(United Nations) The famine now declared in a war-ravaged area of Sudan is a “shameful stain” on the conscience of the international community which has “failed” to prevent it despite warnings, the UN denounced on Tuesday.
Last week, the international committee charged with assessing food insecurity declared “famine” in the Zamzam displacement camp, near the besieged town of al-Facher in Darfur.
It is the first time the committee has confirmed a famine in more than seven years and only the third time since the monitoring system began 20 years ago.
Stephen Omollo, a senior official with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), at a meeting of the UN Security Council
“We had made it clear that famine was a real and dangerous possibility,” “but our warnings were not heeded,” he said.
“This forgotten crisis has not received the political and diplomatic attention that is desperately needed,” he said, hoping that the declaration of famine would serve as “a wake-up call for the international community and for members of the Council.”
“When a famine occurs, it means it is too late. It means we have not done enough. It means we, the international community, have failed,” added Edem Wosornu, of the UN humanitarian office. [Ocha]. “This is a crisis entirely created by humans, and a shameful stain on our collective conscience.”
Since April 2023, a war has been raging between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo.
The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than 10 million people, according to the UN.
“A ceasefire remains the only lasting solution that will prevent the spread of famine. In the meantime, we urgently need the Council’s assistance to enable us to work effectively and without interference,” Stephen Omollo insisted.
The two UN officials notably denounced the obstacles imposed by the two parties to access humanitarian aid and demanded the opening of the Adre border crossing point, between Chad and Darfur, which has been closed for several months.
Sudanese Ambassador to the UN Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, rejecting the report’s findings declaring famine, acknowledged a “terrible humanitarian situation” but blamed the RSF for blocking humanitarian convoys.
While the United States has discussed creating a UN mechanism to allow humanitarian aid to pass through Adre, he has insisted on Sudan’s “sovereignty,” noting that opening the border crossing was solely the responsibility of its government.