The Sudanese people have endured “unbearable suffering” since the conflict started just over a year ago when an outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “brutally interrupted the political transition”, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said.

“This is a crisis of epic proportions; it is also wholly man-made,” she told ambassadors, stressing that both parties have failed to protect civilians.

Over 14,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands wounded, half the country’s population – 25 million people – need lifesaving assistance and more than 8.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including 1.8 million refugees.

Widespread atrocities

“Allegations of atrocities abound,” she said, citing reports of widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, of the recruitment of children by parties to the conflict and of extensive use of torture and prolonged arbitrary detention by both parties.

She said the UN stands ready to redouble efforts with its multilateral partners – including the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority for Development, the League of Arab States and key Member States and partners – to help end hostilities and foster inclusive and effective international mediation.

She said the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, has engaged with national, regional and international stakeholders to promote the coordination of mediation initiatives, and the recent humanitarian conference in Paris emphasised the need for unity of purpose and action to end the fighting in Sudan.

External actors fuelling war

At the same time, all warring parties must uphold their obligations under international law and adhere to the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, Ms. DiCarlo said, calling on all actors to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further bloodshed.

However the rival armies have been able to keep fighting in no small part thanks to the material support they receive from outside the Sudan, she said, adding that these external actors continue to flout the Council’s sanctions regime to support a political settlement and to fuel the conflict.

“This is illegal, it is immoral and it must stop,” she said. “At this critical moment, in addition to global support for aid, we need to redouble our efforts to achieve peace in the Sudan.”

‘The elephant in the room’

Echoing that point, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, High Representative for the Silencing the Guns initiative of the African Union Commission, said external interference has been “a major factor” stymying efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and to stop the war.

“External support in terms of supply of war materiel and other means has been the main reason why this war has lasted for so long,” he said via videolink from Post Sudan. “It is the elephant in the room.”

For its part, the African Union has been proactive, he said, recalling its swift action five days after the outbreak of fighting to form a mechanism to coordinate efforts as well as its subsequent drafting of a roadmap to peace and appointment of a High-Level Panel on Sudan.

Decades of development wiped out

Yet, the ongoing year-long war has already set Sudan back several decades, he said, adding that “it will take more than a generation to rebuild Sudan to its pre-war state.”

He said the war has also led to egregious violations of international human rights law, international humanitarian law and the laws governing the conduct of war.

“It must end,” he said, emphasising that the Jeddah process must speedily recommence with the full participation of the African Union to bring about an unconditional ceasefire to end Sudan’s suffering.

Humanitarian conditions worsening

Edem Wosornu, director of operations and advocacy at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that one year on, the outlook for the people of Sudan is “bleak”.

Extremely concerning levels of conflict-related sexual violence continue to be reported, and aid workers, health workers and local volunteers are being killed, injured, harassed and arrested with impunity, she said, speaking on behalf of UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths.

In addition, the spiralling violence in recent weeks poses an extreme and immediate danger to the 800,000 civilians who reside in El Fasher and risks triggering further clashes in other parts of Darfur, where more than nine million people are in dire need of assistance, she said.

Famine prevention plan

Meanwhile, food insecurity in Sudan has reached record levels, with 18 million people facing acute hunger, a number that is set to surge as the lean season fast approaches, Ms. Wosornu said, noting that OCHA had launched a famine prevention plan last week.

“If we are to avert famine, the parties must take urgent steps to facilitate humanitarian relief for all civilians in need, as required under international humanitarian law,” she said.

What is needed now is scaled up action to protect humanitarian workers to deliver lifesaving aid, more funds and more international engagement to silence the guns, she said.

‘The people of Sudan cannot wait’

“We need a fundamental change in the way we support Sudan,” Ms. Wosornu said. “The people of Sudan cannot wait another month, week or even day for their suffering to stop. Every day that passes puts more lives at risk.”

Expressing gratitude for pledges made at the recent Paris humanitarian conference on Sudan, she said funds must be disbursed as soon as possible and that “we have a very narrow window to respond”.

“Within the coming six weeks, we need to preposition lifesaving supplies before the rainy season starts in June. We need to get seeds into the hands of farmers before the planting season in June, and cash into the pockets of displaced people before they fall even deeper into hunger.”

While OCHA will “do everything we can”, Ms. Wosornu said “we cannot do this alone.”

“We need your help,” she told Council members. “Now is the time to act, before it is too late. Millions of lives depend on us.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

The African Risk Capacity, jointly with the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (DARBE), the coordinating Department within the African Union (AU) Commission for ARC Agency matters, are preparing for the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 14). The session, which will run from 22 – 23 April 2024 at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will convene Senior Government Officials on the first day and a Ministerial Session on the second day.

