♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦
A compact digest of this week’s most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan.
A group of internally displaced people, some of them in bad health condition, under a bush in Zamzam camp in North Darfur, 2014 (UNAMID)
A compact digest of this week's most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan. Subscribe to receive this digest weekly in your inbox.
PM Hamdok stresses the importance of refugee support and solidarity
June 10 – 2021 KHARTOUM Sudan’s Prime Minister and current chairman of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Abdallah Hamdok stressed the importance of support to refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the process of implementing peace agreements during a meeting with the Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) and its ambassador, Mohamed Abdi Eidi Affi.
Hamdok stressed that Sudan will do its utmost best to make the Sustainable Solutions’ Initiative for the issues of the IDPs, refugees, and returnees a success through its current chairmanship of the IGAD.
According to UNHCR statistics, Sudan hosts more than 2.5 million IDPs and over 1.1 million refugees and asylum-seekers, 30% of which live in refugee camps. Most IDPs live in Darfur or Korfodan where violence is still ongoing.
June 13 – 2021 KHARTOUM United Nations humanitarian agencies have been able to access conflict-affected communities in five areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu, in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states of Sudan for the first time in a decade, according to a joint statement by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
A series of humanitarian missions to the five isolated enclaves has concluded, just as renewed peace talks between the government of Sudan and SPLM-N are ongoing in Juba, South Sudan. These five areas have largely been cut-off from support over the last decade and the missions’ findings indicate people are in dire need of improved food security, education, health, and water and sanitation services.
Sudan Cabinet approves new Trade Unions Law
June 14 – 2021 KHARTOUM The Sudanese Cabinet held an emergency meeting (No. 3), headed by PM Hamdok, to discuss and approve the draft Trade Unions Law. Minister of Labour and Administrative Reform, Taysir El Nourani, said in a press statement that the Council of Ministers approved the law after numerous consultations that spanned four months.
Sudan PM: Legal agreement on GERD will 'avoid harm'
June 13 – 2021 KHARTOUM Sudanese PM Hamdok stressed the need to reach a binding legal agreement about the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in a meeting with the chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission.
South Kordofan gov describes situation after clashes as 'dangerous'
June 13 – 2021 GEDIR A State of Emergency has been introduced in South Kordofan following clashes between Dar Ali, Kenana, and Logan in the Shabakah area of Gedir locality, which killed at least five people and wounded several others.
UN Women: At Heaven’s Doors – the story of Bab El Ginan
June 11 – 2021 MERSHING UN Women Communication Officer Ahmed Amin Ahmed tells the story of Bab El Ginan, a 42-year-old widow from South Darfur. UN Women has been focussing on involving women in decision-making and negotiation.
OCHA reports: Food prices continue to rise, a bad omen for displaced people
June 11 – 2021 KHARTOUM / NEW YORK UN OCHA wrote that food prices continued to rise across Sudan in April, albeit at a lower rate compared to previous months, based on the WFP’s latest Market Monitor update.
Sudan to continue the liberalisation of its economy
June 11 – 2021 KHARTOUM Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Jibril Ibrahim, announced that his ministry would continue to adopt liberalisation policies “until the Sudanese economy recovers from the distortions it has long suffered from”.
Sudan and Egypt express ‘deep concerns’ over Ethiopia’s GERD filling
June 10 – 2021 KHARTOUM Sudan and Egypt issued a joint statement to express their concerns over the unresolved issues regarding the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) after a meeting between ministers of both countries.
Fatou Bensouda: ‘Work of ICC for international justice will continue without pause’
June 9 – 2021 THE HAGUE / NEW YORK The Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Fatou Bensouda, assured the UN Security Council (UNSC) that the work of her office on international justice and sustainable peace will continue without pause.
Sudan ‘Troika’ endorses Juba peace agreement
June 9 – 2021 KHARTOUM The Troika countries (the USA, UK, and Norway) and IGAD signed the October 3 Juba Agreement on Peace in Sudan as witnesses and guarantors at a ceremony at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum, in the presence of PM Abdallah Hamdok and the First Vice-President of the Sovereignty Council, Gen Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo.
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