Friday, March 22, 2024

FULL TEXT: UK statement at the UN Security Council: The risk of famine in Sudan is of extreme concern

NOTE, the UK and the US are permanent Members of the UN Security Council. The UK is the penholder on Sudan. The US is penholder on South Sudan, Sudan/South Sudan, Sudan sanctions and South Sudan sanctions. 


Here is a transcript of a speech delivered in the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan by UK Ambassador James Kariuki on 20 March 2024.


Speech

The risk of famine in Sudan is of extreme concern: UK statement at the UN Security Council


Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki at the UN Security Council meeting on Sudan 


From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and James Kariuki

Published 20 March 2024


Location: United Nations, New York

Delivered on: 20 March 2024 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)


Thank you, President. I thank Ms Wosornu, Mr Martina and Mr Skau for their briefing. We are grateful to OCHA, WFP and FAO for alerting the Council to this urgent crisis. And to Switzerland and Guyana for convening the Council so swiftly. I welcome the participation of the Representative of Sudan.


President, the risk of famine in Sudan, set out in OCHA’s White Note, is of extreme concern.  After a bad harvest, severe hunger will deepen, harming vulnerable people the most. Most of the fatalities will be children under five. We pay tribute to the UN, international and Sudanese humanitarian staff working in extreme conditions to alleviate this suffering.


I’ll make three points:


First, the White Note is clear that obstruction of humanitarian access by the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces is resulting in the starvation of the Sudanese people. Using starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited by international humanitarian law. 


The Sudanese authority’s decision to allow extremely limited humanitarian access from Chad is nowhere near enough to meet the soaring humanitarian needs, especially whilst crossline access remains completely blocked.


We call on the warring parties to urgently ensure and facilitate unimpeded access via all routes, both cross-border and crossline, including through the vital route at Adre.


Second, we need increased humanitarian funding.


The United Kingdom has provided over $54 million in humanitarian aid to the people of Sudan this financial year. And we are providing financial support to those fleeing to neighbouring countries.


We welcome the upcoming France, German and EU-hosted pledging event, and appeal to the international community to increase funding to avoid the horrific scenario of one million excess deaths in Sudan this year. 


But while funding is important, this man-made crisis ultimately requires a political solution.


So third, the fighting needs to stop. The world is witnessing the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of a conflict that should never have begun.  


The failure of the SAF and RSF to implement a Ramadan ceasefire and immediately facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access in line with Council resolution 2724, is unacceptable. We call on both to stop fighting immediately and return to negotiations.


Given the clear warning of impending famine, it is imperative that the Council remains siezed of this issue and that we hold ourselves, and the warring parties, accountable for delivering the recommendations in the White Note.


Published 20 March 2024


View original: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/the-risk-of-famine-in-sudan-is-of-extreme-concern-uk-statement-at-the-un-security-council


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Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Famine looms in Sudan war survivors tell of killings

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: The following report by the BBC is not balanced. It is mostly filled with graphic news of violence against males and sexual violence and rape against girls and women in Sudan. Not a word about justice or sexual violence and rape being carried out on boys and men. Why not? The report says sexual violence is a taboo topic in Sudan. It doesn't explain rape is rife in all wars not just in Sudan. "Famine looms in Sudan" says the title but the content does little to educate readers about the reasons for the looming famine and the lack of telecoms and internet connectivity, humanitarian aid and access for aid. The report says nothing new, uses cobbled together news from old reports and uses exploitative photos of vulnerable people. Shame on the BBC for allowing such shoddy reporting on Sudan where babies, children and adults are starving to death and famine looms. What does the BBC expect the readers of this report to learn, I wonder. At the end of the report I have selected and added details of the National Male Survivor Helpline and Online Service run by Safeline. 
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BBC News - 20 March 2024
Famine looms in Sudan as civil war survivors tell of killings and rapes
By Feras Kilani in Sudan & Mercy Juma in Chad
Additional reporting by Peter Ball and Mohamed Ibrahim, verification by Peter Mwai
WARNING: This article contains accounts of physical and sexual violence

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.

National Male Survivor Helpline and Online Service run by Safeline, provides emotional support, advice and information for children and adults who identify as male affected by recent/historic sexual abuse.
Phone: 0808 800 5005
Text: 07860 065187
Webchat available via the website
Visit the Safeline website

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68606201


END

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Ali Karti, SG of Sudan’s Islamic Movement, widely seen as a mastermind of Sudan's war, has now announced a truce with RSF will never be accepted

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Dame Rosalind Marsden in the following analysis 'Sudan's forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed' says there needs to be a concerted diplomatic push at the highest level: "the aim must be to change the calculations of the generals and counter the influence of hard-line Islamists from the Bashir-era who are blocking negotiations. This requires pressing for a coordinated mediation process to prevent warring parties’ forum-shopping between mediation initiatives; targeting the financial flows and military supplies fuelling the war; and supporting efforts to unify those Sudanese working for the goal of democratic transition."


