Remove restrictions to allow aid to reach people in need in Sudan

(Port Sudan, 10 February 2025) I wish to draw attention to the continued impediments to humanitarian operations in Sudan, particularly in the Darfur region, where food insecurity and widespread suffering are escalating.

The humanitarian crisis demands urgent and unimpeded access to aid, yet the persistent restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the Sudanese Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations (SARHO), an affiliate of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are preventing life-saving assistance from reaching those in desperate need.

Despite repeated commitments made by SARHO, humanitarian actors continue to face obstruction, undue interference and operational restrictions that contravene international humanitarian law and the obligations outlined in the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan of May 2023.

The world is watching, and it is unacceptable that the humanitarian community in Sudan — comprising United Nations agencies, international and local non-governmental organizations — is unable to deliver essential aid due to actions by those who have pledged to facilitate assistance.

I call on SARHO to take immediate and concrete measures to:

1. Return to comprehensive and meaningful engagement through dialogue and negotiations with the humanitarian community as whole to guarantee the delivery of urgent life-saving aid, as outlined in the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan signed on 11 May 2023.

2. Simplify bureaucratic procedures for aid convoys by eliminating unnecessary approvals and ensuring efficiency in the movement of humanitarian supplies.

3. End interference in humanitarian operations, including demands for logistical support or mandatory engagement with selected vendors that risk corruption and aid diversion.

The humanitarian community in Sudan calls on SARHO to do its utmost to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers, assets and operations to ensure their ability to function without threats or coercion. We stand ready to work with all actors in good faith to ensure that assistance reaches those in urgent need. 
 

***

For more information, please contact: Tapiwa Gomo, gomo@un.org; +254786633633