressure so that there is an immediate ceasefire because if we continue like this, in a year, Sudan risks disintegrating,” warned the head of Chadian diplomacy, Mahamat Saleh Annadif. And the risk is to destabilize the entire Horn of Africa, the war having pushed many Sudanese to take refuge in neighboring countries. More than 3.4 million people are in “urgent” need of a humanitarian response in Chad, according to Action Against Hunger (ACF).
Concerning “use of children”
The food crisis in Sudan could be “the biggest ever”, warned the executive director of the World Food Program (WFP), Cindy McCain. In addition to starvation, civilians are victims of “massive sexual violence, large-scale ethnic massacres and executions,” lamented Will Carter, the Sudan director of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned of a further escalation of violence as parties to the conflict arm civilians and more armed groups join forces. fights. “The recruitment and use of children by parties to the conflict is also of great concern,” he also said.
While 25 million people, or half of the Sudanese population, need aid, Jean Stowell, head of mission for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan, denounces “an extremely worrying humanitarian void”. “Last year the United Nations humanitarian appeal was only half funded. This year, only 5% of the 3.8 billion euros requested,” points out the Quai d’Orsay. “We do not claim to reach them in Paris but we are hopeful that the international community will wake up.”
Deputy director of the Africa division of the NGO Human Rights Watch, Laetitia Bader calls for sanctions against the belligerents, who have “prevented the humanitarian response”, “massively looted aid” and planned “killings of humanitarian measures”, in addition to numerous abuses against civilians. On Monday, the United Kingdom announced new sanctions targeting companies that support the belligerents.
This article is originally published on liberation.fr
