UN calls on paramilitary to remove restrictions imposed on humanitarian activities
Port Sudan, Sudan (PANA)- The United Nations has for the first time openly accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of obstructing humanitarian relief operations and preventing humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians who badly need assistance in Sudan generally and Darfur in particular.
“I wish to draw attention to the continued impediments to humanitarian operations in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region, where food insecurity and widespread suffering are escalating. “ the UN Resident Representative said in a statement on Monday.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami has stressed that the humanitarian crisis demands urgent and unimpeded access to aid “yet the persistent restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the Sudanese Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations (SARHO), an affiliate of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are preventing life-saving assistance from reaching those in desperate need”.
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan voiced her concern that despite 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 of May 2023.
She warned that “the world is watching", adding that it is “unacceptable” that the humanitarian community in Sudan - comprising United Nations agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations - is unable to deliver essential aid due to actions by those who have pledged to facilitate assistance.
“I call on SARHO to take immediate and concrete measures to return to comprehensive and meaningful engagement through dialogue and negotiations with the humanitarian community as a whole to guarantee the delivery of urgent life-saving aid, as outlined in the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan signed on 11 May 2023,” Salami stressed.
She called on the RSF to work to simplify bureaucratic procedures for aid convoys by eliminating unnecessary approvals and ensuring efficiency in the movement of humanitarian supplies.
The statement stressed that there should be an end to interference in humanitarian operations, “including demands for logistical support or mandatory engagement with selected vendors that risk corruption and aid diversion”.
The statement concluded that the humanitarian community in Sudan called on SARHO to do its utmost to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers, assets and operations to ensure their ability to function without threats or coercion.
“We stand ready to work with all actors in good faith to ensure that assistance reaches those in urgent need.”
-0-PANA MO/RA 10Feb2025
