View previous stories
	International community must end impunity for violence against Healthcare in Conflict by WHO, Safeguarding Health Coalition, agencies   Aug. 2024   Attacks on health facilities and staff must never become the norm, says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus - Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).   The violent upheaval tearing Khartoum apart has forced many Sudanese people to flee for safety. The war’s impact on the capital’s healthcare system has made it even more urgent for many families to leave. Attacks on medical facilities in Khartoum in 2023 led to a shortage of drugs throughout the capital, which meant that many chronically ill Sudanese could no longer find the medicines they needed.   This is the reality for millions in vital need of healthcare not just in Sudan but elsewhere in the world as well.   In Gaza, multiple attacks on hospitals have killed and injured hundreds, including health workers and displaced people seeking refuge in what were thought to be safe havens. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) city of Goma, doctors and nurses have been murdered while trying to care for displaced people. In Ukraine, the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital was targeted in an air raid, killing one doctor and one hospital worker and injuring 16 people, including seven children. In Pakistan, a bomb killed police officers deployed to protect polio vaccination workers.   As the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), I have repeatedly condemned such attacks and called for the protection and respect of health workers in humanitarian settings and beyond.   Yet, such calls, and those of our humanitarian partners in the field and around the world, have gone unheard, despite health facilities, their staff, patients and other civilians being protected under international law during conflicts.   In 2023 alone, WHO recorded 1,520 attacks on healthcare, so far this year, more than 700 attacks have taken place. Dire as these numbers are, they likely underestimate the true scale of the problem.   In Gaza, like in Ukraine, Sudan, the DRC, Haiti and beyond, those who fall leave behind grieving families and communities. Parties to conflicts are failing humanitarian and health workers and the people they serve.   Even in responding to clear threats to public health, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, humanitarian and health workers faced fatal attacks, physical threats and psychological intimidation on an unprecedented scale.   Beyond the legal implications, attacks on health interfere with the work of health workers, the distribution of health supplies, and the essential services of health facilities, like vaccinations, prenatal care, and treatment for chronic diseases, leading to preventable deaths and increased suffering.   Even a single attack on the only hospital serving a population can have devastating, long-lasting consequences on healthcare delivery for entire communities in the immediate term, and for years to come. Health facilities provide more than care – in many communities, they offer refuge and contribute to collective welfare.   The WHO Constitution states, “The health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and is dependent on the fullest co-operation of individuals and States.”   WHO knows all too well the immense value of our colleagues and the pain felt when they are lost needlessly to armed violence. Their dedication is a testament to the impact humanitarian action can have on millions of lives.   By safeguarding health workers we uphold the principles of compassion and solidarity and reaffirm our commitment to a more humane world.   http://www.who.int/activities/stopping-attacks-on-health-care http://www.unfpa.org/news/health-and-humanitarian-workers-face-record-violence-here-are-5-reasons-world-must-take-action http://insecurityinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/The-Effects-on-Health-Care-of-the-Use-of-Explosive-Weapons-July-2024.pdf http://www.msf.org/ http://www.globalr2p.org/resources/resolution-2286-protection-of-civilians-s-res-2286/   May 2024   International community must end impunity for violence against Healthcare in Conflict, says Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition   Governments and international agencies must do more to end impunity for violence against healthcare, campaigners have urged, as a new report shows that attacks on healthcare during conflicts reached a new high in 2023.   The report from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC), an umbrella organisation of health and human rights groups, documented 2,562 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in conflicts across 30 countries—over 500 more than in 2022.   The group pointed out that the 25 percent rise on the previous year came as tens of millions of people in conflict-affected countries were already suffering from war, massive displacement, and staggering deprivation of food and other basic needs.   But beyond the inevitable suffering such violence against healthcare causes, the report’s authors highlighted that one consistent feature of the attacks was the continued impunity for those perpetrating them.   They say that despite repeated commitments, governments have failed to reform their military practices, cease arms transfers to perpetrators, and bring those responsible for crimes to justice.   And they have now called on national leaders and heads of international bodies, including UN agencies, to take strong action to ensure violence against healthcare is ended.   “There has to be a change in how we ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian law when the protection of health care and health workers is not respected because current mechanisms do not provide adequate protection. We need to ask some hard questions,” Christina Wille, Director of the Insecurity Insight humanitarian association, who helped produce the report, told IPS.   Attacks on healthcare have become a prominent feature of recent conflicts—the SHCC report states that the rise in attacks in 2023 was in part a product of intense and persistent violence against health care in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), Myanmar, Sudan, and Ukraine.   And human rights groups have increasingly drawn attention to the deliberate targeting of healthcare facilities and medical staff by attacking forces.   Hospitals and other medical facilities are designated as protected civilian objects under international humanitarian law and it is illegal to attack them or obstruct their provision of care. Ambulances also have the same status.   This designation does not apply if the hospital or facility is used by combatants for military purposes, but even then, an attacking force must give warning of its attack and allow for an evacuation of all civilians. But in many conflicts, forces seem to be increasingly ignoring this.   The SHCC report highlights that right from the start of two new wars in 2023, in Sudan and the conflict between Israel and Hamas, warring parties killed health workers, attacked facilities, and destroyed health care systems.   Meanwhile, attacks on health care in Myanmar and Ukraine continued unabated, in each case exceeding 1,000 since the start of the conflicts in 2021 and 2022, respectively, while in many other chronic conflicts, fighting forces continued to kidnap and kill health workers and loot health facilities.   