Sudan humanitarian briefing (1-7 July)

Executive summary

·      A famine has not yet been declared in Sudan, despite projections that an improvement of food security conditions may still ensure that 109,000 will be under famine-like conditions.

·      This week’s briefing looks at how different territory-holding armed entities hinder humanitarian delivery in Sudan, namely the warring parties (the army and the Rapid Support Forces militia) and the “neutral” Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid Nur.

·      With rape escalating in areas under RSF control, this briefing looks at some of the challenges facing victims and survivors, alongside solutions proposed by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa.

1. Famine

As reported last week, The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warn that there is a realistic chance of famine in at least 14 areas across in Sudan, leaving over half of Sudan’s 48 million people facing chronic hunger, with over 750,000 at risk of death by starvation between June and September 2024 (Sudan In The News, 3 July).

Nonetheless, the IPC project that there could be some improvement in food security conditions during the harvest season from October 2024 to February 2025. The total of those facing crisis-level or worse food insecurity could fall to about 21 million people, but this will still leave 109,000 people under famine-like conditions (Conversation, 7 July).

As noted by the Conversation, a key driver for the rapidly deteriorating food security situation in Sudan is the war, which has:

·      Restricted movements of goods and services

·      Disrupted markets,

·      Hindered agricultural production and humanitarian access.

Famine still not declared

Yet while humanitarians are clamouring for the IPC to declare a ‘famine’, but it is hampered by a lack of robust data, argues famine scholar Alex de Waal (London Review of Books, 3 July). “Too much of the country is no longer safe for Sudanese or foreign NGOs, and cautious nutritionist-statisticians don’t like speculating about what’s happening where aid workers aren’t reporting on child malnutrition rates,” De Waal wrote. However, the Clingendael Institute predict 2.5 million dead by the end of the year.

 In addition, different armed entities in Sudan in hinder attempts to mitigate the famine.

How Sudan’s armed entities hinder humanitarian relief

·      The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, known for looting and imposing bureaucratic hurdles, is impeding aid access in areas under its control.

·      The Sudanese army, allegedly aiming to starve the RSF into submission, is restricting aid to RSF-controlled areas.

·      While the Sudan Liberation Movement group under the leadership of Abdelwahid Nur (SLM-Nur) has offered to facilitate aid delivery, it also imposes its own bureaucratic requirements, further complicating the humanitarian situation.

·      Solutions to avert a famine were proposed by staff at the International Food Policy Research Institute 

RSF

The RSF serve as an obstacle to the delivery of humanitarian aid due to both the militia’s systematic looting and the bureaucratic burdens it is imposing in areas under its control.

The World Food Programme (WFP) revealed that unknown armed men looted three aid trucks on their way to Central Darfur. While the WFP did not disclose who the militants were affiliated to nor the exact location of the incident, Sudan Tribune (1 July) noted that the region is divided, with six localities under RSF control and the remaining three under SLM-Nur control.

It is worth noting, however, the RSF have history for looting aid, with USAID administrator Samantha Power saying the militia has been “systematically looting humanitarian warehouses”. In addition, De Waal describes the RSF as “a looting machine, its forces plundering every town and village they occupy, while wantonly destroying public infrastructure, including universities and hospitals” (London Review of Books, 3 July).

Furthermore, the RSF-established Sudanese Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations (SARHO) has also implemented its own set of bureaucratic requirements, particularly in Darfur, further complicating aid delivery in a region already grappling with a dire humanitarian crisis (Sudan Tribune, 1 July).

The army

With the UN requiring the consent of Sudanese army leader Abdelfattah al-Burhan to deliver humanitarian aid, De Waal outlined the army’s motivations for restricting aid access (London Review of Books, 3 July).

Estimating that 90 per cent of the hungriest people in Sudan are in the swathes of land controlled by the RSF, De Waal suggests that starvation is a cheap and effective weapon “for an army struggling to make progress on the battlefield”.

Arguing that the army intends to use starvation as a weapon of war “to the full,” De Waal adds that the army calculates – “perhaps correctly” -that if it can cut off food to those areas, the RSF will splinter or face rebellions from local militia.

SLM-Nur

Presenting itself as a neutral force aligned to neither the army of the RSF, the SLM-Nur armed group, which commands territory in Central Darfur, suggested that it could facilitate the entry of international humanitarian organisations provided that it is handed over Al-Fashir. North Darfur’s capital would subsequently become a centre for managing humanitarian affairs and relief for all areas of Darfur, Kordofan, White Nile, and Al-Jazira (Sudan Tribune, 4 July).

However, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said its efforts to deliver aid are impeded by the SLM-Nur areas under its control (Jabal Marra, Central Darfur); including mandatory registrations, travel permits, and fees, are significantly disrupting the flow of vital assistance to vulnerable populations (Sudan Tribune, 1 July). 

Famine solutions

Solutions to avert a famine were proposed by Khalid Siddig and Rob Vos of the International Food Policy Research Institute, aimed that the IPC working group on Sudan. They included: (Conversation, 7 July)

·      Restore humanitarian access so that humanitarian agencies can get safe and sustained access to areas with populations most in need.

·      Substantially increase the amount of food assistance and other essential supplies to prevent loss of life and support livelihoods.

·      Scale up nutrition interventions, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women.

·      Support livelihoods, including distribution of agricultural inputs and creating safe zones for farming.

2. Rape as a weapon of war

·      Rape and other forms of sexual violence are escalating in areas of Sudan controlled by the RSF militia.

·      The RSF is using rape as a weapon of war, with testimonies from survivors from the Massalit ethnic group.

·      Survivors face stigma, limited support, and fear of reprisals, hindering efforts to provide medical and psychological care.

·      Women’s rights organisation the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) call for a gender-responsive civilian protection framework in Sudan, including access to reproductive health services, safe zones, and accountability for perpetrators.

Increased sexual violence in RSF areas

Abdirahman Ali, the country director for Sudan at CARE International, confirmed the fast increasing rate of gender-based violence reported across Sudan, particularly in the areas where the RSF are present (DW, 2 July). Indeed, there have been reports of increased Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (CRSV), including gang rape among other violations, following the RSF’s advances into Sennar state (Sudan Tribune, 5 July).

Rape as a weapon of war

In a feature piece, DW (2 July) spoke to various survivors of the RSF’s rape. The testimonies show how the militia is using rape as a weapon of their genocidal war in Darfur. Halima (name changed) said she believes the RSF raped her because she belongs to the Massalit ethnic group – formerly the majority of West Darfur’s city of al-Gineina – until the RSF genocide last year. Another young woman recalls how her RSF attacker asked her what tribe she was from, before telling her she would be killed if she was Massalit as “the Massalit would never own land in Sudan in the future”.

These survivors' stories are backed up by Human Rights Watch, which has documented numerous atrocities of a similar nature, warning of a potential genocide unfolding against the Massalit people in West Darfur. Nonetheless, rape survivors are struggling to get support (DW, 2 July)

Lack of support for rape victims and survivors

Alongside facing severe and life-threatening consequences, including loss of family support, homes and shelters and increased risk of suicide, survivors are afraid to seek medical treatment because of the stigma and fear of reprisals from rape. Even so, support is not readily available in many cases, with rape victims and survivors struggling to obtain contraception, abortion medication and post-exposure anti-viral medications. (Sudan Tribune, 3 July).

Psychological support for people affected by gender-based violence is also hard to come by, Ali said: "There are multiple displacements. Communities and internationally displaced persons are moving from one location to the other, complicating [efforts] to provide continuous support to this population” (DW, 2 July).  

Ali added that, especially in refugee camps, violence against women and girls continues, with situation exacerbated by difficulties in the delivery of emergency food assistance, clean water, health care and nutrition. The biggest challenge, he said, is moving health and nutrition supplies across the border from Chad into Sudan for people who are internally displaced.

To worsen matters, the RSF attack facilities providing lifesaving sexual and reproductive healthcare. With rape victims and survivors already struggling to obtain contraception, abortion medication and post-exposure anti-viral medications, an RSF attack destroyed a clinic belonging to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), which further restricted access to lifesaving sexual and reproductive healthcare in Darfur for women and girls. The RSF has also been kidnapping the clinic’s patients, and their whereabouts are unknown. (Sudan Tribune, 3 July).

Solution for gender-responsive protection

The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) call for the establishment of a gender-responsive civilian protection framework in Sudan (Sudan Tribune, 5 July).

“Dignity kits with feminine hygiene supplies are essential not only for maintaining dignity but also for preventing health issues,” SIHA said.

“Access to sexual and reproductive health care, including emergency services, is also a primary necessity.” SIHA added, alongside calls for prioritising civilian protection in Sudan through gender-responsive aid, establishing safe zones, holding perpetrators accountable and supporting for investigations into human rights violations and disruptions of illicit financial flows that fuel conflict.