Darfur humanitarian forum: SLM-AW calls for ‘declaration of famine’

The preparatory forum for the Conference on Humanitarian Issues in Darfur region, scheduled to take place in May, kicked off in the Kalma camp in South Darfur yesterday. Participants abroad attended the forum online. The Sudan Liberation Movement headed by Abdelwahid Nur reported that more than 26,000 children sheltering in Jebel Marra are malnourished and urged the UN to officially declare a famine in the region. Other speakers called on the UN “to intervene under Chapter 7’.

The Darfur Bar Association (DBA) plans to organise an international conference in central Darfur in May “to draw the attention of the international community and convince them that there is a famine ongoing in Darfur, not just a nutrition gap”. The lawyers decided to hold the preparatory forum for the conference in the Kalma camp* for displaced people bordering the South Darfur capital Nyala, to also highlight the dire situation in the camp.

The head of the preparatory committee, DBA Deputy Chairperson Nafeesa Hajar, welcomed “all those who are present physically at Kalma camp and to those joining us via Zoom from various cities in Sudan, from Egypt, the USA, Uganda, Chad, Kenya, Belgium, and France”.

She said that the preparatory forum “aims to approve the topics of the conference that will be held in May”. The forum would be held for three days, but later on Monday, it was decided to extend the sessions with one day. “The added day will be devoted to discussing the outcomes of the forum for the conference scheduled to be held in May, in light of non-implementation of the UN Security Council call for a ceasefire during the month of Ramadan”.

The head of the Darfur Coordination for Displaced People and Refugees, Yagoub Furi, reported severe malnutrition and the spread of diarrhoea in Kalma camp. “More than a thousand children here are suffering from acute malnutrition.”

He said that the dire humanitarian situation is caused by “the failure of the agricultural season and the rise in fuel prices, while the provision of aid has stopped since the start of the war” more than 11 months ago. “We are living in a state similar to a siege because of the disastrous security situation and the exposure of displaced people to killing, kidnapping and assaults when they leave the camp to collect firewood or search for work.”

Furi called on the United Nations “to intervene under Chapter Seven to protect the roads and ensure the arrival of aid”.

Adam Rujal, spokesperson for the Darfur Coordination, urged the UN Security Council “to put pressure on both sides of the conflict to cease hostilities immediately and comprehensively, and return to dialogue”.

The spokesperson for the Women Against Injustice Campaign, Sara Mustafa, spoke about the “more than five million people in the region threatened by famine” as a result of the loss of income for most of the Darfuri and the delay in the arrival of aid to Darfur, which is almost entirely under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Mustafa said that people in the camps for the displaced and villages in Darfur “are eating leaves and locusts to combat hunger”.

The lack of primary health care has led to high rates of neonatal mortality. She also warned of the consequences of the cessation of vaccinations for children.

Appeal for declaration of famine

The mainstream SLM, co-founded and led by Abdelwahid Nur (SLM-AW), which has its stronghold in the mountain tops of the Jebel Marra massive, reported that an estimated 26,636 children are suffering from malnutrition “in all displaced camps in Jebel Marra”. An estimated 1,724 children died of hunger so far.

More than 75,400 “women, pregnant women, and lactating mothers” are suffering from malnutrition. 694 of them died “due to hunger, diseases, and lack of primary healthcare”. The only healthcare facility in the area, the Golo Hospital is short of medical staff and essential medical supplies.

For these reasons, Adam Daoud, “representative of the [SLM-AW] Civil Authority in the Liberated Territories” appealed to the UN and the international community to officially declare a famine in Darfur.

“This conference is considered a historic and opportune moment to draw the attention of the international and regional community to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions prevailing in the region, which may escalate to the point of famine if not addressed promptly,” he said in his address at the Kalma forum yesterday.

“We have received an overwhelming number of displaced and affected individuals who fled the ravages of war in Sudan between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The civil authority has accommodated them in safe and secure camps. However, the civil authority is operating with limited resources and has not received support from any source. The number of displaced persons has exceeded 450,000 families, equivalent to approximately 2,250,000 individuals, distributed among 13 camps.

“Despite the security protection provided by the movement, the camps require urgent food and medical aid to save them from the spectre of famine. The current situation is catastrophic and extremely dangerous, requiring swift and urgent action from international humanitarian organizations to rescue them,” Daoud stressed.

“In conclusion, through this conference, we hope to convince the United Nations, UN Secretary General, the European Union, the Troika countries, the IGAD organisation, all free governments and parliaments of the world, neighbouring countries of Sudan, regional and international organisations that the situation in Darfur has become a real humanitarian catastrophe. The looming famine requires urgent action to save the victims from the danger of hunger. We also renew our call to the international and regional community and all the free people of the world to pressure the parties to the conflict to stop and end the war in Sudan, open safe routes, and corridors to deliver essential needs to isolated citizens and displaced persons in the cities, villages of the region, and the camps at the foothills of Jebel Marra.

“We urge the parties to the conflict not to use relief as a weapon of war against our people and not to intercept humanitarian convoys and to allow them immediate and unconditional passage.”

‘Lack of interest’

Mohamed Abdallah El Doma, former governor of West Darfur and co-founder of the DBA, criticised “the world’s lack of interest in the issue of Darfur and Sudan and the focus on the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Red Sea” in his speech at the Kalma forum yesterday.

He proposed to liaise with “the large number of Darfuris in the diaspora and mobilise them to go and meet with members of the US Congress and officials in Europe”.

Regarding transitional justice issues, El Doma called for the establishment of hybrid courts in Darfur to try all accused after peace is restored, “as the International Criminal Court will try only a limited number”.

The human rights defender further noted the difficulty of the international community concerning the issue of intervention to protect civilians in Sudan due to the differences in the UN Security Council.

He said he rules out that the warring parties will sit down to negotiate, “which will lead to an increase in the risk of famine”.

On Thursday, US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello told reporters that he hopes negotiations between the SAF and RSF will resume in April.

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* Kalma, currently home to more than 170,000 displaced, is one of the largest camps for displaced people in Darfur. The Zamzam camp south of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, is the largest camp in the region. It has swollen to more than 300,000 people since war broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported already in early February that children in the Zamzam camp “are dying from malnutrition at a catastrophic rate”.