Thank you, Mr. President.
And thank you Ms. Pobee and Ms. Msuya for sharing these alarming updates on the recent escalation of fighting in El Fasher, which has been under siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for over three months. We welcome the swift convening of the Security Council to address these developments.
The scale of the suffering and destruction in El Fasher, is beyond comprehension. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are facing intense violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, indiscriminate attacks, repeated displacement and the imminent risk of starvation, as has already been confirmed in the Zamzam camp. A camp for displaced persons which, as we have heard, is home to half a million people. Many of those who manage to escape the fighting in El Fasher are being exploited, raped or go missing while they flee.
We reiterate with all urgency our calls to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, and to all parties, for de-escalation and an immediate cessation of hostilities. We call on the RSF to end the siege of El-Fasher, as called for in Resolution 2736. Similarly, we call on the SAF to refrain from aerial bombardments. Residential areas, markets, hospitals and IDP camps must stop being targeted.
As the UN Humanitarian Coordinator stressed this weekend, there is no excuse for attacks on civilians, which are strictly prohibited by international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes. We once again call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and their own commitments, including those in the Jeddah Declaration, in order to improve the protection of civilians and those no longer involved in the conflict. Here, I also refer to Ms. Pobee's remarks in this regard.
We also call on all parties and all Member States to respect the sanctions measures for Darfur, in particular the arms embargo, which this Council unanimously renewed last week.
Mr. President,
The cessation of hostilities, including through localised ceasefires or humanitarian pauses, is crucial to addressing the worsening humanitarian situation. We reiterate our call for all available routes to be opened, including across borders and front lines, in order to reach those in need. The severe flooding is complicating the delivery of humanitarian aid. The temporary opening of the Adré border is a promising first step, but more needs to be done. It is now essential to eliminate all bureaucratic obstacles in order to facilitate a rapid and unimpeded delivery. To this end, international humanitarian law also requires respect for and protection of humanitarian personnel, as reaffirmed by this Council in adopting Resolution 2730. This is all the more essential now that the trucks carrying humanitarian goods are on the move to reach those in need.
Mr. President,
The human suffering does not end at El Fasher. Other regions of Darfur as well as Sennar and Khartoum continue to be the scene of intense hostilities. When the rainy season ends, we are likely to see a further acceleration of the fighting across Sudan and an increased risk of the conflict becoming regionalised. Almost twenty-six million people across the country are facing conditions of acute hunger and famine; over ten million are displaced; the death toll is unknown. We have heard this time and again, but we must constantly remind ourselves of the devastating scale of the hostilities. As the Security Council, we must continue to play an active role in promoting a peaceful resolution to this conflict.
I thank you.