The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday said the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, will travel to Sudan later this week to continue consultations with the Sudanese authorities and other stakeholders in the country.
Stéphane Dujarric added that the Quintet, which comprises the African Union, the European Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States, and the United Nations, will convene Sudanese civilian stakeholders for a workshop today, Wednesday, in Addis Ababa, as part of the process aimed at discussing the parameters and priorities of a future inter-Sudanese civilian dialogue.
“Mr. Haavisto will be there for part of the workshop, ahead of his travel to Sudan,” he said. “This workshop will build on the extensive consultations the Quintet has undertaken in recent months with a broad spectrum of Sudanese stakeholders, including political blocs, political parties, civil society actors, women’s groups, youth groups, and representatives of displaced communities, on the contours of the dialogue process.”
“The Quintet is aiming for the dialogue process, and for the preparatory workshop preceding it, to be meaningfully inclusive in a way that reflects Sudan’s political and social diversity,” Dujarric added.
On the ground in Sudan, he said the humanitarian situation remains dire.
“Despite mounting insecurity, access constraints, and severe funding shortfalls, we and our humanitarian partners are continuing to do our best to deliver critical assistance to millions of people across the country,” he said. “In April alone, our partners and we provided food aid to more than 3 million people, including nearly 800,000 people in areas experiencing or at risk of severe hunger.”
“In North Darfur State, the World Food Programme and its partners provided emergency food and nutrition assistance to almost half a million people in Tawila, which, as you know, hosts one of the largest populations of internally displaced people in Sudan,” he added.
According to Dujarric, the UN remains gravely concerned by escalating intercommunal violence in parts of the Darfur region. He said clashes over the weekend in several villages across Central and West Darfur reportedly claimed dozens of lives.
He stated that drone strikes continue to affect Darfur and that on Monday, drones reportedly struck the town of Kabum in South Darfur State, as well as several parts of the state capital, Nyala.
“The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) once again calls on all parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow for rapid, safe, unhindered, and sustained access for humanitarian aid for all people who need it wherever they may be,” Dujarric added.
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