The CoP, which is the supreme decision-making body of ARC Agency, has the responsibility to provide the final approvals on critical strategic matters that define the ARC Group’s work after Board reviews and endorsements. It is attended by all the countries that have signed or ratified/acceded to the ARC Treaty pursuant to the decisions of the Tenth and Thirteenth Conferences of the Parties in April 2021 and April 2023 respectively.  

CoP 14 comes at a time when the ARC Group is working to scale up its operations towards increasing its reach and impact across the African continent. This is also a critical time for the African continent, one of the hardest-hit by the climate crisis and disease outbreaks. Owing to multiple climate-induced disaster events such as droughts, floods, cyclones etc., the continent is facing extreme food insecurity and costly destruction of property and infrastructure, severely impacting lives and livelihoods and eroding development gains already made.

ARC Agency was established under the Agreement for the Establishment of the ARC Agency (ARC Treaty) as a Specialized Agency of the AU with a mandate to help Member States improve their capacities to better plan, prepare and respond to weather-induced events and disease outbreaks. The ARC Treaty was adopted by Plenipotentiaries of AU Member States on 23 November 2012. To date, the ARC Treaty has been signed by 38 Member States and ratified by 13. It definitively entered into force on 15 April 2020 following the deposit of the 10th instrument of ratification with the Chairperson of the AU Commission by Niger, in accordance with Article 26 (3) of the ARC Treaty.

Unless decided otherwise, the Fourteenth Session is an open session and non-signatory countries and partners will participate, without the right to vote. Amongst other things, CoP 14 will, inter alia, consider and take decisions regarding (i) activities of the ARC Group (ARC Agency and ARC Ltd) since the thirteenth session of the CoP; (ii) report of the ARC Group Board; (iii) appointment of the ARC Group Director General; (iv) selection of ARC Group Board Members; (v) ARC Agency’s 2024 Programme of Work and Budget; (vi) report on implementation of Governance Reform; (vii) sustainability of ARC Agency; and (viii) ARC Treaty signature and ratification.

As the ARC Group strives for continuous improvement, the organisation looks forward to outcomes from the CoP 14 to shape and grow this African organisation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed James T. Bot of Nigeria as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Comoros, with the host Government’s approval.  His start date is tomorrow.

Mr. Bot has more than 20 years of experience in humanitarian affairs and response, development, project management, business development and peacekeeping. He currently serves as Head of Service of Civil Affairs in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).  Prior to this, Mr. Bot headed the Relief, Reintegration and Protection Section of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Before joining the United Nations, he worked in the African region with non-governmental organizations, including CARE International, Oxfam GB and Médecins Sans Frontières.

He holds a law degree from the University of Jos, Nigeria, and a master’s degree in human rights and democratization from the European Inter-University Centre in Venice, Italy.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Secretary-General.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita delivered, on Thursday, 18 April, 2024 by videoconference, a speech during the North Africa regional ministerial conference under the theme of “Pan-Africanism and Migration”.

On this oocasion, Mr. Nasser Bourita affirmed that the African identity is deeply rooted in Morocco’s institutions and political choices, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

Mr. Nasser Bourita pointed out that the Kingdom is strongly enriched by its assertive Afro-optimism, reflected in its proactive African policy encompassing various areas of cooperation and its humanist policy on migration.

Morocco, he added, has advocated a humanist and supportive approach, adopting in 2013 a new migration policy based on a participatory approach comprising various aspects, including respect for human rights, compliance with international law, international cooperation and shared responsibility.

As a symbol of this Afro-optimism, the Kingdom’s migration policy has enabled the regularization of tens of thousands of migrants in a complicated regional and international context, said Mr. Nasser Bourita.

Co-chaired by Mr. Nasser Bourita and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Togolese Abroad, Mr. Robert Dussey, whose country chairs the High Committee in charge of the agenda of the Decade of African Roots and Diaspora, this video conference meeting takes place as part of the preparatory process for the 9th Pan-African Congress (October 29-November 02 in Lomé).

The organization by the Kingdom of Morocco of this Conference, which will be attended by several ministers and senior African officials, is a continuation of the Kingdom’s pioneering role in the field of migration, in line with the enlightened vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, Leader of the African Union on the migration issue.

It is also an opportunity to reaffirm and recall the Kingdom of Morocco’s commitment and leadership on migration issues, and its initiatives to promote safe and responsible migration at continental and international levels.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kingdom of Morocco – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.