{"id":20113615,"date":"2025-02-11T09:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T08:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20113615"},"modified":"2025-02-11T11:23:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T10:23:05","slug":"un-coordinator-urges-rsf-agency-to-remove-persistent-restrictions-on-aid-delivery-in-sudan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/un-coordinator-urges-rsf-agency-to-remove-persistent-restrictions-on-aid-delivery-in-sudan","title":{"rendered":"UN coordinator urges RSF agency to remove \u2018persistent restrictions\u2019 on aid delivery in Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The <\/strong>United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami<\/strong> has called on <\/strong>the Sudanese Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations (SARHO)<\/strong> <\/strong>to allow aid to reach people in need in Sudan<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press statement<\/a> yesterday, Nkweta-Salami, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan, urged SARHO, set up by the Rapid Support Forces<\/a> (RSF) in August 2023, to remove the \u201cpersistent restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles\u201d it imposes on the distribution of life-saving assistance to those in desperate need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite repeated commitments made by SARHO, humanitarian actors continue to face obstruction, undue interference, and operational restrictions that contravene international humanitarian law, and the obligations outlined in the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jeddah Declaration<\/a> was signed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF on May 11, 2023 in the Saudi Arabian port city, to allow safe escape routes and passage of humanitarian aid in the country. Both warring parties, however, have ignored this agreement, and have repeatedly<\/a> hindered the transport and distribution of humanitarian aid<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nkweta-Salami deems it \u201cunacceptable that the humanitarian community in Sudan \u2014 comprising United Nations agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations \u2014 is unable to deliver essential aid due to actions by those who have pledged to facilitate assistance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She therefore called on SARHO \u201cto take immediate and concrete measures\u201d to remove \u201cadministrative and security obstacles that delay or prevent aid from reaching affected people\u201d, to \u201censure the safety of humanitarian workers, assets and operations\u201d, to \u201csimplify bureaucratic procedures for aid convoys\u201d, to \u201cend interference in humanitarian operations\u201d, and to \u201creturn to comprehensive and meaningful engagement through dialogue and negotiations with the humanitarian community to guarantee the delivery of urgent life-saving aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe humanitarian community stands ready to work with SARHO and all parties in good faith to ensure that assistance reaches those in urgent need,\u201d she concluded her appeal. \u201cThe world is watching.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paramilitary RSF controls four of the five Darfur states and parts<\/a> of North Darfur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), \u201cSudan risks becoming the world\u2019s largest hunger crisis<\/a> in recent history as conflict continues to rage across the country, destroying livelihoods, infrastructure, trade routes and supply chains\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA protracted famine is taking hold \u2013 the only place in the world at this level of hunger \u2013 and without humanitarian assistance, hundreds of thousands could die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Famine was first confirmed<\/a> in August in North Darfur\u2019s Zamzam camp and has since spread to four more areas. It is projected in five additional areas in North Darfur, between December and May 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA total of 24.6 million people (around half the population) are acutely food insecure, while 638,000 (the highest anywhere in the world) face catastrophic levels of hunger,\u201d WFP stated in the end of last year.<\/p>\n