JOHANNESBURG – In what some observers described as a last-ditch attempt at campaigning and leaving a legacy, some observers said President Biden and administration officials were trying to build a coalition with “the world's biggest humanitarian crisis today.” We are making renewed efforts to end the displacement crisis.” “War in Sudan.
The United Nations reports that around 25 million people are in dire need of aid, up to 150,000 people are said to have died since fighting broke out last year, and organizations such as Health Policy Watch are now reporting that More than half of Sudan's population faces severe hunger.” “Some analysts say this is a classic case of too little, too late.
“The administration has been trying to get the situation on better footing in the 11th hour, especially because the humanitarian situation is so desperate,” Cameron Hudson told Fox News Digital. “He (Biden) is stepping down,” said Hudson, who served as the National Security Council's director of African affairs during the George W. Bush administration and is now a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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Members of the Sudanese military parade in the city of Karima on May 19, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
“Biden's promises to Africa to raise Africa's prominence on the world stage will ring even more hollow if he does not take immediate meaningful action to address this dire situation before he leaves office,” Hudson said. I guess so.''
The United Nations says 11 million Sudanese people have been left homeless and, in diplomatic parlance, displaced, each with their own unique stories of horror.
“I met a mother who gave birth while being evacuated in the back of a pickup truck without access to medical care,” Katie Strifolino, director of policy and advocacy for Mercy Corps, told FOX News Digital. She was in the car with her newborn baby.” She was in an informal shelter with no food or water and was unable to breastfeed her clearly hungry infant because she did not have enough nutrition to produce breast milk. ”
Mercy Corps is a global aid agency that works in nine of Sudan's 18 states, but aid is often not delivered, forcing aid workers to wait and watch empty-handed, Strifolino said. he added. “We are able to reach these people physically, but they are still starving to death. This points to a massive, artificial obstruction of aid.”
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group that has been fighting Sudanese government forces (SAF) for 18 months, has been accused of blocking or diverting much of the aid flowing into the country.
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Hundreds of people line up to register for food aid delivery at Agiri Internally Displaced Persons Camp in April 2023. (© Guy Peterson, Mercy Corps)
One example comes after Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that the Zamzam camp in North Darfur was “under lockdown and residents are unable to receive essential supplies and food.” Zamzam is home to between 300,000 and 500,000 displaced people.
Sudanese researcher Eric Reeves told Fox News Digital: “The people in Zamzam camp are desperate for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied Arab militias to be defeated so humanitarian aid can arrive. “This is creating a security situation where children are starving for food.” Malnourished mothers stop breastfeeding, and older people are also more likely to die from malnutrition and disease. ”
Last month, in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, President Biden warned, “Stop blocking aid to the Sudanese people,'' and said, “The world must stop arming the generals and, with one voice, stop tearing the country apart.'' There is a need,” he added. Please end this war now. ”
Vice President Kamala Harris echoed Biden's words in a statement on .
But CSIS's Hudson argues that while these were strong words, Biden remained publicly silent on Sudan for more than a year. “This petition comes more than 15 months after we last publicly addressed the conflict and demonstrates our continued commitment to the world's largest conflict,” he told Fox News Digital. It was nothing,” he said.
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At Agiri Internally Displaced Persons Camp, one of the first camps to open in the Nuba Mountains, many people wait to receive food cards. June 2024. (© Guy Peterson, Mercy Corps)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recorded a video message to the Sudanese people late last week, saying: “The entire world is united in calling for an end to this conflict and insisting on a negotiated solution.”
“Our support is unwavering for the Sudanese people as they seek to demand an end to the conflict and develop a process to restart a stalled political transition,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We continue to reiterate that there is no military solution to the Sudanese crisis. We continue to reiterate that there is no military solution to the Sudanese crisis. We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing fighting in the infrastructure.
“The United States and our regional and international partners are united in calling for an immediate end to the fighting in Sudan, ensuring that the SAF and RSF comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and respect human rights, and that they operate freely across their borders. “We are asking to be allowed to provide cross-border humanitarian access to meet the urgent needs of civilians.” ”
Sudanese refugees say the attack has left thousands stranded in Ethiopia's forests. People sit in a makeshift shelter near Aulara camp, Amhara region, Ethiopia, May 31, 2024. (Handout via Alfatih Alsemari/Reuters)
“The United States continues to be the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the Sudan response, providing more than $2 billion in humanitarian assistance, including protection, food assistance, and other lifesaving assistance, since the start of fiscal year 2023,” the spokesperson said. concluded. Responding to the needs of Sudan and neighboring countries. ”
However, while it is clear that the US is still pushing for peace talks, which have yet to come to fruition, Hudson referred to the Sudanese fighters and told Fox News Digital, “At this point, neither side is on the same page.'' It is clear that the administration has no interest in political negotiations, increasing access to humanitarian aid as much as possible before leaving office, rather than devoting valuable attention to negotiations that are unlikely to lead to real change. It would be wise to focus efforts on saving lives on the ground.
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Mercy Corps' Strifolino added that Sudan risks hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths, adding: “Children are going hungry and they don't have the privilege of waiting for the international community to act.” .
She continued: “People are starving to death in Sudan, but it is completely preventable. Parties to the conflict should stop attacking aid workers, civilians and critical infrastructure, and humanitarian staff can “We need to be able to deliver life-saving aid inside.”
Sudan is currently experiencing outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, malaria, dengue fever, measles, and rubella. The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, says 3.4 million children under the age of five are at high risk of contracting infectious diseases.
A man walks in front of a house damaged in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 25, 2023.
Hudson added: “It's not too late to make an impact. Before Biden leaves office, we need to prevent (Sudan's) political parties from repairing their image in order to reinvent themselves as legitimate politicians. There is a lot of work to be done,” he added. This means upholding International Criminal Court (ICC) indictments and sanctions on the leaders of both organizations, moves that will continue to haunt Biden even after he is gone. ”
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It's been nearly two years since Mr. Biden stood smiling with African leaders at a Washington summit, pledging to reengage with the continent and enhance his administration's partnership with Africa.
However, Hudson said, “What will ultimately be judged is not the Biden administration's Africa policies, but the gaps between those policies and the expectations the administration has set. The problem is that it stings even more than unfulfilled promises.” This may be the most important lesson that Biden's successor can apply to Africa. ”