At the same time, the report identified a disturbing new trend of combatants violently entering hospitals or occupying them as sites from which to conduct military operations, leading to injuries to and the deaths of patients and staff.   SHCC Chair Len Rubenstein said that in many conflicts, the conduct of combatants revealed “open contempt for their duty to protect civilians and health care under international humanitarian law (IHL)” and specifically highlighted how Israel, “while purporting to abide by IHL, promoted a view of its obligations that, if accepted, would undermine the fundamental protections that IHL puts in place for civilians and health care in war.”   “The report highlighted a lot of disturbing trends—there seemed to be no restraint on attacking hospitals right from the start of conflicts, we also saw for instance, a rise in hospitals being taken for military use, and it was also very disturbing to see children’s medical facilities being deliberately targeted,” he told IPS.   “These trends highlight the need for leadership [on increasing accountability]. Accountability for attacks on healthcare is not a silver bullet—accountability for murder does not stop all murders, for instance – but no consequences are a guarantee of further violations,” he added.   Christian de Vos, Director of Research and Investigations at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which is a member of the SHCC, suggested a lack of accountability for attacks on healthcare in previous conflicts had emboldened certain forces to do the same in new wars.   “This goes back to the historical evolution of attacks on healthcare and the consequences of impunity. The patterns of attacks on healthcare that Russian forces, together with the Syrian government, perpetrated in the Syria conflict have a lot of links to how Russia has fought its full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” he told IPS.   In its report, the SHCC has made a number of recommendations to help end attacks on healthcare and hold those behind them accountable.   These include UN and national authorities and the International Criminal Court (ICC) taking new measures to end impunity, strengthening prevention of conflicts, improving data collection on attacks at global and national levels, bolstering global, regional, and domestic leadership—especially through the WHO and UN—on protecting healthcare, and supporting and safeguarding health workers.   Some of these plans would also see a key role played by local actors, including NGOs and other groups active in healthcare and human rights.   SHCC admits, though, that some of these are likely to be hard to implement.   “Our recommendations are aspirational and we accept that their implementation could be difficult in the context of the inherent difficulties of conflicts, but there are some areas where we think definite change could be achieved,” said Wille.   She explained that developing capacity for local health programmes to be more security and acceptance conscious could be strengthened.   “There is a need for training for the healthcare sector on how to understand, approach, and manage security and risk in conflict. Such support should be given to those responsible for overseeing plans for healthcare provision in conflicts so that services continue to be provided but with as much safety as possible,” she said.   She added that governments could also make a real difference by pushing to ensure ‘deconfliction’—the process by which a health agency announces to all parties who they are, where they work and what they are doing, and how it can be recognized and which in return receive assurances that they will not be targeted is adhered to by all sides in a conflict.   “Such mechanisms exist, however, at the moment, far too often they are not respected or applied in several conflicts. Governments can insist on the implementation of de-confliction, and this would also be a great help,” she said.   However, if significant change is to be made in ensuring accountability for attacks on healthcare, experts agree that it can only be done with strong political commitment on the issue.   “We have seen over the years that there hasn’t been this commitment and what we need is a strong commitment that will go beyond just words and statements condemning these attacks to real concrete action,” Rubenstein said.   He stressed that the massive, targeted destruction of healthcare seen in some recent conflicts had changed the wider political perception of the effects of such attacks.   “What has changed is the knowledge of the magnitude of these attacks and the enormous suffering they bring, not just directly at the time of the attacks but long after as well. This knowledge can stimulate the kind of leadership we need on this,” he said.   De Vos said that especially the Israel-Hamas war and the prominence of attacks on healthcare in that conflict had “shown clearly the devastation and suffering such attacks cause.”   “This might bring about the change in will to ensure accountability that we would like to see,” he said.   But while there may be optimism among experts around the chance for such change, they are less positive about the prospects for any reduction in the volume of attacks on healthcare in the immediate future.   “Unfortunately, the trajectory is not a positive one—there’s no ceasefire in Gaza, the war continues in Ukraine, and conflict is ongoing in the places where we have seen the most of these attacks on healthcare. It’s a pretty grim state,” said De Vos.   http://reliefweb.int/report/world/epidemic-violence-violence-against-health-care-conflict-2024 http://www.ipsnews.net/2025/05/health-workers-in-conflict-zones-experience-epidemic-of-violence/ http://www.ipsnews.net/2024/05/international-community-urged-to-end-impunity-for-violence-against-healthcare-in-conflicts/ http://safeguarding-health.com/ http://www.msf.org/attacks-medical-care   May 2023   Health Care under Attack - Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect   This May marks the seventh anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2286, the first-ever resolution addressing the protection of health care in conflict. The resolution condemned attacks and threats against medical personnel and facilities and demanded accountability for those responsible for these crimes under international law. Yet attacks on health care – including hospitals, medical facilities and health workers – continue to be widespread in armed conflicts around the world and perpetrated with impunity.   In 2022 the World Health Organization verified over 1,300 attacks on health care in emergency-affected countries and fragile settings. More than a third of these attacks were perpetrated in Ukraine alone, as Russia has destroyed Ukrainian health care infrastructure at an unprecedented scale with targeted and indiscriminate aerial assaults. Between 24 February 2022 and 7 April 2023 at least 889 attacks on health care were documented. Many health workers have also been threatened, imprisoned, taken hostage or forced to work under Russian occupation.   Years of airstrikes and other unlawful attacks targeting hospitals and clinics have crippled Syria’s health service infrastructure. The earthquake in northwest Syria during February compounded precarious access to health care in a region already desolated by more than 12 years of conflict and atrocities. Since the 1 February 2021 coup in Myanmar (Burma), the military has targeted health care, occupied dozens of hospitals across the country and arrested scores of health workers accused of supporting the civil disobedience movement. At least 100 attacks on health care were recorded between January and April this year alone, according to Insecurity Insight.   