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UAE pledges $100m to support Sudanese people

The conference was attended by several countries as well as international and regional organisations aiming to further advance peace initiatives in Sudan….reports Asian Lite News

Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, participated in meetings during the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan, held in Paris, which was co-organised by France, Germany and the European Union.

The conference was attended by several countries as well as international and regional organisations aiming to further advance peace initiatives in Sudan.

During the conference, Sheikh Shakhboot affirmed the UAE’s commitment to support international endeavours aimed at achieving a permanent and immediate ceasefire, finding a peaceful solution to the crisis, and continuing to provide aid to the Sudanese people. In this regard, the UAE pledged US$100 million to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan and its neighbouring countries.

The high-level meetings addressed initiatives aiming to establish peace in Sudan, and ways to strengthen them. The meetings culminated in the adoption of a document outlining the principles that support resolving the conflict, which has been ongoing since April 2023, in addition to reinforcing humanitarian and diplomatic efforts to address the challenges faced by the Sudanese people.

sudan crisis (https://twitter.com/UNOCHA_Sudan)

In a speech, Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan commended the extensive efforts of the UAE which aim to put an end to the crisis that has inflicted severe suffering on the Sudanese people.

The UAE also called for a return to the political process in Sudan, and affirmed the importance of international and regional collaboration to advance endeavours towards achieving an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and ensuring the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.

Sheikh Shakhboot emphasised the UAE’s efforts and the tangible initiatives the country has provided to mitigate the severity of the humanitarian conditions in Sudan and neighbouring countries, as the total amount of relief aid provided to those affected by the conflict has reached $150 million, including medical, food and relief supplies.

Additionally, the UAE has established a comprehensive field hospital in Abéché city, in the Republic of Chad, with a cost of $20 million, the second hospital opened by the UAE to support Sudanese refugees.

He emphasised that the UAE’s aid to Sudan and neighbouring countries reflects the unwavering commitment of the wise leadership to provide humanitarian and relief support to the brotherly Sudanese people, and keenness to address humanitarian challenges and continuously extend assistance and humanitarian support to Sudan.

Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan additionally reaffirmed the UAE’s position calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the reaching of a peaceful solution for the crisis by returning to the political process, stressing that this requires prioritising wisdom and reason.

The UAE also called for joint efforts and collaboration to facilitate the ending of the conflict and a resolution to the crisis, to enhance the security and stability of Sudan and prevent further loss of life, while meeting the aspirations of the brotherly Sudanese people for development and prosperity.

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France hosts Sudan conference a year into ‘forgotten’ war

The conference, co-hosted by Germany and the European Union, was to include a ministerial meeting on political matters as well as a humanitarian meeting to raise funds…reports Asian Lite News

France and its allies on Monday sought to drum up hundreds of millions in aid for Sudan a year since civil war erupted, sparking one of the world’s worst and most under-funded humanitarian crises.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and 8.5 million more forced to flee their homes since fighting broke out on April 15 last year between rival generals.

Sudan is experiencing “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory”, with more people displaced inside the country than anywhere else in the world and a fast-growing hunger crisis, the United Nations says.

 At the conference in Paris, France is seeking contributions from the international community and attention to a crisis that officials say is being crowded out of the global conversation by conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

“For a year the Sudanese people have been the victims of a terrible war,” French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said. Yet they had also suffered from “being forgotten” and “indifference”.

“This is the reason for our meetings today: to break the silence surrounding this conflict and mobilise the international community,” he said in opening remarks.

The conference, co-hosted by Germany and the European Union, was to include a ministerial meeting on political matters as well as a humanitarian meeting to raise funds.

Aid workers say a year of war has led to a catastrophe, but the world has turned away from the country of 48 million as conflict rages between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Only 5 per cent of the 3.8-billion-euro ($4.1 billion) target in the UN’s latest humanitarian appeal had been funded ahead of the conference this year, according to France’s foreign ministry.

At the opening, a total of 840 million euros ($895 million) had been pledged after announcements from France, Germany, the European Union and the United States.

A diplomatic source, asking not to be named, said total donations could well top “a billion euros” by the end of the meeting.

On the fifth anniversary of a fire that ravaged the French capital’s Notre Dame cathedral, Save the Children contrasted the lack of donations for Sudan with the international response to the Paris blaze.

