(GIN) – Enormous humanitarian needs are facing the war-torn Sudanese nation after a year of war. The number of reported casualties—15,000 deaths and an estimated 33,000 people injured to date—is likely to be an underestimate, according to a spokesperson for the World Health Organization. Since war erupted a year ago, more than 8.6 million people have been displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.
A multinational conference is slated for this week, April 15, focusing on the Sudanese situation from both political and humanitarian angles. Organized by France in collaboration with Germany and the European Union, the conference is going forward despite the absence of official Sudanese representation.
At the International Humanitarian Conference for Sudan and its Neighbors, participants will discuss how to move toward a political solution to the conflict and raise funds for Sudan’s humanitarian aid programs that have been severely underfunded. The goal is not to bring about any sort of ceasefire.
Last month, U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello announced that peace talks aimed at ending the war were possible “as soon as Ramadan is over.” When that came and went, he moved the date for talks by April 18. Perriello has now admitted that talks were “unlikely to resume” and has not given any alternative dates for when they might begin.
The UN is requesting an additional $4.1 billion to address Sudan’s humanitarian needs, but funds raised have only reached 5% of the needed amount so far, said Perriello, adding, “The international response has been pitiful.”
The medical relief group Doctors without Borders said, “The world has turned a blind eye as the warring parties intentionally block humanitarian access and the delivery of aid.”
“This is why we are desperately concerned that 5 million people at emergency levels of food insecurity are likely to move into catastrophic levels in the coming months,” said Michael Dunford, regional director for East Africa at the World Food Program. “There is a very real risk of becoming the largest hunger crisis anywhere in the world—if not already.”
About $400 million is needed immediately so aid workers can pre-position supplies before the lean season, and an additional $700 million to sustain the response in the coming months.
Members of the warring parties in Sudan have rejected the conference, saying it was organized without representatives of Sudan’s military government. The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “utmost astonishment and condemnation” about the conference, saying it was convened “without consultation or coordination with the Sudanese government and without its participation.”
The international community should “fulfill previous pledges instead of wasting resources and efforts in holding new conferences,” they said, adding that these conferences “will be nothing more than political and propaganda festivals.”
Khaled Farah, Sudan’s ambassador to France, claimed that the conference would only serve to prop up the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that the Sudanese military government has been at war with for almost a year.
“Under the pretext of concern for the tragedy of the Sudanese people, the conference will help the RSF,” he said.
Sudanese junta leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan predicted an early victory for his troops. “The battle will soon be resolved in the people’s favor,” he said. “The army, backed by the people, will not be vanquished…To those who dream of disbanding the armed forces, we call this an impossible dream.”
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