Medical workers and civilians are also finding themselves caught up in indiscriminate violence by perpetrated armed groups. In the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a resurgence of armed group activity in the past year has strained health care services already weakened by decades of conflict, as health workers are kidnapped, and facilities deliberately and routinely looted and attacked.   Christine Caldera, Research and Advocacy Officer at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said, “War-related destruction of health facilities and targeted attacks on medical workers results in tremendous human suffering and potential mass atrocity crimes. Such attacks have long-lasting effects for civilians, restricting access to care and spreading fear of seeking treatment.” Deliberate attacks on medical facilities and workers, the obstruction of medical aid and indiscriminate attacks that affect civilian infrastructure – including hospitals and health clinics – are war crimes. When such attacks are committed as part of a state policy on a widespread or systematic basis, they can amount to crimes against humanity.   Health care infrastructure and services must be protected from attacks and obstruction. To combat impunity, all attacks on health care facilities and health workers should be impartially investigated and the perpetrators held accountable. The UN Secretary-General should also publicly list those states, and non-state armed groups, that deliberately target health care during armed conflict.   http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-347/   Targeting health care in conflict: the need to end impunity. (The Lancet)   On the morning of May 26, a Russian missile destroyed Dnipropetrovsk City Hospital No 14 in Dnipro, Ukraine, killing at least two people and injuring more than 30. Later that same day, the BBC reported that attacks on medical facilities and staff in Sudan might constitute war crimes. As described in a World Report, such attacks continue in Sudan, including most recently the looting and occupation of centres run by Médecins Sans Frontières, denying Sudanese civilians much needed medical care.   From the deliberate targeting of hospitals in Syria and the destruction of the health system in Yemen, to the arrest and abduction of doctors in Myanmar and the persecution of health workers and violations of medical neutrality in Iran, the sanctity of the Red Cross and Red Crescent appears to be at a new low. The uncomfortable truth is that attacks against health facilities and staff in conflicts can be committed largely with legal impunity.   Aside from the direct deaths and injuries, such attacks deprive people of health services when they most need them. Many patients die when prevented from crossing military checkpoints; others might be too fearful to visit health centres because of the threat of violence.   The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols have been the basis for international humanitarian law for 150 years and contain provisions designed to protect health care in conflict zones. They prohibit attacks on hospitals and ambulances, require protection for sick and wounded combatants and civilians, mandate the free passage of medical equipment, and forbid punishment of health workers for providing care. But given the difficulties of enforcement, there seems little prospect of holding perpetrators to account.   Prosecutions in the International Criminal Court (ICC) are slow, on the rare occasions that the accused can be brought before the court at all. Referrals to the ICC via the UN Security Council are hamstrung by veto powers—China and Russia used their veto to prevent Syria from being referred to the ICC in 2014.   President Bashar al-Assad—responsible for numerous attacks on health facilities in Syria—was welcomed at an Arab League summit in Jeddah in May, 12 years after being expelled. UN resolution 2286, adopted unanimously by the Security Council in 2016, condemned attacks on medical personnel and called for renewed respect for international law. Events since have shown such resolutions to be toothless.   Improvements in monitoring mean that the scale of the problem can no longer be denied. In their most recent report published on May 25, the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition and Insecurity Insight document more than 1900 incidents of violence against health care in war and situations of political unrest in 2022, a 45% increase compared with 2021 and the highest number since they began collating data 10 years ago. 704 health facilities were destroyed, 232 health workers were killed, and almost 600 were kidnapped or arrested.   WHO's flagship Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care was launched in 2017 to systematically collect evidence of attacks on health care, but weaknesses in its reporting have led to criticisms, particularly over its patchy coverage. Despite reputable documentation of violence against health facilities in the conflict in Tigray, the system contains no record of any incidents in Ethiopia. Such shortcomings from the world's leading health organisation can make it harder to apply political and diplomatic pressure on aggressive parties—for example, through halting arms sales.   What can be done? Practical measures can prevent poor decision making on the ground, such as training the military in the rules of war. But successful criminal prosecutions must be brought against those who commit war crimes, and the status quo is clearly not working. The global community needs to find more robust ways to enforce international humanitarian law and bring to justice those who direct attacks against health in conflict.   http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01115-7/fulltext   Aug. 2024   2023 was a Record Year for Violence over Water Resources across the Globe   New study from the Pacific Institute shows rapid growth in water as a trigger, weapon, and casualty of violence, with a dramatic jump in 2023 incidents.   Violence over water resources increased dramatically in 2023, continuing a steep growth trend of such incidents over the past decade. These events include attacks on water systems, unrest and disputes over the control of and access to water, and the use of water as a weapon of war. The number of events has risen rapidly in recent years, with 150% as many incidents in 2023 as those recorded in 2022 (347 events versus 231). In the year 2000, there were only 22 such incidents recorded.   The Pacific Institute, a global water think tank, is releasing a major update to its Water Conflict Chronology, the world’s most comprehensive open-source database on water-related violence.   More than 300 new instances of violent conflicts associated with water resources and water systems have been added to the record. Incidents are identified from news reports, eyewitness accounts, and other conflict databases. The new entries capture all water-related incidents of violence through the end of 2023.   The updated data and analysis were released in advance of the world’s largest international conference on water, Stockholm’s World Water Week, where the 2024 theme is “Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future.”   “The significant upswing in violence over water resources reflects continuing disputes over control and access to scarce water resources, the importance of water for modern society, growing pressures on water due to population growth and extreme climate change, and ongoing attacks on water systems where war and violence are widespread, especially in the Middle East and Ukraine,” said Dr. Peter Gleick, Senior Fellow and co-founder of the Pacific Institute.   “The large increase in these events signals that too little is being done to ensure equitable access to safe and sufficient water and highlights the devastation that war and violence wreak on civilian populations and essential water infrastructure,” said Morgan Shimabuku, Senior Researcher with the Pacific Institute. “The newly updated data and analysis exposes the increasing risk that climate change adds to already fragile political situations by making access to clean water less reliable in areas of conflict around the world.”   Regional Analysis   Water conflicts were reported in all major regions around the world in 2023. Violence over water in the Middle East (coded as Western Asia in the report and database), Southern Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa continue to dominate the database, consistent with trends in recent years. 2023 saw increases in all three categories of conflicts (trigger, casualty, weapon).   Attacks on water and water infrastructure accounted for half of the incidents in 2023; violence triggered by disputes over access and control of water accounted for 39%; and water was used as a weapon of war 11% of the time. Subnational conflicts between farmers and pastoralists in Africa, urban and rural water users, religious groups, and family clans in 2023 (62% of the events) continue to far outnumber transboundary events where two or more nations were involved (38% of the events).   The new analysis indicates several regions of special concern in 2023. A fact sheet from the Pacific Institute includes selected examples of incidents that took place in 2023.   Policy and Practice Solutions Available   In addition to collecting and sharing data on water conflicts, the Pacific Institute’s work is focused on identifying and understanding strategies to reduce the risks of water-related violence. The rise in water-related conflict has diverse drivers and causes and therefore requires diverse approaches and strategies that build water resilience and address underlying causes.   In places where drought and climate change are contributing to tensions over water, policies can be enacted to more equitably distribute and share water among stakeholders and technology can help to more efficiently use what water is available. Agreements over water sharing and joint management of water can be negotiated to resolve transboundary conflicts.   When enforced, international laws of war that protect civilian infrastructure like dams, pipelines, and water-treatment plants can provide essential protections that uphold the basic human right to water. Improving cybersecurity practices can reduce the threat of cyber-attacks that try to weaponize access to water for communities.   “It is urgent that we work to reduce the threat of water-related violence. The best ways to do this are to move to more resilient and effective water policies that guarantee safe water and sanitation for everyone, strengthen and enforce international agreements and laws over shared water resources, and address the growing threats posed by extreme droughts and floods worsened by climate change,” said Gleick. “Solutions are available, but to date they have been insufficiently applied.”   http://pacinst.org/announcement/2023-was-a-record-year-for-violence-over-water-resources-across-the-globe/
	No time to lose as famine stalks millions in Sudan amid intense fighting and access denials by OCHA, UNICEF, WFP, agencies   Feb. 2025   United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk at the Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Sudan:   "I cannot overstate the seriousness of the situation in Sudan; the desperate plight of the Sudanese people; and the urgency with which we must act to ease their suffering. Since the armed conflict began in 2023, a devastating human rights crisis has generated the world’s largest humanitarian catastrophe.   More than six hundred thousand people are on the brink of starvation. Famine is reported to have taken hold in five areas, including Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur, where the World Food Programme has just been forced to suspend its lifesaving operations due to intense fighting.   Five more areas could face famine in the next three months, and a further 17 are at risk. My own staff have heard harrowing testimonies of death from starvation in Khartoum and Omdurman.   An estimated 8.8 million people have been forced from their homes to camps and other locations within Sudan, and 3.5 million more have fled across borders. This is the biggest displacement crisis in the world. Some 30.4 million people need assistance, from healthcare to food and other forms of humanitarian support. Less than 30 per cent of hospitals and clinics are still working, and outbreaks of disease are rampant in displacement camps.   We are looking into the abyss. Humanitarian agencies warn that without action to end the war, deliver emergency aid, and get agriculture back on its feet, hundreds of thousands of people could die.   The Sudanese people have endured unfathomable suffering and pain since the conflict began, with no peaceful solution in sight. It is impossible to imagine the torment of children who have lost their parents, wives and husbands who have lost their partners, people who have lost everything and are searching for food, water, and safety under constant shelling and bombardment.   This horrific situation is the result of grave and flagrant violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and a culture of utter impunity. The report I am presenting today illustrates the scope of these violations and underscores why accountability is a matter of life and death.   Since the reporting period ended late last year, the parties to the conflict have continued to launch indiscriminate and direct attacks using explosive weapons with wide-area effects on densely populated areas, including IDP camps, markets and schools.   Following a series of attacks attributed to the Rapid Support Forces around Al Qetina in White Nile State last week, there were shocking reports of hundreds of people killed, and others raped and abducted. Hospitals and schools have been hit repeatedly. Three World Food Programme staff were killed in an airstrike in Blue Nile State in December.   My Office has documented many reports of summary executions of civilians. People have been attacked on the basis of who they are, often building on past divisions along ethnic and tribal lines. Hate speech and incitement to violence are increasing tensions and polarization.   As the fighting has spread across the country, appalling levels of sexual violence have followed. More than half of reported rape incidents took the form of gang rape – an indication that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war. Cases of sexual violence were vastly under-reported because of stigma, fear of reprisal, and the collapse of medical and judicial institutions.   Child recruitment by both parties and their allied militias is driven in part by poverty and school closures. In some cases, children joined the fighting to protect their families.   Civic space is shrinking, while arbitrary detention puts civil society, journalists and human rights defenders at risk of torture and ill-treatment. At least 12 journalists were killed during the reporting period, including two who were in detention.   