London
On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees issued a harsh warning about Sudan’s worsening humanitarian catastrophe, highlighting the urgent need for increased international attention, media coverage and aid.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Filippo Grandi highlighted the crisis, which has been continuing as one of the world’s largest since April 2023, but remains severely underreported. The civil war between the Sudanese and the swift support forces plunged the country into chaos.
Despite repeated claims that it represents the biggest humanitarian crisis on the planet, Grandi expressed his dissatisfaction with the lack of global awareness of the worsening situation in Sudan.
He said conflicts in other parts of the world receive great visibility, but Sudan continues to be overlooked.
“I’ve been to many conferences on Sudan, and I’ve heard every time and naturally, this is the biggest humanitarian catastrophe on the planet. And yet, we’ve hardly heard of Sudan. Hmm. I think we need to look back on that,” Grandi said.
To address this, he highlighted the need for greater media access to report the reality of the conflict, and said that restrictions on international coverage prevented the crisis from paying necessary attention. He insisted.
“If you want to mobilize the resources you need, you need the visibility you lack,” he added.
Grandi reiterated the feelings shared by former Sudan’s UN envoy, Volker Pertes, and emphasized the need to change from a military victory idea to a peace-focused one.
He said millions of Sudanese refugees will not return home unless hostilities end, and called on the factions to fight to agree to a ceasefire related to Ramadan.
Grandi urged all involved to be wary of the call for an immediate halt of combat.
Humanitarian access and local impact
Beyond the war-torn country itself, the Sudan crisis is at a devastating cost to neighbors, particularly Chad and South Sudan, who are struggling to deal with the ongoing influx of refugees, he says. Ta.
“In addition to the millions who have evacuated within Sudan, there are 300,000 people who have fled the country,” Grandi said.
He warned that the lack of humanitarian aid could trigger a movement of secondary movement, particularly towards North Africa and Europe.
“From a financial support perspective, if humanitarian responses continue to be extremely poor both within and outside Sudan, then no one should be surprised if they start seeing secondary movements in people going to North Africa… warning .
He also commented on the freezing of the USAID fund by the new US administration, which has complex humanitarian efforts. Grandi acknowledged that the exemption was negotiated to ensure that critical aid could still be delivered, particularly for Sudan.
The Anadolu Agency website only includes some of the news articles offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS) and in summary format. Please contact us for subscription options.
