Middle East: Rhino, Paris will host an international conference on April 15th to provide humanitarian aid to Sudan. The conference will be co-chaired by France, Germany, and the European Union, represented by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and the Commissioner for Crisis Management. A ministerial-level political meeting will also be held, according to the French Foreign Ministry, to support international and regional peace initiatives aimed at ending the war in Sudan.

Paris says the choice of April 15th was not coincidental, as the current war in Sudan started on the same day last year. Additionally, the humanitarian situation in the country is alarming. A statement from the French Foreign Ministry said that the fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces for the past year has had tragic consequences for Sudanese people in neighboring countries. 27 million Sudanese, more than half of Sudan’s population, need humanitarian assistance, and at least 18 million people are facing food insecurity. UN reports also indicate that at least 8 million Sudanese have been displaced, including 6.3 million internally displaced.

Paris concluded that the suffering of the Sudanese people is unbearable and the humanitarian needs are enormous.

WFP Warns:

On Friday, the UN World Food Program (WFP) warned that the hunger crisis in Sudan will worsen unless the people there receive a steady flow of aid through all possible humanitarian corridors.

A statement by Eddie Rowe, WFP Representative and Country Director in Sudan, said that “unprecedented levels of hunger and malnutrition are sweeping Sudan this lean season.”

The UN official added that the temporary closure of the humanitarian corridor through Chad, ongoing fighting, lengthy clearance procedures for humanitarian shipments, bureaucratic hurdles, and security threats have made it impossible for humanitarian workers to operate at the scale needed to meet the hunger needs in Sudan.

Rowe called for all food corridors to remain open, particularly the corridor from Adre in Chad to West Darfur, where hunger levels are critical, and insisted that WFP needs security guarantees to be able to distribute supplies in North Darfur to people struggling to get one basic meal a day.

Who Will Represent Sudan?

Paris says the international community must act because the situation in Sudan “cannot wait” and Sudan must not become a forgotten issue. The goal of the April 15th meeting in Paris is therefore twofold: to raise the necessary funds to respond to the dramatic humanitarian situation in Sudan and neighboring countries, and to call on the warring parties to end the fighting and ensure safe access for humanitarian aid.

The Foreign Ministry concluded that the conference will provide an opportunity for the Sudanese people and the international community to express their desire for peace and democratic governance.

As of the weekend, Paris had not disclosed which Sudanese parties had been invited to the conference, but it is certain that international financial institutions, the United Nations, the European Union, and Arab countries will attend. The amounts that can be raised to meet the growing humanitarian needs have also not been mentioned.

During a session in the French Parliament in mid-March, Minister for International Development and Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou said, in response to a question from MP Christophe Marion of the France-Sudan Parliamentary Friendship Group, that the war in Sudan had caused one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. She added that Paris’ position is to condemn the ongoing fighting and human rights abuses by the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, and that France is taking its responsibilities in the face of the situation.

The French minister added that the conference will bring together the international community and organizations active in the humanitarian field, both international and local, to mobilize financial resources and push the warring parties to facilitate free and safe access to aid and respect international humanitarian law. She pointed out that France provided €50 million in various humanitarian aid last year and confirmed that it will continue to provide support to the parties that participated in the Jeddah Humanitarian Support Conference to fulfill their commitments.

In the political sphere, the French minister indicated that Paris supports all regional and international peace initiatives and is working with its partners to coordinate peace efforts in Sudan.

 

Source: middle east