Conflicts
Conference mobilizes over two billion euros for Sudan
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is welcomed by her counterpart Stéphane Séjourné at the Foreign Ministry. photo
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Millions are suffering from violence, hunger and displacement in Sudan. International efforts have not yet ended the bloody power struggle there. Two billion euros in aid have now been mobilized.
At an aid conference for the crisis state shaken by violence Sudan has been promised over two billion euros in support. French President Emmanuel Macron said this on Monday evening at the end of the international meeting in Paris. “We do not forget what is happening in Sudan and remain mobilized,” said Macron. He spoke of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and the risk of famine. “The scale of our commitment will allow us to address the most urgent needs in the areas of nutrition, health, water, hygiene, education and the protection of the most vulnerable populations,” said Macron.
In view of the never-ending violence and a catastrophic humanitarian situation in Sudan, Germany, France and the EU urgently called on the international community for more support. “If we don’t take massive countermeasures as a global community now, Sudan is threatened with a terrible hunger catastrophe. In the worst case, a million people could starve to death this year,” warned Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday in Paris. The Green politician added: “We are making it clear today that we will not lose sight of the suffering of the people in Sudan.”
In February, the United Nations budgeted $4.1 billion (3.8 billion euros) for emergency relief in Sudan and reception camps in the region. According to Baerbock, only six percent of the required amount has been made available so far. According to the Federal Foreign Minister, Germany is giving a further 244 million euros for Sudan and its neighbors this year. France promised 110 million euros this year, the EU Commission around 355 million euros.
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said at the meeting of numerous ministers from the conflict region and Europe on the anniversary of the outbreak of violence that the affected Sudanese had also become victims of forgetting. “Today we are putting a forgotten crisis on the agenda.”
UN: 8.6 million people on the run
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for joint efforts for a ceasefire and an end to the bloodshed, a year after the bloody power struggle began in Sudan. “The only way out of this horror is a political solution,” he said in New York on Monday.
The power struggle between the Sudanese de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his then deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has triggered what is now the world’s largest refugee crisis in the past twelve months. According to the latest figures from the UN refugee agency, more than 8.6 million people within Sudan and neighboring countries are fleeing fighting between the government army SAF and Daglo’s militia RSF. Even a conservative estimate is that one in eight refugees worldwide comes from Sudan. According to a report by the UN Organization for Migration (IOM), around 20,000 people are newly displaced in Sudan every day. The human rights organization Amnesty International is demanding that the UN Security Council extend the arms embargo that already applies to the Darfur region to the entire country.
Baerbock: Power struggle between two ruthless generals
The power struggle has led to a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Sudan, which, according to Baerbock, is “simply catastrophic.” You can see the worst crisis of child displacement. Around half of the population is urgently dependent on humanitarian aid for their survival. “People die there every day because two ruthless generals wage their power struggle on the backs of the population,” she criticized. Sexual violence is also being used as a weapon of war in the conflict. “There are atrocities committed by human beings before our eyes. The war is now entering its second year and at the same time this conflict is virtually ignored in our news.” It is therefore necessary to send a clear message: “We see their suffering, we are aware of it and we know our responsibility.” Every life counts equally, whether in Ukraine, in Gaza or in Sudan.
Baerbock pointed out that the situation in Sudan’s neighboring countries was also dramatic. “The biggest refugee crisis in the world is taking place right under our eyes,” said Baerbock. The refugee camps in South Sudan were “literally bursting at the seams.” People lack practically everything and “actually, above all, psychological care is needed.”
Séjourné: Exploring the path to lasting peace
In addition to collecting aid money, the conference in Paris was also about better coordination of previous attempts to find a solution to the violent conflict. Séjourné said they wanted to explore a path to lasting peace and a return to a democratic process in Sudan. The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell emphasized that civil society, some of which also met in Paris, also had a role to play.