Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Representative to the United Nations
New York, New York
March 20, 2024
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Mr. President. And let me start by thanking our briefers: Director Wosornu, Deputy Director-General Martina, and Deputy Executive Director Skau for briefing the Council on the humanitarian crisis caused by this senseless and brutal conflict. I look forward to the statement of Sudan's PR, who has joined us today.
Put plainly, the people of Sudan need full, unhindered humanitarian access, and they need it now. As we just heard, a record 18 million Sudanese people are facing acute food insecurity. Without urgent humanitarian assistance, many of them will face catastrophic food insecurity in the coming months.
And so today, we echo the Council's call through Resolution 2724, and urge the parties to not only immediately ensure unhindered humanitarian access, but begin direct negotiations, and cease hostilities. Because we cannot hope to alleviate the humanitarian crisis facing the Sudanese people if we do not address the root cause of it.
With that, we reiterate our determination that members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have committed war crimes in Sudan.
We demand the parties do more to actively protect civilians in all circumstances, respect human rights, and comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law.
We urge regional powers to immediately end the provision of weapons to the parties in Sudan, and remind them that there is a binding UN arms embargo in place in Darfur.
And we underscore the prohibition on starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.
Of course, just as we demand an end to this conflict, we also demand immediate relief for the Sudanese people now, and note how crucial it is that humanitarian actors reach all civilians in need, no matter where they are, to avert a larger catastrophe.
To that end, we call once again for the SAF to immediately and fully reopen all of its border crossings with Chad for humanitarian purposes, and most critically, the Adre border crossing. I will note that we heard today that the border crossing may have been reopened by the Sudanese authorities. And if that's the case, that's a good sign. But this cannot be a one off. The few existing cross-border access routes by land from Chad and South Sudan are simply insufficient. The full opening of the Chad border is the only option for permitting significant humanitarian assistance to flow.
If the SAF does not urgently reverse its decision to limit cross-border access, the Security Council must take swift action to ensure lifesaving aid is delivered and distributed, and consider all tools at its disposal, including authorizing a cross-border mechanism.
Colleagues, it's not just those needing aid that are in danger. Those delivering aid are also at risk. Far too many humanitarian personnel have lost their lives helping those on the brink. Humanitarian aid workers must not be targeted or harassed as they try to meet the critical needs of Sudanese civilians. They must - they have to be protected.
Finally, we urge other donors to massively scale up funding to the UN's humanitarian response.
The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to the response in Sudan and neighboring countries. And we have provided more than $968 million since September 2023. Still, just five percent of the UN humanitarian appeal for Sudan has been met. And this simply is unacceptable. We remain committed to helping the people of Sudan, but we cannot do it alone.
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Colleagues, I have often spoken about my visit to the Adre refugee camp, where I met women and children who fled the violence in Sudan. If I could see them again today, I would want to tell them that the international community is doing everything it can to end the suffering of the Sudanese people; that the violence and hunger is subsiding; that everything is going to be okay.
Right now, I can't say that. And so, for those people I met in Chad, and for the millions of Sudanese people crying out for help, we must, must, must do more. And we must do it, now.
Thank you, Mr. President.
