UN / SUDAN EL FASHER VOTE

The Security Council today (13 Jun) adopted a resolution calling for the paramilitary Rapid Security Forces (RSF) in Sudan to halt their siege on El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state.

The resolution, put forward by the United Kingdom, received 14 votes in favour, none against, with Russia abstaining.

Ambassador Barbara Woodward of the United Kingdom said the resolution “sends a clear message,” adding that an attack would be “catastrophic” for the 1.5 million people sheltering in the city.

Woodward said, “this resolution underlines the need for full, rapid, safe and unhindered cross-border and crossline humanitarian access. It calls on the Sudanese authorities to increase cooperation with UN agencies and to urgently reopen the address border to help facilitate a significant scale up of humanitarian assistance.”

Russian Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva for her part said, “no cross border deliveries of humanitarian assistance without the consent of the official authorities of Sudan must and should not take place.”

Evstigneeva called on “some members of the Council to stop hiding behind noble intentions to ensure humanitarian access to Sudan. It's clear that they are doing this to promote their own agenda that is far from constructive.”

The resolution expresses deep concern over the outbreak of fighting in the city, and the risk of further escalation. It further demands that the rival militaries ensure the protection of civilians, which includes allowing people to move within and out of El Fasher if they want to.

The warring sides were also requested to allow and facilitate the rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, including by removing bureaucratic and other impediments.

The RSF and the Sudanese Army have been battling for more than a year, and fighting in El Fasher has escalated in recent months.

UN Humanitarians continue to respond to the crisis in Sudan, where the war has left scores dead, destroyed critical infrastructure, and displaced more than 10 million people, whether within the country or across the border.

Additionally, some 18 million Sudanese are going hungry, with five million on the brink of famine.