Statement from the Sudanese Foreign Ministry regarding the conference of April 15, 2024
Referring to the announcement by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding its hosting of what it termed as the ministerial conference on the humanitarian situation in Sudan on April 15, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan expresses its utmost astonishment and condemnation that such a conference is convened on a matter concerning Sudan; an independent and sovereign state and a member of the United Nations, without consultation or coordination with its government and without its participation, despite being exclusively representing the country internationally in various forums, organizations, and regional and international platforms, and exchanging diplomatic representation with various countries worldwide, including France itself. This approach represents a grave disregard for international law, the United Nations Charter, and the principle of state sovereignty, the foundation of the contemporary international system. Therefore, it should be reminded to the organizers of that meeting that the international guardianship system was abolished decades ago, and it never applied to UN member states like Sudan, which has been a member of the UN since 1956.
Hiding behind the pretext of neutrality between what the organizers call “conflicting parties” to justify ignoring Sudan in organizing this meeting is a worthless argument, a rejected matter, and a dangerous precedent in international relations. Equality between the legitimate government and the national army, on the one hand, and a multi-national terrorist militia targeting the state’s institutions itself and committing genocide and the worst human rights violations, on the other hand, undermines the foundations of regional and international security because it encourages similar terrorist movements in Africa and the Middle East to escalate their criminal activities as they would be a pretext for Western powers to ignore the sovereignty of affected countries and their legitimate governments under the guise of neutrality. It should be noted that regional sponsors of the militia and its political wing will participate in the meeting.
The Sudanese government, as responsible for its people, has been proactive in seeking the necessary international support to address the humanitarian crisis created by the aggression of the militia and its external sponsors against the Sudanese people. With an initiative from the Sudanese government and the participation of several sisterly and friendly countries, the International Conference for Humanitarian Aid to Sudan was held in Geneva in June 2023, where significant pledges of aid were made. In order to urge the international community to fulfill those commitments, a high-level meeting was held in New York in October 2023, in cooperation between the Sudanese government and the United Nations. However, the fulfillment rate of those commitments so far has not exceeded 5%.
In light of this, what is required is to fulfill the previous commitments instead of dissipating resources and efforts in holding new conferences, which would merely be political and propaganda festivals, perhaps exploited by the sponsors of the militia to rebrand and whitewash their crimes and to provide support to them under the guise of humanitarian aid.
As the Sudanese government reiterates its commitment to provide all possible facilitations to mobilize and deliver humanitarian aid to those in need across the country, it reminds that the shortest way to end the humanitarian suffering in Sudan is by compelling the sponsors of the militia to stop supplying it with weapons, mercenaries, and funds, as this support is the only thing enabling it to continue and escalate its aggression against the Sudanese people, as witnessed in recent days where the militia committed new massacres against civilians near Fasher, and in South Kordofan, Jazeera, and White Nile.
There must also be a firm stance from the international community against the declared targeting by the militia of humanitarian aid convoys along the agreed routes between Sudan and the United Nations, such as its seizure of UNICEF and WFP vehicles carrying food and medicines intended for displaced camps in North Darfur to contain cases of malnutrition among children, and its seizure of a plane belonging to the WFP, displayed this week as a war booty. The militia has previously looted the largest warehouses of the WFP in Jazeera and seized food sufficient for more than one and a half million needy people.
It is not surprising that the militia persists in its heinous crimes as long as the Western powers continue to tolerate it, and these powers remain silent on the militia’s evasion of its commitments made in Jeddah, which represents the operational framework for delivering humanitarian aid and protecting civilians.
Needless to say, the Sudanese people alone have the right to manage their own affairs, and it is up to them to delegate those they see fit to lead them towards achieving their aspirations for peace, democracy, and development without guardianship or interference from external forces, regardless of their claims of concern for their safety and interests.
These are the positions and concepts that we expect brothers, friends, and all lovers of justice and peace who will participate in the concerned meeting to uphold.
Friday, April 12, 2024.