Some of the acts documented in the report may constitute war crimes and other atrocity crimes.   In May last year, I spoke personally with Lt-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, and warned them that the fighting was having a catastrophic impact on civilians and would deepen intercommunal conflict, with disastrous humanitarian consequences.   I renew my calls on them to engage in negotiations and mediation efforts towards an immediate cessation of hostilities; to take effective measures to protect civilians, end sexual violence and the recruitment and use of children; and ensure the safe passage of humanitarian relief and humanitarian aid workers to all areas.   And I call on the international community to make coordinated diplomatic efforts towards finding a path to peace.   Accountability is critical to breaking the recurring cycles of violence and impunity in Sudan and preventing further violations and abuses. All violations and abuses must be investigated by independent and impartial investigation mechanisms, in line with international standards.   Sudan is a powder keg, on the verge of a further explosion into chaos, and at increasing risk of atrocity crimes and mass deaths from famine. Despite continued mediation efforts, Sudan is at a political stalemate while the bloodshed continues unabated. The danger of escalation has never been higher.   Recent moves towards establishing a governing authority in areas under RSF control are likely to further entrench divisions and the risk of continued hostilities.   There is an intense struggle for control of natural resources, strategic assets, and economic interests, leading both parties to seek regional and international alliances to sustain the war economy.   Sudan’s location at the crossroads of several sub-regions means this conflict poses a serious threat to peace and stability in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and beyond.   The continued supply of weapons from outside the country – including new and more advanced arms – also poses a serious risk. We need urgent action now, to find a path to peace.   All countries must use their influence to apply diplomatic and political pressure on the parties, and their regional and international allies, towards a ceasefire, the effective protection of civilians, and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid.   They must also ensure compliance with the arms embargo on Darfur, while considering its expansion to cover the whole country.   We must move towards an inclusive dialogue that reflects the diversity of the people of Sudan and paves the way for a transition to a civilian-led Government that responds to the aspirations of the Sudanese people. We must do much, much better for the people of Sudan.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/04/sudan-faces-worsening-humanitarian-catastrophe-famine-and-conflict-escalate http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/02/sudan-powder-keg-high-commissioner-turk-warns-human-rights-council   25 Oct. 2024   UN agencies warn of spiraling Sudan crisis as civilians face grave risks: Joint Statement by UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner Raouf Mazou and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban.   "The humanitarian crisis in Sudan continues to spiral, with millions of people in desperate need of assistance. The conflict has displaced over 11 million people, both internally and across borders, while pushing millions more into extreme vulnerability, particularly children.   Access to basic services—such as safe water, healthcare, and shelter—is severely limited. As we witness the collapse of vital infrastructure, the international response must intensify immediately to match the overwhelming scale of need.   "An estimated 13 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity. Fourteen regions across the country are teetering on the brink of famine, and in Zamzam camp in North Darfur, famine conditions have already been confirmed.   There are 3.7 million children under five projected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year alone and are in urgent need of life-saving treatment. These children are already weakened by hunger. If not reached soon, these children are 11 times more likely to die from preventable diseases than their healthier peers in Sudan.   "A key issue in delivering critical aid has been ensuring safe, unimpeded access to communities in need across all areas of Sudan. UN agencies responsible for the delivery of aid and the provision of technical assistance need to be given permission from Government authorities and conflict parties to have a sustained presence in all affected communities. The reality on the ground remains fraught with logistical and administrative barriers. These access constraints are hindering the UN's ability to deliver life-saving supplies and protection to the most vulnerable communities.   "Sudan is now home to one of the world’s largest and most pressing displacement crises. The situation for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees is particularly dire, with more than 10 million people displaced from home in Sudan, many multiple times. Those forced from their homes ar exposed to heightened vulnerabilities, enduring extreme hardship in makeshift shelters, lacking even the most basic services, and face severe protection risks.   "Despite the immense challenges, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting the people of Sudan and all those impacted by the conflict. UNHCR, UNICEF, and our humanitarian partners are working to provide critical services. However, without sustained international backing including adequate funding, attention for a political way to address the conflict and the removal of bureaucratic and security obstacles, the situation will continue to worsen.   "Above all, the protection of civilians must be paramount. We urgently call on all parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law and prioritize the protection of civilians, who continue to face unimaginable suffering.   Civilians—especially women and children—are enduring grave violations of their rights, including sexual and gender-based violence, exploitation, and attacks on their safety and dignity. These heinous acts, including the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, must end immediately.   Humanitarian assistance alone cannot resolve this crisis; we must also ensure that those most vulnerable are shielded from further harm. The people of Sudan desperately need our collective action now. We must respond with the urgency and scale that this crisis demands."   June 2024   No time to lose as famine stalks millions in Sudan amid intense fighting and access denials-Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee   Time is running out for millions of people in Sudan who are at imminent risk of famine, displaced from their lands, living under bombardments, and cut off from humanitarian assistance.   With the conflict now in its second year, 18 million people are acutely hungry, including 3.6 million children who are acutely malnourished, and famine is quickly closing in on millions of people in Darfur, Kordofan, Aj Jazirah and Khartoum.   Sudan is home to the largest number of internally displaced people in the world at nearly 10 million. A further 2 million people have escaped to neighbouring countries.   Horrific attacks against civilians – including sexual violence – as well as hospitals and schools are multiplying.   In Al Fasher, more than 800,000 civilians are bracing for an imminent large-scale attack, which would unleash catastrophic humanitarian consequences both in the city and across Darfur.   