United Nations: The suffering of the Sudanese will increase if the weapons do not fall silent

20 September 2023 (UN) – More than six million people in Sudan are "one step away from famine," said the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, and stressed that these numbers will continue to increase if weapons do not fall silent.

The Sudan crisis tops the list of events at the United Nations headquarters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the general debate of the General Assembly, through a high-level ministerial meeting organized by the United Nations and the governments of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the European Union and the African Union.

The meeting focused on "the cost of inaction in Sudan" and called for conflict resolution and further support for the humanitarian response inside and outside the country.

Speaking at the meeting, Ms. DiCarlo said that both sides, the army and the RSF, are far from winning but continue their "brutal" fight, while civilians continue to pay "a heavy price for this senseless violence".

DiCarlo said Sudan now has the highest number of internally displaced people in the world, with 7.1 million people, including 3.3 million children.

The Under-Secretary-General noted that the conflict in Sudan is fuelled by cross-border mobilization, including along tribal lines, as well as the flow of fighters, weapons and ammunition from outside the country.

"This threatens to plunge the region into a wider conflict. All communities and regional actors must refrain from taking sides. Instead, they must focus their efforts on preventing further escalation and ending violence."

Ms. DiCarlo stressed that political inaction has already cost the Sudanese people a heavy cost and called for increased "effective diplomacy".

"The international community can and must do more to help stop the fighting and find a path to a political settlement. Sudan's warring parties must end the fighting and return to Jeddah to reach a genuine ceasefire that would lead to a lasting cessation of hostilities. This will require political will, a strong monitoring and verification mechanism, and the ability to hold warring parties accountable."

The war in Sudan "shattered the hopes and aspirations of the Sudanese men and women whose determination and sacrifice led to the December 2018 revolution, which inspired us all around the world," she said.

She said many in Sudan were now concerned that the conflict would return the country to "dark days" and called on the international community to stand with the Sudanese people to prevent this from happening.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths said the country was facing a humanitarian crisis of "epic proportions" and warned that the situation could deteriorate into a catastrophe that "could and will swallow the entire country and then the region" unless urgent international action is taken.

He said the humanitarian community is doing everything it can to scale up the response and has so far reached 3.5 million people, but the humanitarian response plan remains severely underfunded, with only about 30 per cent of the funds needed to support people inside the country.

Mr. Griffiths also noted that the ability of humanitarian workers to work is hampered by a highly dangerous and complex environment, as well as access restrictions and bureaucratic barriers.

The Emergency Relief Coordinator expressed deep concern about the intensification of the fighting and said: "Allowing this situation to descend into an all-out civil war would be a human tragedy, especially since it can and must be prevented."

Mr. Griffiths said today's meeting was a reminder of the need to take urgent action and to inform the Sudanese people "that they have not forgotten".

"Let us resolve to say: not this time, not under our eyes to the worst, most complex and cruel humanitarian catastrophe we have seen in the world today."