Global Courant 2023-05-06 00:48:20
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The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Friday urged states to keep borders open to people fleeing military infighting in Sudan and to suspend “negative asylum decisions” for Sudanese nationals outside the country, who have been deported because of the conflict. cannot return.
Elizabeth Tan, UNHCRThe Director of International Protection said their initial request was that countries allow citizens fleeing Sudan access to their territory in “a non-discriminatory manner”.
She said this applied to Sudanese nationals, foreigners and refugees hosted in Sudan, “stateless persons, as well as those who do not have a passport or any other form of identification”.
Since the military confrontation between the national army and its main rival militias, known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), began on April 15, UNHCR and humanitarian partners have reported a shocking series of human rights abuses, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians and sexual assaults.
Widespread crime and looting of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian buildings, has forced many Sudanese to flee and seek safety outside Sudan.
“There are Sudanese who are outside Sudan and they need protection right now,” Ms Tan said.
“They should not be sent back to Sudan if they have pending asylum applications. We ask that negative decisions be suspended.”
Large numbers of civilians have been forced to flee the fighting, including people already internally displaced due to previous conflicts in Sudan, and refugees from other countries.
“There were 1.1 million refugees hosted in Sudan, and those individuals need protection,” she stressed.
UNHCR remains particularly concerned about the situation of the newly displaced persons in Darfur.
“We have heard reports of IDP (internally displaced persons) camps being burned down, so we know people are being displaced. The IDPs in Darfur are being displaced again,” Ms Tan said.
“Our ability to provide aid in Darfur is severely limited.” She said UNHCR could provide some assistance in the east of the country “because that part of the country is still relatively stable – in Darfur the situation is different and so the humanitarian situation is likely to worsen.”
7 children killed or injured per hour
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also reported an alarming new number of children killed and injured in Sudan, particularly in the conflict zones of Khartoum and Darfur.
“The reports we have received are 190 children killed and 1,700 injured,” said UNICEF spokesman James Elder, referring to the time since the violent military clashes began. “That means you killed or injured seven boys or girls every hour.”
Mr Elder added that “these are just kids going to health facilities. I think this underscores the magnitude of how violent this is and how much of an impact it has on children. This is before we look at the more than eight million people who were in need of humanitarian assistance,” facing severely damaged health and water systems.
Not a safe haven
UNICEF stressed that places where children need to be safe, such as homes, schools and hospitals, are consistently attacked.
While UNICEF condemned the attacks on humanitarian workers and humanitarian facilities, as well as the looting of vehicles and supplies, UNICEF stressed that such attacks undermine the ability to reach children with critical aid.
I quote the Sudanese Ministry of Health, Dr. Margaret Harris, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), said that “4,926 people were injured and 551 people were killed,” but that the true numbers are likely much higher.
Bleed to death
According to WHO’s Dr. Harris, 25 percent of people did not survive because they could not receive simple treatment to stop bleeding.
In the third week of brutal fighting in Sudan, healthcare services are declining rapidly separately in the country’s capital, Khartoum. Very few hospitals are fully operational and more than 60 percent are no longer active.
On Thursday, UNCHR and 134 partners announced funding needs of $445 million for the regional umbrella refugee relief plan in five countries to help an estimated 860,000 Sudanese, refugees from other nationalists and refugees leaving the country.
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