“It is staggering that after a fire in which nobody died, donors from across the world were so moved to pledge funds to restore Notre Dame,” said the charity’s country director in Sudan, Arif Noor.

“Meanwhile, children in Sudan are left to fend for themselves as war rages around them, starvation and disease are on the increase and almost the entire country’s child population has been out of school for a year.”

Fourteen million children need humanitarian assistance to survive, Save the Children says.

According to Will Carter, Sudan country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council, civilians in Sudan are “enduring starvation, mass sexual violence, large-scale ethnic killing, and executions”.

“Millions more are displaced, and yet the world continues to look the other way,” he said earlier.

An estimated 1.8 million people have fled Sudan — many to neighbouring Chad, now also suffering a humanitarian crisis — and 6.7 million have been internally displaced.

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‘Sudan conflict claims thousands of civilian lives’

sudan crisis (https://twitter.com/UNOCHA_Sudan)

Monday, April 15, marks the widespread conflict’s first anniversary….reports Asian Lite News

The UN Fact-Finding Mission in Sudan reports that nearly a year of fighting in the country has left thousands of civilians dead and millions more displaced, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

“It said that fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed thousands of civilians since it began in April last year,” said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“Over 6 million people have been displaced internally, while almost 2 million refugees have fled to neighboring countries. Nearly 24 million people need aid,” said the spokesman.

Monday, April 15, marks the widespread conflict’s first anniversary.

Dujarric said France, Germany and the European Union will co-host a Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbors in Paris on Monday.

He said Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Joyce Msuya will attend alongside other UN officials and advocate for scaled-up resources to expand aid operations in Sudan and the region. She will also advocate for improved humanitarian access so that agencies can ensure the timely delivery of life-saving supplies to communities in need.

The spokesman said the secretary-general will have a video message for the conference.

Sudan has been engulfed in violent clashes between the SAF and the RSF since April 15, 2023. The violence has killed thousands of civilians, displaced millions more, and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, especially in the capital of Khartoum.

ALSO READ: Sudan prosecutors accuse ex-PM Hamdok of ‘inciting war’

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Sudan prosecutors accuse ex-PM Hamdok of ‘inciting war’

Fifteen other people, including journalists and politicians who like Hamdok live abroad, face similar charges such as “violating the constitution.”…report Asian Lite News

Sudan’s prosecution accused on Wednesday former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok of “inciting war against the state” and other charges that could carry the death penalty, according to state television.

The prosecutor’s office is loyal to military chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, whose regular armed forces have been at war since April 2023 with paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Fifteen other people, including journalists and politicians who like Hamdok live abroad, face similar charges such as “violating the constitution.”

Hamdok, Sudan’s most prominent civilian politician, was the country’s first premier in a fragile transition following a popular uprising after decades under Omar Al-Bashir’s rule.

Hamdok was placed under house arrest after an October 2021 coup by former allies Dagalo and Burhan.

After a brief reinstatement, Hamdok resigned in January 2022 and fled to Abu Dhabi.

He has since re-emerged as part of a new coalition known as Taqadum.

Sudan’s war has claimed thousands of lives and displaced more than 8.5 million people, according to the UN.

Hamdok has been in talks for several months with Sudanese and regional figures in a bid to put an end to the war.

These efforts have seen Dagalo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), embrace Hamdok.

Dagalo, a former camel and sheep trader, rose to prominence under Bashir, who unleashed Janjaweed militias after an ethnic minority rebellion began in Darfur in 2003.

The militia campaign led to war crime charges against Bashir and others.

When security personnel attacked pro-democracy demonstrators in Khartoum in June 2019 after Bashir’s overthrow, it was the RSF, which emerged from the Janjaweed militia, that witnesses said was at the forefront of the bloodshed, killing at least 128 people.

However, Dagalo’s embrace of civilian partner Hamdok offers the chance to gain international legitimacy, analysts have told AFP.

Tom Perriello, a former congressman recently named to a new position of US special envoy for Sudan, had said that talks to end the Sudan war could start around April 18.

