Brussels, 17/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - During the high-level conference on the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, which was organised in Geneva by the European Union and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday 16 June, €245 million was pledged in vital assistance for the victims of the alarming humanitarian crisis in the country. The UN is calling for US$1.63 billion in donations to address the humanitarian needs by the end of the year in this young state ravaged by civil war.
There are currently 4.6 million people struggling to find food. “One child in three is severely under-nourished and 250,000 children are in danger of dying of starvation”, warned the UN's humanitarian co-ordinator in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, who was expelled from the country in early June.
The European Commission confirmed its €50 million contribution that was announced in April. This now brings the Commission's humanitarian effort for South Sudan and the neighbouring countries affected by this crisis to more than €120 million this year. Pledges made by several EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovenia and the UK) come to a total of €70 million.
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, who recently visited South Sudan, was very pleased about the momentum for solidarity to “alleviate the suffering”. At the start of the conference, he had called on the international community to be “the voice of the voiceless”.
“The situation South Sudan is facing is quite simply unacceptable. It's a man-made crisis. The humanitarian situation is alarming. But the only possibility of getting out of the crisis is a political solution. Unfortunately recent events give no reason for hope. The parties in the conflict have transformed South Sudan into a battlefield. It's unacceptable that a country as rich as South Sudan should need food aid year after year. Those responsible for these tragic conditions must be held accountable for their actions. The international community can no longer keep silent “, Stylianides said. Deploring the fact that the government expelled Toby Lanzer “because he simply told a few truths about the situation in South Sudan”, Stylianides warned that “similar attempts to frighten the international community will not work”. (Aminata Niang)