It is difficult to see why Dame Rosalind is recommending "a coordinated mediation process" as even she says "Ali Karti, the Secretary-General of Sudan’s Islamic Movement, who is widely seen as a mastermind of the war, has now announced that a truce with the RSF will never be accepted." 

Many Sudanese civilians online are saying they don't want Sudan to be led by Gen. Burhan and his Islamist regime nor by Hemeti and his terrorist militia. I've not seen a solution. Maybe the people could join hands in peace.

Note, in her analysis Dame Rosalind rightly publicises the Emergency Response Rooms, aka ERRs, by saying: "Donors will also have to step up to address the spiralling food crisis, by reducing the UN funding gap and supporting grassroots first responders in the Emergency Response Rooms.' 
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From Chatham House
EXPERT COMMENT
By Dame Rosalind Marsden
Associate Fellow, Africa Programme 
Email Rosalind  Twitter

Dated Thursday, 14 March 2024 - here is a copy in full:

Sudan’s forgotten war: A new diplomatic push is needed

After nearly a year of devastating conflict, there is little sign of a ceasefire. Concerted high-level international pressure is needed to change the calculations of the generals and support a democratic transition.

Image — People rally in Wad Madani, Sudan, in December 2023. 

(Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

On 8 March, the UN Security Council adopted a UK-drafted resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the month of Ramadan, a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue, compliance with international humanitarian law and unhindered humanitarian access.


Eleven months into the war, this is the first time that the Council has been able to agree on a resolution. The mandate of the UN Panel of Experts that monitors the sanctions regime in Darfur was also renewed by the Council. Does this signify hope that efforts to end the war might gather momentum? Or is Sudan likely to face a protracted conflict?


The war between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abdel Fatah Al Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as ‘Hemedti’) is a competition for power and resources between rival factions of the regular armed forces.


But it is also rooted in Sudan’s long history of internal conflict, marginalization of the peripheries and lack of accountability for atrocity crimes. Both the SAF’s officer corps and the RSF are creations of former President Omer al-Bashir’s regime. 


Each has shown disregard for the lives of Sudanese civilians by waging war in densely populated urban areas. The scale of destruction is unprecedented in Sudan’s modern history.


With the world’s attention focused on Gaza and Ukraine, the war receives woefully little high-level political, parliamentary or international media attention, raising serious questions about double standards in dealing with global crises, particularly conflicts in Africa.


A humanitarian catastrophe


Sudan is suffering from a humanitarian disaster, with a looming famine and the world’s biggest displacement crisis: 8 million people are newly displaced inside or outside the country, in addition to over 3 million displaced by previous conflicts.


The head of the World Food Programme has warned that the war risks creating the world’s largest hunger crisis. Yet the UN’s Humanitarian Response Plan for Sudan is only 4 per cent funded.


The conflict has the potential to destabilize already fragile neighbouring countries, create large new migration flows to Europe, and attract extremist groups.


Meanwhile, regional actors are fighting a proxy war in the country, giving military, financial and political support to the warring parties. 


The involvement of Russia and Iran has given the war a geopolitical dimension linked to Putin’s war in Ukraine – partly funded with Sudanese gold – and competition for influence on the Red Sea coast.


Food as a weapon of war


Both RSF and SAF forces have used hunger as a weapon of war. The RSF has looted humanitarian warehouses and besieged cities. 


The SAF-controlled Humanitarian Aid Commission has systematically withheld authorization for crossline movement of life-saving aid to RSF-controlled areas.


One limited outcome from recent international pressure has been the partial reversal of the SAF’s ban on cross-border humanitarian access from Chad into Darfur. The de facto SAF authorities in Port Sudan have agreed to open limited border crossings from Chad and South Sudan. However, MSF International have criticized this as a partial solution at best.


The UN will need to monitor implementation to ensure neutrality in the distribution of aid, while intensifying pressure for unhindered cross-border and crossline humanitarian access.


Donors will also have to step up to address the spiralling food crisis, by reducing the UN funding gap and supporting grassroots first responders in the Emergency Response Rooms.


