Nations push for more funding for Sudan

PARIS: Top diplomats from France, Germany and the European Union will push for more funding for Sudan when they meet in Paris to mark the first anniversary of the conflict erupting.

French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné will be joined by his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, top EU diplomat Josep Borrell and the EU’S Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic at the Paris get-together.

French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Borrell and Lenarcic at the end of the conference.

The war in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), devastating the country’s infrastructure, prompting warnings of famine and displacing millions of people.

Thousands of civilians have been killed, although death toll estimates are highly uncertain, and both sides have been accused of committing war crimes. Both sides have largely denied the accusations against them.

The World Health Organisation said on Friday that the crisis could worsen in the coming months as the distribution of humanitarian aid and medical supplies remains restricted.

The US government hopes the Paris conference can loosen the purse strings, and is committing more than Us$100mil in additional funding for Sudan relief efforts, Special Envoy Tom Perriello said this week.

“The international response has been pitiful. We’re at 5% of the needed amount,” said Perriello, adding that the US has already committed over a billion dollars in humanitarian relief to the conflict. —