UN humanitarian chief urges Sudan truce as Gaza and climate action lag

The UN's humanitarian chief used the General Assembly to call for a humanitarian truce in Sudan, saying there can be no military solution to the war between Sudanese government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The conflict is in its fourth year and has forced millions of people from their homes.

At the United Nations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees also called for a humanitarian truce in Sudan. Barham Salih told delegates there is no military solution to the conflict between Sudanese government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The High Commissioner warned that renewed fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and government forces is putting civilians in danger. The warnings came after a week of high-level meetings between world leaders focused on humanitarian crises and the US and Israel's war with Iran.

Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, said the question was not what gets discussed in New York but whether there is any difference on the ground. He said the meetings could help if they unlocked changes to the conduct of armed parties in Sudan. He wanted the UAE to stop providing armed support to the RSF, which he said had committed genocide in parts of Sudan. He noted it was nearly a year since the RSF overran El Fasher, killing likely tens of thousands of people and committing systematic sexual violence. He said there had been no real change, and that failures by UN member states to prevent conflict and atrocities were creating the humanitarian crises that aid agencies are trying to respond to.

He argued that not nearly enough attention had been paid to Sudan and Gaza. There were side events on many subjects, he said, but not concerted action by powerful states. Gaza had fallen off the world's radar, he said, and the Board of Peace seemed to be operating in an alternate universe. It had rolled out plans in New York for about 66 recovery and reconstruction projects, which he said read like science fiction when miles of trucks were still outside Gaza and aid could not get in. Basic humanitarian obligations under the so-called ceasefire deal remained unfulfilled a year on, he added, and the political will needed to address the security and diplomatic causes of the crisis was still absent.

On climate, Konyndyk said there had been climate week events around New York but not enough focus inside the UN building. Nepal's Prime Minister Balendra Shah had given a forceful speech on Thursday, saying devastating floods in Nepal were a warning to the world. Konyndyk said he had recently returned from Somalia, where there were similar concerns. The El Nino cycle this year was expected to be one of the strongest on record. The last strong El Nino brought massive flooding to Somalia, and he warned it was likely to hit again in the autumn. It could be the strongest flooding since the 1950s, he said, coming after a multi-year drought that had already pushed the country to the brink of famine. The rain could wipe out another harvest cycle and push Somalia into famine. He said there was very little serious political discussion about dealing with climate change or responding to its effects in places such as Nepal and Somalia.