Humanitarian aid reveals shocking figures on the targeting of United Nations agencies

The Humanitarian Aid Commission revealed a total cessation of some 3,000 humanitarian organizations active in the Sudan, including some 2,900 national and some 110 foreign organizations, and more than 10 international and regional humanitarian agencies in May 2023.

In a paper presented at the Enlightenment Forum on Humanitarian Response Operations under the current emergency situation organized by the Coral Hotel Joint National Humanitarian Emergency Commission, UNHCR reviewed some of the negative repercussions of the dire humanitarian situation caused by the Rapid Support Militia’s military insurgency.

About 82% of the humanitarian stockpile and resources of United Nations agencies, national and foreign organizations and humanitarian aid commissions were looted and burned by rebel militias.

Also, 85% of the country’s international humanitarian workers left the Sudan at the beginning of the military insurgency because of the high level of vulnerability.

The paper underscored the low levels of access to humanitarian assistance and protection for those in need and affected persons by about 79%.

Some 77 vehicles belonging to humanitarian organizations were looted and stolen by rebel militias.

The paper confirmed the discontinuation of more than 500 projects within the United Nations’ other regional humanitarian response plan operating in the Sudan for 2022 and 2023 for which more than $3 billion has been allocated.

Humanitarian organizations’ capacities to meet minimum standards of humanitarian response in the food security sector, health, nutrition, education, water, environmental sanitation, shelter and others had declined, with a high level of suffering and vulnerability among vulnerable groups targeted for humanitarian action of 80-90%.

The paper highlighted some of the Sudan’s efforts to facilitate humanitarian access, including extending the terms of reference for registration certificates for humanitarian organizations operating and exempting them from renewal fees for 10 months until March 2024, as well as not linking humanitarian response imports to the requirements of the Technical Agreement and exempting all imports of humanitarian action from all customs, tax and other duties estimated at about $ 360 million until November 2023.

The Government of the Sudan has also incurred expenses of deporting humanitarian assistance from the friendly State and some humanitarian organizations to all states of the Sudan, estimated at approximately (580) thousand dollars until November 2023 indicating in this regard the completion of more than (12,800) Administrative and technical measures to facilitate humanitarian access at the state and federal levels, provide free import warehouses for some humanitarian organizations operating at the state and federal levels, as well as provide the necessary protection to secure humanitarian import warehouses to avoid looting and theft.

In his statement, the representative of the Chairman of the Joint National Humanitarian Emergency Commission, Professor Suleiman Mohamed Al-Dabilo, President of the Peace Commission, reaffirmed the Sudanese Government’s firm commitment to all laws and agreements signed between the Government of the Sudan and agencies and organizations.