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UAE welcomes UNSC resolution calling for ceasefire in Sudan

Tens of thousands of people have since been killed, 8.3 million have been forcibly displaced and the fighting has additionally destroyed infrastructure and crippled the economy…reports Asian Lite News

The UAE has welcomed the UN Security Council resolution which calls for a ceasefire in Sudan during Ramadan, in light of the continued deterioration of the humanitarian situation.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) expressed hope that this step would lead towards ending the crisis between the Sudanese parties, preventing further suffering of the Sudanese people, and facilitating the arrival of relief and humanitarian aid to the affected areas, especially for the most vulnerable groups, including the sick, children, the elderly and women.

The Ministry underscored its steadfast support for all endeavours working towards de-escalation, achieving a ceasefire, and initiating political dialogue, that facilitates the restoration of peace, safety and security and fulfils the aspirations of the brotherly Sudanese people for stability and prosperity.

Amid the prevailing violence in Sudan, the United Nations Security Council called for a ceasefire to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and allow aid to reach 25 million people in ‘desperate need of food’ with the humanitarian response at breaking point, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday.

According to the report, fourteen countries on the 15-member council on Friday backed the resolution proposed by the United Kingdom, with only Russia abstained on the vote that called on “all parties to the conflict to seek a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue.”

Fighting has been raging in Sudan since April 15, 2023, pitting the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.

Tens of thousands of people have since been killed, 8.3 million have been forcibly displaced and the fighting has additionally destroyed infrastructure and crippled the economy.

Britain’s deputy UN ambassador, James Kariuki, urged the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF “to act on this united international call for peace and to silence the guns”.

The resolution called on all sides to adopt an immediate “cessation of hostilities” ahead of Ramadan, a time for fasting, prayer and reflection for Muslims worldwide.

It urged the warring parties to allow “unhindered” humanitarian access across borders and battlelines.

The resolution also expressed “grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels, or worse, of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur”.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that both sides should “honour the values of Ramadan by honouring a Ramadan cessation of hostilities” as he warned that the conflict threatens Sudan’s unity and “could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions.”

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Rights abuses threaten South Sudan’s stability, warns UN

South Sudanese troops arrive in Congo under EAC regional force mandate.(Photo:Twitter)

Women and girls have been particularly targeted, the report said, while abductions have become a “troubling exploitative enterprise.”…reports Asian Lite News

Mass violence and gross human rights violations in South Sudan continue unabated ahead of landmark elections due to take place in December, a report by the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has warned.

Patterns of violence, violations and entrenched impunity continue to blight the lives of an extremely vulnerable population, the report said, warning that the already dire humanitarian situation in the country will deteriorate further.

The elections, the first since independence from Sudan in 2011, should signify a milestone in efforts to secure a lasting peace since the end of the civil war which raged in South Sudan from 2013, killing some 400,000 people. A peace deal was agreed in 2018 but implementation has been sluggish and violence persists in parts of the country.

The report presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva Friday said the elections face severe political and logistical challenges, and the post-election legal framework remains uncertain.

Crucial steps in the 2018 peace agreement, including the the adoption of a permanent constitution, the unification of armed forces, and the establishment of transitional justice institutions, “remain outstanding or incomplete,” the report said.

“Time is running out for South Sudan’s leaders to implement key commitments, which are the building blocks for peace, for holding the country together, and advancing human rights beyond the elections,” said Commissioner Barney Afako.

The elections were supposed to take place in early 2023 but were postponed for 18 months, following earlier delays.

Nation and state-building efforts have faltered, while predation and repression have been entrenched, according to the report, adding that even as insurgency persists, violence is being instigated by political and military elites.

Women and girls have been particularly targeted, the report said, while abductions have become a “troubling exploitative enterprise.”

South Sudanese children are routinely denied access to health and education entitlements, going hungry, with adverse impacts on the country’s future, the report revealed.

The Commission also found that the armed forces were still using child soldiers. In 2019, the year after the peace agreement, the U.N. found there were still more than 19,000 child soldiers in South Sudan, one of the highest rates in the world.

“The drivers of violence and repression are well known, and while commitments have been made to address them, we continue to see a lack of political will to implement the measures necessary to improve millions of lives,”said Yasmin Sooka, chair of the commission.

South Sudan’s immediate and long-term future hinges on political leaders finally making good on their commitments to bring peace, and reverse cyclical human rights violations, Sooka said.

