Remove restrictions to allow aid to reach people in need in Sudan – Statement by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan – particularly in the Darfur region where food insecurity and widespread suffering are escalating – demands urgent and unimpeded access to aid. However, persistent restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the Sudanese Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations (SARHO), an affiliate of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are preventing life-saving assistance from reaching those in desperate need.

Despite repeated commitments made by SARHO, humanitarian actors continue to face obstruction, undue interference, and operational restrictions that contravene international humanitarian law and the obligations outlined in the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan of May 2023.

It is unacceptable that the humanitarian community in Sudan — comprising United Nations agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations — is unable to deliver essential aid to due to actions by those who have pledged to facilitate assistance.

I call on SARHO to take immediate and concrete measures to:

1. Guarantee unrestricted humanitarian access by removing administrative and security obstacles that delay or prevent aid from reaching affected people.
2. Ensure the safety of humanitarian workers, assets and operations to ensure their ability to function without threats or coercion.
3. Simplify bureaucratic procedures for aid convoys by eliminating unnecessary approvals and ensuring efficiency in the movement of humanitarian supplies.
4. End interference in humanitarian operations, including demands for logistical support or mandatory engagement with selected vendors that risk corruption and aid diversion.
5. Return to comprehensive and meaningful engagement through dialogue and negotiations with the humanitarian community as whole as outlined in the Jeddah Declaration to guarantee the delivery of urgent life-saving aid.

The humanitarian community stands ready to work with SARHO and all parties in good faith to ensure that assistance reaches those in urgent need. The world is watching.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).