Acting UN relief chief urges swift action to protect Sudanese civilians amid crisis

Acting UN Relief Chief Joyce Msuya during the UN General Assembly high-level Ministerial event
Acting UN Relief Chief Joyce Msuya delivers opening remarks at the UN General Assembly's high-level Ministerial event, 'The Cost of Inaction: Urgent Support to Scale Up the Humanitarian Response in Sudan and the Region.' Photo: OCHA/Paolo Palmero

Remarks by Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator during the High-Level Side Event at the 79th Session of the General Assembly on “The Cost of Inaction: Urgent and Collective Support to Scale Up the Humanitarian Response in Sudan and the Region”

New York, 25 September 2024

As delivered

I want to start by thanking all our co-hosts here on the panel for partnering with the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to convene this hugely important and urgent event.

Thank you to our young Sudanese climate and peace activist, Ms. Nisreen Elsaim, for participating to give her testimony.

And thank you to all for attending.

Excellencies, this time last year, we gathered in an almost identical meeting.

We warned of a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions in Sudan – one that threatened to deteriorate into a catastrophe without urgent international action.

The nightmare that has since unfolded has exceeded our worst fears.

The people of Sudan continue to pay the unbearable price of a war in which horrific violations continue unabated:

Civilians killed in their hundreds in attacks on residential areas.

Sexual violence used as a tactic of war, particularly against women and girls.

Ethnically motivated attacks, and testimonies of summary execution, rape and forced displacement in West Darfur.

And now, as the rainy season and its devastating floods subside, we have seen a rapid escalation of the fighting in El Fasher in North Darfur, causing further death and destruction, with clashes also continuing to directly impact civilians in several other areas.

The humanitarian situation in Sudan is beyond appalling.

The war has triggered what is now among the world’s largest displacement crises.

More than half the population of Sudan – 25.6 million people – is acutely food insecure.

Last month, famine was confirmed in Zamzam displacement camp, near El Fasher, with similar conditions likely in nearby sites, and many other areas at immediate risk. 

Almost 5 million children under the age of 5 and pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers are already acutely malnourished. 

And basic services – including healthcare, schools, water and sanitation systems and life-saving telecommunications networks – have largely broken down.

This dire situation is compounded by severe constraints on humanitarian access:

A volatile security situation that complicates the movement of supplies and endangers humanitarian personnel.

A wide range of bureaucratic and administrative restrictions that can further delay aid deliveries and the movement of humanitarian personnel.

Frequent denials of access to key areas.

And, over recent months, heavy rains that have damaged roads, bridges and a crucial dam, and enabled the rapid spread of cholera and other diseases. 

Despite the courageous efforts of local and international humanitarian organizations, we simply cannot deliver adequate levels of assistance.

Let us not be here again, in one year’s time, lamenting another 12 months of death, destruction and unbearable suffering.

Today, let us commit to taking urgent, concrete steps to protect and support civilians in Sudan.

First, we urge Member States to use all their leverage to bring the horrific violations of international humanitarian law and the abuses of human rights law to an end.

Second, we need a concerted diplomatic push for a step change in humanitarian access.

For the safe, streamlined and swift delivery of aid through all possible routes – both cross-border and cross-line.

And for the facilitation of the day-to-day life-saving work of humanitarian organizations on the ground.

We welcome the recent announcement by the President of the Sovereign Council of Sudan to reopen the crucial Adre crossing from Chad.

We urge Member States to support efforts to scale up the volume of assistance through the crossing and to extend this lifeline beyond the initial three-month period, without the imposition of new processes that may further delay operations. 

And we need to see very significant improvements in our ability to move supplies and personnel along routes crossing the conflict lines.

We welcome the vital efforts of the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan Group on access.

Third, we need renewed financial commitments from the donor community.

We greatly appreciate the support we have received to date, including the disbursed pledges from the Paris Conference. An estimated 88 per cent of the generous pledges made in Paris have now been fulfilled. 

However, huge gaps remain, and additional funding is urgently needed, particularly to address rapidly deteriorating food insecurity.

I am pleased to announce today a US$25 million allocation from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to tackle the spread of famine and acute food insecurity in Sudan. This will complement an ongoing allocation at country level from the Sudan Humanitarian Fund.

I hope this will encourage our donor partners to step up with additional flexible funding for Sudan, including through these crucial pooled funds, so we can continue to scale up the urgent response.

And finally, the nightmare that this conflict has imposed on the lives of millions must come to an end.

No stone must be left unturned in the pursuit of a real, inclusive and lasting peace in Sudan.

Thank you very much.