‘Displacement is becoming a children’s crisis in Sudan’: Unicef

Of the 379,000 people affected by conflict in the ten North Darfur localities, more than 265,000 are under 18, and about 66,000 of them are under five. These figures of the Sudanese Humanitarian Aid Commission show that an alarming 70 percent or more of the people displaced in North Darfur are children, Unicef Sudan stated in a press release on Tuesday. “Displacement in Sudan is gaining a momentum and magnitude that resemble the onset of the crisis in Darfur in 2003 and 2004.” “This is an extreme situation that places a serious responsibility on all of us. We need to remind ourselves that children deserve a first call on resources, especially in emergencies. We must sound the alarm and contain the effects of this crisis on children’s lives and futures,” said Geert Cappelaere, Unicef Representative in Sudan.  The Sudanese State Ministry of Social Welfare and the State Council on Child Welfare are stepping up the assessment of the situation these children are living in, and their humanitarian needs, including family tracing. “So far, 11 out of 161 unaccompanied children have been reunited with their families while the remaining children await news about their loved ones.”  Unicef, along with local organisations, fear that the number of affected children will increase over the coming time. And as children get displaced, they face increased risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.  So far, there have been sporadic reports of children killed, rape of children, and maiming and abduction of children. The verification process is on-going, but based on experience, such reports tend to represent the tip of an iceberg as affected children are terrified to report on what happened to them. “We must insist that all children, all across Sudan, be treated as zones of peace. They have no place in any conflict, they belong at home with their families, and in school,” Cappelaere stressed.  Photo: 9 March 2014. New displaced children under a provisional shelter in Kalma camp, South Darfur. They had fled the widespread Rapid Support Forces attacks on areas southeast of Nyala on 27 and 28 February. (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related: Nine displaced children reach North Darfur camp after three-day walk (1 April 2014)North Darfur State convenes emergency meeting (1 April 2014)At least 15 villages raided in Kutum, North Darfur (31 March 2014)