German Government’s Human Rights Envoy, Luise Amtsberg (Greens), has expressed concern over the current situation in Sudan. “Twenty months after the outbreak of the fighting, a humanitarian catastrophe of unimaginable proportions is unfolding in Sudan” she said on Saturday afternoon.
The international expert panel of the Famine Review Committee, published its latest report on December 24, showing “that the hunger catastrophe in Sudan has further dramatically worsened”, Amtsberg said. “According to the current surveys, more than 24.6 million people are acutely affected by hunger, with over 8.1 million people facing extreme food shortages, including many with acute malnutrition. 573,000 people are on the brink of starvation” the Green politician lamented.
“It is deeply shocking that the hunger crisis in Sudan has since then still expanded” said the Federal Envoy, referring to the Famine Review Committee’s August report, which had declared a famine in parts of North Darfur for the first time in seven years.
“This catastrophe is completely man-made” she emphasized. “The Famine Review Committee has been naming two reasons for the famine since months: the ongoing fighting and the prevention of humanitarian access by the conflict parties. Both sides use hunger as a means of war and take the potential starvation of many people lightly into account” explained Amtsberg.
“A change of cooperation with the mechanisms of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) for monitoring food supplies, as announced by the Sudanese authorities on December 25, is not the right way to get a grip on this famine” the Green MP said. “Our urgent appeal is directed at the conflict parties, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to grant unrestricted access for all humanitarian organizations, to support and protect their lifesaving work, rather than hindering or even stopping it” Amtsberg said.
“We call on both sides to respect humanitarian law and finally lay down their arms. This is the only way to end the famine in Sudan” the Human Rights Envoy urged. “Together with our partners, we will continue to work tirelessly to provide the necessary aid to the people in Sudan and its neighboring countries, and to secure humanitarian access through humanitarian diplomacy” Amtsberg said.