France Rallies Global Support for Sudan: Hosts Conference to Provide Aid to Conflict-Stricken Region

Held on the first anniversary of Sudan’s civil war, the conference brings together representatives from Western powers, the Gulf states, and neighboring countries to raise money for an underfunded UN appeal for humanitarian aid.  

According to recent UN reports, Sudan is going through “the largest internal displacement crisis in the world” and “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent memory.” 

France is requesting assistance from the international community and attention to a crisis that, according to officials, is being overshadowed by the ongoing hostilities in Gaza and Ukraine. The goal, according to French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine, is to elevate this crisis to the top of the agenda. “We cannot let Sudan become a forgotten crisis,” he stated.

Dozens of Sudan’s civil society representatives are expected to participate in discussions regarding the humanitarian situation during a ministerial meeting on political issues. Officials stated that there were political risks in addition to humanitarian ones, such as the potential for Sudan to split into several states.

Behind closed doors, the ministerial meeting features notable participation from representatives of Sudan’s neighbors, the Gulf states, Western powers (the US and UK), regional organizations, and the UN. Actors, unionists, and journalists from Sudan’s civil society will meet in the interim to talk about “a possible peace process, and what happens after the war,” according to an official.

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Aid workers report that although the 48 million-person nation has suffered greatly, the world has turned its back on it after a year of conflict between rival generals that began on April 15, 2023.

This year, the UN humanitarian effort will require about $2.7 billion to provide food, medical care, and other supplies to 24 million Sudanese citizens, or nearly half of the country’s 51 million inhabitants. Only $145 million, or roughly 5%, of the total amount requested, has been donated thus far, according to OCHA, the UN’s humanitarian office.

An official from the French foreign ministry stated, “We don’t have the ambition to cover the whole sum, but we have hope that the international community wakes up.”