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700,000 children in Sudan at risk of malnutrition

Catherine Russell, the executive director of UNICEF, echoed Elder’s comments. The “lethal combination of malnutrition, mass displacement, and disease” is quickly growing, she warned in a statement…reports Asian Lite News

At least 700,000 children in Sudan are likely to suffer from the worst form of malnutrition this year, and tens of thousands could die, the United Nations children’s agency has warned.

A 10-month war in Sudan between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country’s infrastructure, prompted warnings of famine and displaced millions of people inside and outside the country.

“The consequences of the past 300 days means that more than 700,000 children are likely to suffer from the deadliest form of malnutrition this year,” James Elder, spokesperson for UNICEF, told a press conference in Geneva on Friday.

“UNICEF won’t be able to treat more than 300,000 of those without improved access and without additional support. In that case, tens of thousands would likely die.”

Elder defined the most dangerous form of malnutrition as severe acute malnutrition, which makes a child more likely to die from diseases such as cholera and malaria. He said 3.5 million children were projected to suffer severe acute malnutrition.

UNICEF provides “ready-to-use therapeutic food”, or RUTF, a life-saving food item that treats severe wasting in children under five years old, to Sudan.

Elder said there had also been a “500 percent increase” in just one year in murders, sexual violence and recruitment of children to fight.

“That equates to terrifying numbers of children killed, raped or recruited. And these numbers are the tip of the iceberg,” he said, reiterating the urgent need for a ceasefire, and for more aid.

Catherine Russell, the executive director of UNICEF, echoed Elder’s comments. The “lethal combination of malnutrition, mass displacement, and disease” is quickly growing, she warned in a statement.

“We need safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access across conflict lines and across borders – and we need international support to help sustain the essential services and systems that children rely on for survival,” she said.

UNICEF is appealing for $840m to help slightly more than 7.5 million children in Sudan this year, but Elder deplored the lack of funds collected in previous appeals.

“Despite the magnitude of needs, last year, the funding UNICEF sought for nearly three-quarters of children in Sudan was not forthcoming,” Elder said.

The UN on Wednesday urged countries not to forget the civilians caught up in the war in Sudan, appealing for $4.1bn to meet their humanitarian needs and support those who have fled to neighbouring countries.

Half of Sudan’s population – approximately 25 million people – need humanitarian assistance and protection, while more than 1.5 million people have fled to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, according to the UN.

“The world needs to stop turning a blind eye,” he said. “Where is our collective humanity if we allow this situation to continue.”

ALSO READ-38 people killed in communal clashes in South Sudan

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38 people killed in communal clashes in South Sudan

A police spokesperson for Lakes state, Maj. Elijah Mabor Makuach, said 19 of the dead and 17 of the wounded were civilians from Warrap state and 19 of the dead and 35 wounded were from Lakes state…reports Asian Lite News

Residents of a swampy area in central South Sudan battled with cattle herders who moved in looking for water and pasture during the dry season, and at least 38 people were killed and 52 suffered gunshot wounds, officials said Thursday.

The fighting started Wednesday and tensions remained high Thursday night, with officials reporting “minor clashes” and apprehension over revenge attacks in the remote area.

The information minister of Warrap state, William Wol Mayom, said fighting took place in the Alor area, which is in Lakes state and borders both Warrap and Unity states.

Mayom said security forces had been sent to calm the situation and to move the cattle herders away from the disputed wet lands.

“The violence has been de-escalated, but minor clashes are still being reported in inaccessible swampy areas and casualties cannot be fully verified,” Mayom said.

A police spokesperson for Lakes state, Maj. Elijah Mabor Makuach, said 19 of the dead and 17 of the wounded were civilians from Warrap state and 19 of the dead and 35 wounded were from Lakes state.

Makuach said young herders from Warrap migrated to the Alor area with their cattle two weeks ago and began burning brush and the temporary shelters of residents. He said the herders were looking for pasture and water in the swampy lands of Alor.

The bloodshed came four days after at least 52 people, including a UN peacekeeper, were killed and 64 wounded by gunmen who attacked villagers in Abyei, an oil-rich region that is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan. Officials said that violence also arose from a dispute over land.

South Sudan won its independence from Sudan in 2011 after more than 39 years of war and then plunged into a ruinous internal conflict from 2013 to 2018 that stagnated development. Many guns remain in the hands of civilians who fought in the conflicts.

