Paris donor conference raises billions for Sudan
At a humanitarian conference in Paris the international community has pledged over two billion euros in aid for Sudan. The country has been ravaged by a year of conflict between government troops and rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Millions of people are starving and on the move. Will the money be enough?
More humanitarian aid, money and diplomacy needed
British UN diplomat Martin Griffiths appeals to the international community in Le Monde:
“The time has come for the international community to assume its responsibilities. The conference in Paris must translate into tangible results: better access for humanitarian aid, more funding for humanitarian measures and more diplomacy to end this war. With regard to the parties to the conflict and their supporters, it's time to face the reality. They are making life in Sudan unbearable. Their quest for power and resources is causing hunger, displacement and disease. Silence the guns now! After a year of war, there must be a light at the end of this tunnel of darkness and death.”
Resolving the conflict won't be easy
For the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, expectations are understandably low, particularly regarding the prospect of a political solution:
“A variety of states from near and far are following their own agendas in Sudan, spanning from raw materials and trading interests to old rivalries. But it is the Sudanese who are paying the price - which could trigger waves of migration to Europe. In this political minefield Europe must look for ways to deal with self-confident intermediary states like the United Arab Emirates, which are closely monitoring their interests in Sudan and exploiting the fact that they are needed by the West. It will not be easy.”