Joint Statement from the ALPS Group on the Humanitarian Situation in Sudan

The following is the text of a joint statement by the Governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America, and the African Union and United Nations.

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The ALPS coalition is appalled by the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Sudan, including the growing number of people in situations of severe malnutrition and famine, and by the wide range of access impediments that are delaying or blocking the response in key areas. 

Civilians continue to pay the highest price for this war.  With the situation in Sudan worsening and humanitarian needs reaching critical levels, urgent action is needed by the conflict parties to protect civilians and allow and facilitate humanitarian access to those in need, in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law, and their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan, signed in May 2023. 

In this regard, the ALPS coalition calls on the warring parties to:

• Lift all bureaucratic impediments impinging on and preventing humanitarian activities;
• Commit to maintain key supply routes open for humanitarian convoys and personnel, including through humanitarian pauses and other arrangements as needed.  This should include the longer-term extension of the Adre crossing, and agreements on the predictable and sustained use of key crossline routes into Darfur and the Kordofan regions as well as additional crossings from South Sudan;
• Guarantee that humanitarian actors can safely provide assistance in all of Sudan to all civilians in need, and without fear of retaliation if they provide aid in areas controlled by other parties;
• Ensure safe passage for civilians to access assistance and services;
• Allow and facilitate a sustained UN humanitarian presence, across the country, notably in areas of acute humanitarian needs, particularly in Darfur and the Kordofan regions;
• Restore telecommunications access in all areas of Sudan;
• Ensure the protection of critical civilian infrastructure, in particular energy, water and health infrastructure.

In some areas – particularly North Darfur and the Kordofan region – de-escalation measures are urgently needed for humanitarian actors to be able to bring aid.  The ALPS group therefore calls on the conflict parties to adhere to their Jeddah Commitments, and to allow for humanitarian pauses to enable the movement of life-saving supplies into such areas, and ease barriers to civilian movement out of danger.

The ALPS group urgently reiterates that international humanitarian law must be fully respected.  This includes the obligations to protect civilians, including humanitarian personnel, their premises and assets, as well as to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need.

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