Diplomatic Declarations Will Not Feed Sudan

When Western diplomatic machinery reaches for its favorite weapon, the result is usually a joint statement. This week, the United States State Department assembled a coalition of thirty nations alongside the European Union to issue yet another solemn declaration, warning of an imminent famine in Sudan and demanding that the country’s warring generals step aside for humanitarian aid.

The signatories—a broad list featuring Washington, Canberra, Ottawa, London, Paris, Berlin, and the European Commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management—called on the combatants to clear all obstacles blocking food delivery. But whether paper declarations issued from comfortable capitals can influence two ruthless factions fighting for total control remains an open question.

The catastrophic reality on the ground leaves little room for bureaucratic delays. Since April 2023, when a rivalry over military integration erupted into open warfare in Khartoum between the regular Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the country has slipped into what is now the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and more than 13 million have been driven from their homes.

According to data from the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, 5.1 million people in Sudan were already suffering from severe hunger by June. The crisis has been compounded by severe drought linked to El Niño, which crippled harvests and sent food prices soaring. Without immediate intervention and unhindered access, international monitors warn that the number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition could surpass 825,000.

In their shared missive, the thirty-two signatories urged the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces to permit aid shipments across all front lines and international borders, specifically calling for air access into the Darfur region. They also demanded the protection of humanitarian workers and an immediate end to attacks on vital civilian infrastructure, while asking the international community to scale up emergency funding.

Yet the diplomatic posture faces a glaring paradox. Only last month, the United States State Department explicitly acknowledged that neither the Sudanese military leadership nor the Rapid Support Forces hold legitimate or constitutional authority to govern Sudan. Having already stripped both factions of political legitimacy, Western diplomats are now reduced to pleading with those very same unrecognised warlords to facilitate relief operations for the civilians caught in their crossfire.

Written by Thomas Nussbaumer thomas.nussbaumer@alpineweekly.com