Growing pressure for a cessation of hostilities


The fact that the UN Secretary-General, the UN Security Council, the African Union, and the League of Arab States joined forces to call for a Ramadan truce, represents a significant increase in pressure on the warring parties.


Nevertheless, Ramadan has started with further fierce fighting. It is unclear how the Security Council expected a truce to take effect without prior diplomatic engagement to agree an implementation and monitoring mechanism. 


Command and control is fragmented on both sides and the warring parties have failed to abide by previous temporary truces negotiated through the Saudi/US-sponsored Jeddah Platform.


Moreover, Sudan’s security state has no history of respecting the month of Ramadan: the current war began during the holy month on 15 April 2023, and peaceful protestors were brutally dispersed in Khartoum on 3 June 2019.


Burhan cautiously commended the Secretary-General’s proposal for a Ramadan truce, but the Islamist-controlled Ministry of Foreign Affairs and SAF’s General Yasir al Atta poured cold water on the idea by announcing a list of preconditions amounting to surrender by the RSF.


8 million


Number of newly displaced people as a result of the war in Sudan.


This response follows a familiar pattern: any indication by Burhan of readiness to negotiate is immediately negated by Islamist elements of the Bashir regime, who hope to return to power on the back of an SAF victory. 


Ali Karti, the Secretary-General of Sudan’s Islamic Movement, who is widely seen as a mastermind of the war, has now announced that a truce with the RSF will never be accepted.


Both sides still seem determined to gain the upper hand militarily. The SAF, hitherto on the back foot, has launched an offensive to regain lost territory in Omdurman and Gezira state, supported by Iranian drones, Islamist militias, the Special Operations Forces of the Bashir-era Intelligence Service, former Darfuri rebels and armed civilians. 


The RSF, whose human rights violations have alienated much of the population, welcomed the UN’s call for a truce, but are also engaged in recruitment, particularly among Arab tribes in Darfur.


The longer the war continues, the greater the risk that it will evolve into a full-scale ethnicized civil war, and that the country will be engulfed by famine.


A concerted diplomatic push


Concerted diplomacy at the highest level is therefore urgently needed. The aim must be to change the calculations of the generals and counter the influence of hard-line Islamists from the Bashir-era who are blocking negotiations.


This requires pressing for a coordinated mediation process to prevent warring parties’ forum-shopping between mediation initiatives; targeting the financial flows and military supplies fuelling the war; and supporting efforts to unify those Sudanese working for the goal of democratic transition.


Civilians are the main victims of the war and should be involved in each stage of any peace process. They, not the generals, should shape Sudan’s post-war transition. Those responsible for atrocities must be held accountable.  


There has been some recent evolution in regional dynamics. Egypt and the UAE, who have been backing opposite sides, co-facilitated RSF/SAF talks in Manama in January, alongside the US, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.


There are also signs of a stronger international commitment to active diplomatic engagement. The AU has created a High-Level Panel on Sudan, while the US has appointed a dedicated Special Envoy. The Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General has been empowered by the Security Council to complement and coordinate regional peace efforts.


But a strong push is now needed to silence the guns and push the warring parties to resume talks under the Jeddah Platform, preferably in an expanded format. More visible, high-level political commitment is badly needed, if the conflict in Sudan is not to remain a forgotten war.


This article was produced with support from the Cross-Border Conflict Evidence, Policy and Trends (XCEPT) research programme, funded by UK International Development. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.

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Postscript from Sudan Watch Editor:

Dame Rosalind Marsden was the EU Special Representative for Sudan from September 2010 until October 2013. Before joining the EU, she had a long career in the British diplomatic service, including postings as Consul-General in Basra, British Ambassador to Sudan and British Ambassador to Afghanistan. 


She has also served as Head of the United Nations Department and Director (Asia-Pacific) in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. 


Earlier in her career she served twice in the British Embassy in Tokyo and spent two years on secondment to the private sector, working in the corporate finance department of an investment bank. 


She received her BA in Modern History from Somerville College, Oxford and her D.Phil from St Antony’s College, Oxford.


View original: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/03/sudans-forgotten-war-new-diplomatic-push-needed

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Related 


Chatham House - 18 December 2023 

How a transnational approach can better manage the conflict in Sudan

Approaching conflict as a national issue sidelines a complex web of transnational influences and threatens prospects for sustainable peace.

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/12/how-transnational-approach-can-better-manage-conflict-sudan

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UN News - 3 February 2024

Youth-led ‘emergency rooms’ shine rays of hope in war-torn Sudan

© ERR Emergency response rooms are finding innovative approaches to providing rapid assistance to millions facing war in Sudan. 

END