Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The Supreme Coordinator for Foreign and Security Policies in the European Union, Josep Borrell, and the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, participate in Paris today, Monday, in the “International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbors,” which is co-organized by the European Union, France, and Germany. According to a statement issued by Borrell's office in Brussels
This event marks one year since the outbreak of the conflict, which generated the largest displacement crisis in the world.
On Monday morning, before the start of the conference, Josep Borrell and Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčić will hold a press conference with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stephane Ségourny and the German Minister. For Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock.
High Representative Borrell and Commissioner Lenarčić will then deliver keynote addresses at the round-table session of the conference and Commissioner Lenarčić will also chair the second part of the conference on “Humanitarian Response and Challenges in Sudan and Neighboring Countries.”
Throughout the day, Borrell will hold a series of bilateral meetings, including with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Djibouti, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. High Representative Borrell and Commissioner Lenarčić will also attend the conclusion of the humanitarian conference alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
According to what was stated in the United Nations daily news bulletin, “Killing, rape, hunger, corpses filling the streets, Sudan slid with these atrocities - and many others - into a devastating war that broke out a year ago on April 15, 2023, leaving about 15 thousand dead, 8 million displaced, and 25 One million people are in urgent need of assistance.
Aid and human rights officials have warned of atrocities by all sides, impending famine and the consequences of aid restrictions.
Justin Brady, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, warned of growing suffering and believed it would likely get worse. “Without more resources, we will not be able to stop the famine or provide basic assistance,” he said.
He noted that most of the food rations people receive from agencies such as the World Food Program have already been cut in half. He said that the bleak conditions on the ground reached emergency level shortly after the outbreak of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April 2023.
Acute hunger and imminent starvation
Due to the deteriorating security situation, international agencies were forced to move from the capital, Khartoum, only a few weeks after the outbreak of fighting, to Port Sudan - eastern Sudan.
In an interview with UN News, Brady spoke via video from Port Sudan, where humanitarian efforts are continuing to deliver life-saving aid. He said: “Our greatest concerns relate to the conflict areas in Khartoum itself and the Darfur states.”
While data indicate that 5 million Sudanese are one step away from famine and nearly 18 million face acute hunger, the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan - whose activities cost $2.7 billion - has received only 6 percent of the total required funding.
Although humanitarian supplies are available in Port Sudan, the main challenge is ensuring that they reach those in need safely. These efforts are hampered by the looting of aid depots, bureaucratic hurdles, insecurity and a complete blackout of communications.
“Sudan is often referred to as a forgotten crisis, but I wonder how many people in the world know what is happening in Sudan that they can forget about it,” Brady said.