Despite the tremendous needs, aid workers continue to face systematic obstructions and deliberate denials of access by parties to the conflict. Movements across conflict lines to parts of Khartoum, Darfur, Aj Jazirah and Kordofan have been all but cut off since mid-December.   The closure of the Adre border crossing in February – our main route into western Sudan from Chad – means that limited assistance is trickling into Darfur. Aid workers are being killed, injured and harassed, and humanitarian supplies are being looted.   In March and April of this year, nearly 860,000 people were denied humanitarian aid in Kordofan, Darfur and Khartoum states. Deliberate hindrances to humanitarian assistance that leave the civilian population without the essentials to survive violate international humanitarian law.   Extreme hunger is unfolding, and the outlook for food production in 2024 is bleak. We have a rapidly shrinking window to get seeds to farmers before the main planting season ends and the rainy season begins. If we act in time, people – especially those in inaccessible areas – will be able to produce food locally and avert food shortages in the next six months. Without immediate action, people will go hungry and be forced to move in search of food, shelter and protection.   Let us be clear: If we are prevented from providing aid rapidly and at scale, more people will die. Without an immediate and major step change, we will face a nightmare scenario: A famine will take hold in large parts of the country.   More people will flee to neighbouring countries in search of sustenance and safety. More children will succumb to disease and malnutrition. Women and girls, already bearing the brunt of the conflict, will face even greater suffering and dangers.   To prevent these worst-case scenarios, we, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Principals, urgently request the parties to the conflict to do the following:   Take immediate measures to protect civilians, including by refraining from directing attacks against them, allowing them to leave for safer areas, and ending sexual and gender-based violence. Facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access through all possible crossline and cross-border routes to allow civilians to receive humanitarian aid.   Immediately cease all acts denying, obstructing and interfering with, or politicizing, humanitarian action. Simplify and expedite administrative and bureaucratic procedures related to the delivery of humanitarian aid.   De-escalate the situation in Al Fasher and adopt a nationwide ceasefire. Stop human rights violations, including grave violations against children, and hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.   We are also concerned by the limited support from donors. Nearly five months into the year – and six weeks after the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbours in Paris on 15 April – we've received just 16 per cent of the $2.7 billion we need.   Donors must urgently disburse pledges made in Paris and fast-track additional funding for the humanitarian appeal. With a famine on the horizon, we must deliver much more life-saving aid now, including seeds for farmers before the planting season ends. The clock is ticking. The choice is clear.   http://interagencystandingcommittee.org/inter-agency-standing-committee/statement-principals-inter-agency-standing-committee-no-time-lose-famine-stalks-millions-sudan-amid http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudans-children-trapped-critical-malnutrition-crisis-warn-un-agencies http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/geneva-palais-briefing-note-sudan-crisis-neglect http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/sudans-children-trapped-critical-malnutrition-crisis-warn-un-agencies http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/using-starvation-weapon-war-sudan-must-stop-un-experts   15 May 2024   At least 5 million people in Sudan are on the brink of starvation. (WFP, agencies)   The UN World Food Programme warns that the window to save lives is closing as famine looms in Sudan’s war-torn regions with civilians trapped by intensified fighting in northern Darfur; the rainy season set to start in the coming month making critical transport routes inaccessible; and as the lean season - when food stocks run out and hunger peaks – hits.   “The situation is desperate and quickly deteriorating. WFP has the capacity to scale up and expand our assistance, but for that we need all parties to facilitate access – both across the warring front lines, as well as cross-border from Chad and South Sudan,” said WFP’s Deputy Executive Director, Carl Skau following a mission to Sudan this week.   “Only a few weeks remain to stock up food supplies in parts of Darfur and Kordofan before the rainy season starts and many roads become impassible. Farmers also need to safely reach their farmlands to plant ahead of the rains,” he added.   At least 5 million people in Sudan are on the brink of starvation (IPC4). WFP experts warn that number may have significantly increased since the last Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) assessment in December 2023.   A preliminary WFP analysis has identified 41 hunger hotspots that are high-risk of slipping into famine (IPC5) in the coming month, most of them in access constrained areas where conflict is raging including in the Darfur and Kordofan region and Khartoum.   Escalating fighting in North Darfur’s capital El Fasher in recent days has resulted in large numbers of civilian deaths and injuries, damaged the only operational hospital in the state, and hampered humanitarian access to the city and beyond.   “I urge the warring parties to uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and to stop the fighting,” he added.   WFP has repeatedly been warning that Sudan could become the world’s worst hunger crisis as the conflict enters its second year. The window to prevent famine is rapidly closing without immediate action.   “The situation in Sudan has not been given the attention it deserves. That must change now. Concerted diplomatic efforts and more resources are urgently needed to protect civilians and to strengthen the humanitarian response. WFP is committed and ready to do its part,” WFP Deputy Executive Director said.   http://www.wfp.org/news/small-window-remains-avert-disaster-sudans-war-torn-regions-warns-wfp-deputy-executive http://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149786 http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-briefing-notes/2024/05/sudan-un-human-rights-chief-horrified-escalating-violence-el-fasher http://www.unocha.org/news/sudans-humanitarian-coordinator-calls-immediate-ceasefire-al-fasher-safeguard-civilians http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/attack-el-fasher-would-endanger-hundreds-thousands-children-warns-unicef http://news.un.org/en/story/2024/05/1149281 http://www.msf.org/sudan-msf-warns-catastrophic-malnutrition-crisis-zamzam-camp-amidst-escalating-violence-north http://msf.exposure.co/voices-of-el-geneina http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/first-person/2024/05/29/how-el-fasher-went-darfurs-safe-haven-all-out-war-sudan http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2024/05/09/rsf-accused-war-crimes-ethnic-cleansing-darfur http://www.hrw.org/report/2024/05/09/massalit-will-not-come-home/ethnic-cleansing-and-crimes-against-humanity-el http://www.msf.org/after-year-war-sudan-rapid-scale-response-needed http://dataviz.unhcr.org/products/gotm/2024-04/sudan-one-year-spiralling-conflict.html http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2023/08/02/how-mutual-aid-networks-are-powering-sudans-humanitarian-response http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2024/04/15/mutual-aid-mass-displacement-how-we-chronicled-year-conflict-sudan   Feb. 2024   In the deafening silence of global indifference, the war in Sudan recently entered its 10-month mark.   