The promises made by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – to protect civilians and provide unimpeded humanitarian access – are promises that must be kept.
Port Sudan - The Statement of Commitments adopted in Jeddah today by the parties to the conflict in Sudan marks a moment of truth for the country. The promises made by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – to protect civilians and provide unimpeded humanitarian access – are promises that must be kept.
I thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development – representing IGAD and the African Union – for their role in facilitating these critical negotiations.
In particular, I welcome the agreement to establish a Humanitarian Forum for Sudan led by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs representing the humanitarian community and with the participation of the parties to the conflict. The forum will further facilitate the implementation of the commitments made in Jeddah.
It comes -and not a moment too soon. After almost seven months of war, half of Sudan’s population – nearly 25 million people – need humanitarian assistance. Displacement, disease and sexual violence are rampant.
The tangible commitments agreed by the SAF and RSF today must now be followed by immediate and tangible actions. It is critical that the obstacles – bureaucratic and otherwise – that keep us from delivering life-saving relief at speed and at scale are cleared away once and for all.
We must have reliable guarantees from all parties to ensure that relief items, humanitarian workers and assets can move safely across conflict lines. We simply cannot reach Khartoum, Darfur, the Kordofans and other war-torn areas of the country without these assurances.
The parties to the conflict have a shared obligation to honour the commitments made in Jeddah. For the sake of the millions of civilians in Sudan who want no part of this war and in the spirit of today’s agreement, they must work toward a permanent cessation of hostilities. The people of Sudan deserve nothing less.
