With famine threatening nearly 5 million people and clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) causing thousands of deaths and the displacement of 8.5 million people in the space of a year, the international community, represented by French President Emmanuel Macron, has called for a “negotiated settlement to the conflict” in Sudan. This appeal was launched on Monday 15 April at an international humanitarian conference organised in Paris by the EU, France and Germany.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, called for greater coordination in mediation to establish a peace process. “We are leaving too much room for manoeuvre for the belligerents to haggle and procrastinate, taking advantage of the fact that they have different interlocutors”, said Mr Borrell on Monday morning ahead of the conference.
According to the High Representative, the involvement of Russia, “which is seeking to take advantage of the swirling waters”, and other countries is encouraging a game of influence that is fragmenting the talks. “The war would not be so long if there were not parties fuelling it, trying to gain influence over the country - which is a very rich country”, said Mr Borrell.
The conflict between the RSF led by General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo and the SAF led by General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Al-Bourhane broke out on 15 April 2023 (see EUROPE 13163/27). But until now it has remained in the shadow of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, with the international community remaining indifferent.
On Monday, representatives of European countries, the EU, the United Nations, the African Union, as well as the foreign ministers of South Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya and Chad took part in the discussions without the belligerents concerned. Non-governmental organisations and members of Sudanese civil society also took stock of the humanitarian situation.
NGOs have reported massive sexual violence, ethnic massacres and severe malnutrition among the Sudanese population. Twenty-five million people, or half of Sudan’s population, are in need of aid, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which has denounced “an extremely worrying humanitarian vacuum”, AFP reported.
In recent weeks, numerous humanitarian organisations have stepped up their appeals for funding, while some MEPs in the European Parliament have called on the EU to promote a ceasefire and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor (see EUROPE 13387/14).
“I think of those women, those children, the terror in their eyes”, recalled the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, referring to a recent visit to the Sudanese border. And he added: “We are all here today to remind the world of their existence, to show that Europe is committed to alleviating their suffering, to supporting neighbouring countries and to putting an end to this madness, to this humanitarian disaster”.
On Monday evening, at the end of the conference, the French President announced more than €2 billion in humanitarian commitments. EU member states will contribute €900 million. (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)