ALSO READ-US deplores holdups on aid into Sudan

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US deplores holdups on aid into Sudan

The United States in September announced $130 million in new assistance to Sudan….reports Asian Lite News

The United States on Wednesday implored Sudan’s authorities to let aid into the country, denouncing holdups as the war between rival generals leaves millions in need of help.

Samantha Power, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, said that funding for Sudan’s crisis “remains shockingly low,” with around 25 million people, or more than half of the population, in need of assistance.

But she said that even the aid that arrives faces obstacles due to “ill-disciplined or rapacious” forces on the ground, and bureaucracy “mastered through decades of practice at being obstructionist.”

“Sudan continues to present some of the toughest conditions for humanitarian access in the entire world, and that is saying something,” she said at the US Institute of Peace.

“Unconscionably, supplies are actually there — stuck at the border or in the Port of Sudan as permits to move aid into the country continue to be denied,” she said.

“The fact that a permit could stand in the way of supplies reaching people with life-or-death needs and conditions is horrifying,” she said.

Power said that small-scale local and diaspora groups have filled the vacuum and acknowledged that USAID took “far too long” to channel assistance through them.

“If these relief networks were to collapse, millions of Sudanese civilians would be left with no assistance at all. To prevent that from happening, these groups need more resources,” she said.

The United States in September announced $130 million in new assistance to Sudan.

Violence broke out in April last year between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as they failed to agree on merging as part of a now-derailed transition to democracy.

The war has killed at least 13,000 people, according to a conservative estimate by the Conflict Location and Event Data project, and displaced more than seven million people, according to the United Nations.

The United States and Saudi Arabia led negotiations between the two sides but to little avail, and Washington has increasingly turned to pressure to coax them.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday it was blocking any assets and criminalizing US transactions with the Alkhaleej Bank, which has been an “essential part” of funding for the RSF.

The bank allegedly received $50 million from the country’s central bank immediately before the war broke out.

Also targeted were the Zadna International Company for Development, allegedly used for money laundering and commercial operations of the army, and Al-Fakher Advanced Works, which the Treasury Department said has helped generate millions of dollars through gold exports for the RSF, allowing the paramilitary group to buy weapons.

“The United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal to end this devastating war, promote accountability and help the Sudanese people realize their demands for freedom, peace, and justice,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Earlier this week, the United States offered a reward of up to $5 million for the arrest of a former Sudanese official, Ahmed Harun, who escaped prison and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

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UN steps up support for IDPs, returnees in South Sudan

sudan crisis (https://twitter.com/UNOCHA_Sudan)

According to the IOM, inflation in South Sudan has heavily impacted markets across the country, leading to a rapid increase in the prices of essential commodities, including food…reports Asian Lite News

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN migration agency, has said that it has stepped up cash-based assistance to more than 4,488 vulnerable returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing the fighting in Sudan into South Sudan.

The IOM said on Wednesday that the assistance backed by a $5-million grant from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aims to address their urgent basic needs like food, transportation, shelter, and sanitation, and it also contributes to an increase in household savings that will help the families’ (re)settlement.

“The conflict in Sudan has affected the already fragile economic outlook of South Sudan, particularly for northern states that rely heavily on imports from Sudan, leading to an increase in food prices and fuel costs and exacerbating protection risks, food insecurity, and negative coping mechanisms,” said John McCue, IOM South Sudan acting chief of Mission, in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

The UN agency said it has partnered with South Sudan to implement the $5-million project by providing cash-based assistance to the vulnerable returnees and IDPs in South Sudan, Xinhua news agency reported.

More than 480,000 individuals have fled from Sudan to South Sudan since the outbreak of fighting in Sudan on April 15, 2023, according to the UN.

The IOM said the vast majority of them are returning South Sudanese, who have lost everything they owned during the fighting, and are now returning to areas with limited essential services and into communities with limited coping capacities.

According to the IOM, inflation in South Sudan has heavily impacted markets across the country, leading to a rapid increase in the prices of essential commodities, including food.

“The project’s overall objective was to support the efforts of the government of South Sudan in addressing acute humanitarian needs of the vulnerable displaced population, including returnees fleeing from the Sudan crisis, through providing cash-based assistance,” McCue added.

The IOM said the six-month cash-based intervention project that started in June through December 2023 included one-time vouchers and cash assistance for transportation to areas of return and multipurpose cash assistance and in-kind assistance.

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