Sudan famine is a “shameful stain” on the world's conscience: UN officials August 7, 2024

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By AFP -Agence France Presse

Sudan famine is a “shameful stain” on the world's conscience: UN officials

Famine in a displaced persons camp in war-torn Sudan is a “shameful stain” on the conscience of the international community, which has failed to prevent it despite several warnings, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Last week, an international committee responsible for assessing food insecurity declared famine in Zamzam camp, near the besieged town of El-Fasher in Darfur.

It was the first time the committee had confirmed a famine situation in more than seven years and only the third time since its monitoring system was launched two decades ago, said Stephen Omollo, assistant executive director of the World Food Program, speaking at the UN Security Council.

"We have clarified that famine is a real and dangerous possibility... But our warnings have gone unheeded,” he said.

He said the crisis has not received the political and diplomatic attention it desperately needs, hoping that the famine declaration will serve as a “wake-up call”.

"When famine happens, it means we're too late. It means we haven't done enough. It means that we, the international community, have failed,” agreed Edem Wosornu, from the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA).

“This is a man-made crisis - and a shameful stain on our collective conscience,” said Wosornu.

Since April last year, a war has pitted the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The conflict has caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 10 million people, according to the UN.

Omollo said a ceasefire remains the “only sustainable solution that will prevent the spread of hunger”.

But until that day, he asked the Council to help “ensure that we can carry out our work effectively and without interference”.

Both authorities denounced the obstacles to humanitarian aid imposed by both sides of the conflict and called for the opening of the Adre border crossing between Chad and Darfur, which has been closed for several months.

The Sudanese ambassador to the UN, Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, rejecting the conclusions of the report declaring famine, acknowledged a “terrible” humanitarian situation but accused RSF of being responsible for blocking humanitarian convoys.

Although the United States has called for the creation of a UN mechanism to allow humanitarian aid to pass through Adre, he insisted on Sudan's “sovereignty”, noting that the opening of the border point was the sole responsibility of its government.

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