44 UN member countries call for protection aid actors in Sudan

March 27, 2024 (GENEVA) – The warring parties in Sudan must ensure the security of humanitarian actors and refrain from diverting life-saving supplies for themselves, a top United Kingdom official to the United Nations said on Tuesday.

In a joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Simon Manley, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations said the warring parties to hold their personnel accountable when they go against these principles,

At least 44 UN countries signed the Joint Statement on Sudan Humanitarian Access on behalf of the Troika for Sudan – USA, Norway and the United Kingdom.

The signatories welcomed the organisation of a humanitarian conference for Sudan and neighbouring countries next month in Paris, saying the ongoing conflict has had catastrophic humanitarian consequences for people of Sudan.

Nearly 18 million people are suffering crisis levels of food insecurity. Humanitarian workers are blocked from reaching the people in need.  The longer this conflict lasts, and the further fighting spreads, the greater that need will become.

“We call on all parties to accept a Ramadan ceasefire, in line with Security Council Resolution 2724,” partly reads the joint statement.

The statement said the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) withdrawal of permission for aid deliveries through the major crossing points from Chad into Darfur is indefensible, has exacerbated the suffering in Darfur, where civilians are already in dire need after suffering relentless atrocities by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

“We call on the SAF to uphold fully their commitments to facilitate cross-line and cross-border operations, re-open fully the vital Adre crossing point, and refrain from any measures that prevent life-saving aid reaching those in need,” it stated.

According to the joint statement, the vital work of local responders, UN agencies, and international partners must be allowed to proceed without any interference.

“We call on all parties to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and the Jeddah Declaration, and to allow full, rapid, safe, and unhindered cross-border and cross-line humanitarian access, so that we can, collectively, protect Sudan’s people from even more suffering and death,” it stressed.

Concerns have been raised about the likely increase in the levels of food security in Sudan should humanitarian assistance is prevented from reaching the needy.

(ST)