The Foreign Secretary has today, 01 November announced £5million
of urgent funding to provide lifesaving support for
Sudan.
Speaking at the 21st Manama Dialogue Conference in Bahrain,
the Foreign Secretary condemned the truly horrifying and utterly
intolerable scenes in El-Fasher where 260,00 people, half of
whom are children, are trapped in famine-like conditions,
surrounded by violence, and cut off from aid.
The Foreign Secretary said:
“In Sudan right now, there is just despair…
“And just as the combination of leadership and international
cooperation has made progress on Gaza, it is currently failing to
deal with the humanitarian crisis and the devastating conflict in
Sudan.
“...For too long, this terrible conflict has been neglected,
while suffering has simply increased…
“…Today, I'm announcing from the UK Government a further £5
million pounds of humanitarian support in response to the
violence in El Fasher, on top of the £120 million pounds the UK
is already providing this year across Sudan.”
The new UK funding will support critical humanitarian services,
including emergency food supplies, medical care and protection
for survivors of sexual violence. £2m will be specifically
allocated to bolster responses which focus on supporting the
survivors of rape and sexual violence.
Following further reports that the Rapid support Forces (RSF) and
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continue to use rape as a weapon of
war. The Foreign Secretary also said:
“The reports from Darfur in recent days are truly horrifying.
Atrocities, mass executions, starvation and the devastating use
of rape as a weapon of War, with women and children bearing the
brunt of the largest humanitarian crisis in the 21st Century.”
The UK has led international diplomatic efforts to bring those
responsible for inflicting suffering on innocent civilians to
account. Of the £120m for Sudan this year, this
includes the delivery of life-saving food and health assistance,
as well as support to those facing sexual violence through
partners such as the ICRC, Sudan Humanitarian Fund and Cash
Consortium Sudan.
UK diplomats continue to push all parties to cease hostiles to
protect civilians to allow unhindered humanitarian access, and
support a renewed international drive for peace.
