UAE Raises Alarm Over Famine In Sudan, Praises UNSC’s Focus On Crisis

The United Arab Emirates is alarmed by the dire humanitarian crisis unfolding in Sudan, with severe food insecurity affecting over 25 million Sudanese citizens.

We express our deepest concern over the declared famine in parts of North Darfur, particularly in Zamzam camp, which shelters over half a million displaced people. We also highlight the likelihood of famine in the Abu Shouk and Al Salam camps, and the catastrophic hunger conditions affecting people in nine additional Sudanese states.

The UAE welcomes today’s UN Security Council meeting, which highlights the urgency of the situation in Sudan. It is imperative that the international community maintains its focus on Sudan.

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The UAE affirms that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan demands an emergency response that helps secure a ceasefire and facilitates the swift delivery of humanitarian aid. Trucks full of lifesaving aid are held on the border of Sudan while thousands starve across the country, including in Zamzam Camp and Northern Darfur. The Sudanese Armed Forces must lift its restrictions on humanitarian access, and the Rapid Support Forces must ensure that organizations and humanitarian workers are allowed to operate safely, without fear of attack, in order to reach people in need.

The UAE unequivocally condemns the use of starvation as a weapon of war, the denial of humanitarian access for civilians in need, and the indiscriminate attacks that make it impossible for people to receive assistance—these are clear violations of international humanitarian law.

The UAE stresses that the harrowing developments on the ground require the urgent scale-up of cross-border and cross-line humanitarian access to save millions of lives. The international community cannot allow the people of Sudan to be used as a political bargaining chip.

The UAE calls on the Security Council to utilize all the tools at its disposal to address the catastrophic situation in Sudan. This includes considering, if necessary, authorizing UN humanitarian agencies to reach people in need across the country through both cross-line and cross-border routes. The Council’s decisive action can be critical in coordinating international efforts to bring in the aid necessary to stop this famine through neighboring countries.

The UAE once again reiterates its call on the warring parties to agree to an immediate and permanent ceasefire and to prioritize human life over military objectives. It urges the unhindered, safe, rapid, and sustained passage of humanitarian assistance across the country and calls for good faith engagement in peace talks towards a civilian-led transition.

To that end, the UAE appreciates the efforts of the United States in organizing the upcoming ceasefire talks in Geneva and those of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland for co-hosting. The UAE will continue to support all ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a peaceful resolution to this conflict.

The UAE remains committed as a long-standing humanitarian partner in Sudan. It has allocated USD 70 million to address the urgent humanitarian needs in Sudan through UN agencies and humanitarian organizations, and USD 30 million to regional countries to support Sudanese refugees in neighboring countries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Newsx staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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