Millions of Sudanese are on the run or at risk of starvation. It is the “biggest refugee crisis in the world,” said Foreign Minister Baerbock at an aid conference in Paris. The donor countries pledged an additional two billion euros.
A year after the war in Sudan began, an international donor conference in Paris pledged aid worth more than two billion euros. French President Emmanuel Macron announced this at the end of the conference, but did not give a time frame.
“We do not forget what is happening in Sudan and remain mobilized,” said Macron, who spoke of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and the risk of famine. “The scale of our commitment will enable us to address the most urgent needs in the areas of nutrition, health, water, hygiene, education and in protecting the most vulnerable populations.”
Appeals to warring parties, efforts for peace
The talks in Paris also focused on better coordination of efforts to achieve peace and end the conflict, the French president said. This also includes stopping the financing of the war, in which supporters of the two conflicting parties probably invested more money than was mobilized in aid at the donor conference.
The conference calls on the warring parties to respect international law and ensure the protection of the civilian population. “We urge you to immediately establish a ceasefire so that humanitarian workers can provide care to all Sudanese in need,” Macron said.
244 million euros from Germany
Germany alone promised aid worth 244 million euros for Sudan and its neighbors. Another 350 million are to come from the EU, 138 million from the USA and 110 million from France.
At the start, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart Stéphane Séjourné called on the international community to urgently support the country shaken by violence.
A year after the outbreak of the conflict, the Sudanese people affected by flight and hunger have also become victims of forgetting, said Séjourné in Paris. “Today we are putting a forgotten crisis on the agenda.”
Baerbock: “The biggest Refugee crisis of the world”
“The biggest refugee crisis in the world” is currently taking place “under our eyes,” said Baerbock. The refugee camps in South Sudan were “literally bursting at the seams.” More refugees arrive every day and can no longer really be cared for. “The people there lack practically everything.” They needed food, clean drinking water, baby food, medicine, clothing, schools, emergency shelter and psychological care.
“We are making it clear today that we will not lose sight of the suffering of the people in Sudan,” said the Green politician. “People die there every day because two ruthless generals wage their power struggle on the backs of the population.”
18 million people threatened by hunger
The UN needs about $2.7 billion this year to provide food, medical care and other aid to 24 million people in Sudan – almost half of Sudan’s population of 51 million.
The aim of the conference is to move the world to action, said Séjourné. 18 million people are at risk of hunger. Paris is also about exploring a path to lasting peace and a return to a democratic process in Sudan.
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. In Paris, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell spoke of the biggest displacement crisis in the world. The first goal is an end to the fighting and humanitarian aid. Then civil voices would have to be given weight in order to start a political process. The EU could help with this.
IOM: 20,000 displaced people every day
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 20,000 people are forced to flee the country every day. More than half of them are children and young people, according to a report. A total of 8.6 million people have already been displaced by the fighting, many of whom have had to flee the violence several times.
The conflict is putting pressure on the entire region. More than six million Sudanese are on the run within their country, and around two million have fled to neighboring countries, especially Chad, South Sudan and Egypt. “Millions of people are displaced, starving and exposed to exploitation and abuse, but their plight is ignored by much of the world,” Pope lamented at the Sudan conference.