Thank you President and thank you, Secretary-General, for your
sobering update.
Colleagues, the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces
bear responsibility for the horrendous situation in Sudan.
Shelling and attacks from both sides in heavily populated, urban
areas and across the entire western region of Sudan, continue to
kill and terrorise civilians.
The situation for children is particularly unbearable. Four
million have been displaced. Over 700,000 will suffer from the
deadliest form of malnutrition this year.
Sudanese children have missed a year of school and face the fear
of not knowing when they will receive their next meal.
The Sudanese Armed Force’s withdrawal of permission for
cross-border deliveries of humanitarian aid from Adre in Chad is
indefensible.
We call on the Sudanese authorities to honour their commitments
to facilitate crossline and other cross-border routes for the
delivery of life-saving assistance for the Sudanese people.
They need to remove the red tape and deliberate obstructionism
which has prevented meaningful crossline assistance in recent
months.
To the people of Sudan, who for nearly a year have been made to
witness their country’s descent into near collapse: you have not
been forgotten.
The situation in Sudan warrants a robust response from this
Council and increased attention from the international
community.
As we approach the holy month of Ramadan, we echo the
Secretary-General’s call for an immediate ceasefire and we urge
all parties to allow for unhindered cross-border and crossline
humanitarian access.
We encourage international partners, including the AU, IGAD and
regional states, as well as the UN’s Personal Envoy, to
prioritise coordination of their efforts to end this conflict,
and to reject attempts by the warring parties to pit different
mediation tracks against each other.
President, it should not be for the military leadership of both
the SAF or RSF to determine the political future of
Sudan.
We call on them to give way to a civilian, transitional
government that will fully respect the basic human rights of the
Sudanese people.
I thank you.