Since April 2023, close to 8 million people have fled their homes, of whom more than 1.6 million have sought refuge in Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic – countries already grappling with immense difficulties.   Close to 25 million people need humanitarian assistance, including around 5 million people on the brink of famine and nearly 7 million children who are severely undernourished. Mass graves conceal evidence of widespread, systematic, and targeted mass atrocities that could be repeated at any moment as the conflict further expands.   Yet despite all of this, Sudan remains seemingly invisible to the global community.   The UN Security Council, other key multilateral institutions like the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and states with influence over the warring parties have failed to stop the violence.   And while the UN Security Council does little beyond condemn attacks on civilians and call for access to humanitarian assistance, regional efforts to resolve the crisis have been grindingly slow and too tepid.   As a result, commitments from the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance remain unfulfilled. Those with influence over the warring parties have echoed hollow calls for ceasefires and looked away as cumbersome bureaucratic requirements hinder our aid efforts.   A worsening crisis   Their lives turned upside down, Sudanese civilians have shown extraordinary strength. They have forged local mutual aid networks, channelling tireless efforts into collecting food, cash, and medicine to aid those in dire need. They have demonstrated that assisting Sudan's most impacted regions is difficult but far from impossible. Yet despite these efforts, the humanitarian situation is still worsening.   Sudan now has the grim honour of being the world’s largest child displacement crisis, with more than 3 million children – from a population of about 23 million children – displaced by violence since mid-April last year.   Today, fighting has engulfed more than half of the country. The capital Khartoum is now a ghost city, haunted by the smell of decaying bodies left in the streets. The normally quiet neighbourhoods have become battlefields, where homes, hospitals, schools, and markets have been bombed, looted, and occupied. In southern Sudan, the towns of Kordofan are strangled as fighting has cut supply lines and roads.   In December, Al-Jazirah state, once the country’s breadbasket, witnessed intense fighting leading to a new wave of displacement, as more than half of a million people fled their homes in search of safety. The state had recently become a hub for humanitarian operations, including our own, and fighting has forced us to relocate our staff and pause our operations in the state.   Further west, in Darfur, ethnicity has determined life or death. The generation born during the 2003-2005 genocide has followed their parents' desperate exodus. More than 600,000 people have now fled into neighbouring Chad; thousands never made it, having been executed in their homes or on the way.   At the end of February, the UN Security Council will close its political mission to Sudan, at a time when its responsibility to the country’s population is greater than ever.   To allow humanitarian organisations to reach the Sudanese people, we need the UN Security Council to demand unfettered humanitarian access across Sudan. The Council should act to pass a Resolution calling for all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, including the duty to protect civilians and the critical infrastructure they rely upon. This includes taking all feasible precautions to prevent grave violations against children and any forms of sexual and gender-based violence. The UN Security Council cannot continue to ignore its responsibility to protect civilians.   To those who have been left wounded, homeless, starving, bereft and robbed of their future, the UN Security Council, the African Union, IGAD, and regional partners must stand together and show that they will no longer stand idly by while rampant and egregious violations of international law are committed. It is time for disparate and at times competing diplomatic initiatives to become more coordinated and coherent.   Parties to the conflict must be held accountable for their commitments, and all actors must call out any continued targeting of civilians and arbitrary denials of humanitarian access. Perpetrators of all violations cannot be allowed to operate with impunity. The people of Sudan have been left to suffer in silence. More than 10 months on, it is past time that the bravery of the Sudanese people is matched by the concrete actions of the international community.   * David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee; Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International; Jan Egeland, Secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council; Charlotte Slente, Secretary General of the Danish Refugee Council; Michelle Nunn, President and CEO – CARE USA; Stephen Omollo, CEO of Plan International   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/sudan-nearly-230000-children-and-new-mothers-likely-die-hunger-without-critical-action-save http://www.wfp.org/news/sudans-war-risks-creating-worlds-largest-hunger-crisis-warns-wfp-chief http://www.care-international.org/news/ten-months-turmoil-sudan-children-battling-malnutrition-conflict-rages http://www.wfp.org/stories/sudans-war-rages-fallout-spreads-nearby-countries http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/04/sudan-un-committee-urges-end-ethnic-violence-and-hate-speech-calls-immediate http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/03/high-commissioner-outlines-insidious-disregard-human-life-sudan http://www.wfp.org/news/sudan-crisis-sends-shockwaves-around-region-displacement-hunger-and-malnutrition-soar   http://www.unicef.org/mena/press-releases/numbers-children-seek-life-saving-care-sudan-war-drives-worlds-worst-displacement-crisis http://www.emro.who.int/sdn/sudan-news/urgent-action-needed-to-reach-the-most-vulnerable-in-sudan-with-life-saving-health-services.html http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/sudan-25-million-people-dire-humanitarian-need-say-un-experts http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/sudan-internet-shutdown-threatens-delivery-of-humanitarian-and-emergency-services/   Feb. 2024   World confronts an ‘ugly and inescapable truth’ in Darfur, by Karim Khan - Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC)   The international community’s failure to execute warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and subsequent lack of accountability are fuelling the violence stemming from the war between rival militaries in Sudan, ICC Prosecutor told the UN Security Council on Monday.   Prosecutor Karim Khan emphasized the “ugly and inescapable truth” that failure to act now is not only a damning verdict on the present but will subject future generations to a similar fate. “It cannot be a case of ‘play, rewind, and repeat’,” he warned.   A clear assessment by his office indicated the presence of “grounds to believe” that Rome Statute crimes – genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity – are being committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) along with affiliated groups.   “We need to do more”, he stressed, urging Sudan to comply in good faith with Security Council resolutions, cooperate with and provide requested information to his office, and allow investigators in the country.   In March 2005, the Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC Prosecutor for investigations into allegations of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.   During that time, the region was engulfed in a brutal war involving the military-led government, the Janjaweed militia, and rebel groups, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and the displacement of millions more from their homes in a campaign marked by ethnic cleansing against non-Arabs.   In July last year, Mr. Khan announced an investigation into fresh allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur against the backdrop of the ongoing war between SAF and RSF forces and their affiliated groups.   Situation ‘dire by any metric’.   Speaking to ambassadors via video link from N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, Mr. Khan described the situation as “dire by any metric”.   Since the conflict’s onset in April 2023, over 7.1 million Sudanese civilians have been displaced, with 1.5 million forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.   Chad, in particular, hosts more than 540,000 Sudanese refugees, a number expected to rise to 910,000 by the end of 2024.   “One in three of the population in the affected parts of Chad are refugees.. they are arriving at a rate faster than Chad, faster than the United Nations can respond,” Mr. Khan said, with many showing signs of serious injury and trauma.   Refugees themselves have provided chilling testimony describing sexual violence against Darfuri women and girls, brutal killings, and racially motivated crimes.   Mr. Khan warned ambassadors that the crisis in Darfur was deepening, with the war impacting whole swathes of the continent: from Libya on the Mediterranean to Sub-Saharan Africa, and from Sudan’s Red Sea coast to the Atlantic.   “We see a number of areas where conflicts seem to be triumphing against rule of law and deafening out the voices of the most vulnerable people,” he said.   Stressing that judicial orders and court judgements alone cannot solve the problem, the ICC prosecutor urged the international community to devise innovative solutions to address the “catastrophe” in Darfur and prevent the violence from spreading further.   Mr. Khan urged Council members not to lose sight of the individual human stories behind the statistics of those affected by brutal crimes and war.   “These are individuals whose lives have been torn apart, each of whom has a story of woe and of suffering,” he said, emphasizing the collective responsibility of the Security Council, the United Nations, Member States, regional organizations and the ICC “to live up to our promises that we have repeatedly made.”   http://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1146012   Jan. 2023   For Sudan’s people, 2023 was a year of suffering, by Martin Griffiths - UN Emergency Relief Coordinator (OCHA)   Nearly nine months of war have tipped Sudan into a downward spiral that only grows more ruinous by the day. As the conflict spreads, human suffering is deepening, humanitarian access is shrinking, and hope is dwindling. This cannot continue.   2024 demands that the international community – particularly those with influence on the parties to the conflict in Sudan – take decisive and immediate action to stop the fighting and safeguard humanitarian operations meant to help millions of civilians.   Now that hostilities have reached the country’s breadbasket in Aj Jazirah State, there is even more at stake. More than 500,000 people have fled fighting in and around the state capital Wad Medani, long a place of refuge for those uprooted by clashes elsewhere. Ongoing mass displacement could also fuel the rapid spread of a cholera outbreak in the state, with more than 1,800 suspected cases reported there so far.   The same horrific abuses that have defined this war in other hotspots – Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan – are now being reported in Wad Medani. Accounts of widespread human rights violations, including sexual violence, remind us that the parties to this conflict are still failing to uphold their commitments to protect civilians.   There are also serious concerns about the parties’ compliance with international humanitarian law. Given Wad Medani’s significance as a hub for relief operations, the fighting there – and looting of humanitarian warehouses and supplies – is a body blow to our efforts to deliver food, water, health care and other critical aid. Once again, I strongly condemn the looting of humanitarian supplies, which undermines our ability to save lives.   Across Sudan, nearly 25 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024. But the bleak reality is that intensifying hostilities are putting most of them beyond our reach. Deliveries across conflict lines have ground to a halt. And though the cross-border aid operation from Chad continues to serve as a lifeline for people in Darfur, efforts to deliver elsewhere are increasingly under threat.   The escalating violence in Sudan is also imperiling regional stability. The war has unleashed the world’s largest displacement crisis, uprootng the lives of more than 7 million people, some 1.4 million of whom have crossed into neighbouring countries already housing large refugee populations.   For Sudan’s people, 2023 was a year of suffering. In 2024, the parties to the conflict must do three things to end it: Protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian access, and stop the fighting – immediately.   http://reliefweb.int/country/sdn http://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2024/01/89755/sudan-war-living-nightmare-children-unicef-representative http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/almost-3-million-children-sudans-al-jazirah-state-risk-violence-escalates http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-humanitarian-response-crippled-wad-madani-aid-hub-and-home-700000-people-overtaken http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-warns-hunger-catastrophe-looms-conflict-hit-sudan-without-urgent-food-assistance http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-92/en/   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/least-5-million-children-brink-darfur-unchecked-conflict-worsens http://www.unicef.org/mena/press-releases/over-200-days-war-leaves-generation-children-sudan-brink http://www.savethechildren.net/news/sudan-about-7600-children-fleeing-homes-daily-world-s-largest-child-displacement-crisis http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unimaginable-humanitarian-crisis-unfolding-sudan http://www.iom.int/news/iom-chief-international-community-must-not-turn-its-back-worlds-largest-displacement-sudan http://www.msf.org/sudan-urgent-response-needed-amid-high-death-rates-and-malnutrition-crisis-north-darfur http://www.msf.org/conflict-sudan http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases/sudan-breadbasket-to-battlefield http://www.humanitarianoutcomes.org/publications/score-report-sudan-2023 http://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/ Visit the related web page
	View more stories