In light of the impasse at the 10th round of peace talks in
Addis Abababetween the government of Sudan and the SPLM-! we
believe it iscritical to recogni"e that it is a violation of
international law to blockhumanitarian aid to innocent civilians
living in con#ict "ones$
%herefore! no part& to the con#ict should prevent the
internationalcommunit& from providing humanitarian aid to the
people a'ected b&con#ict in the uba Mountains(South )ordofan
and the *lue ile states!commonl& referred to as the %wo Areas!
of Sudan! or an& other areawithin Sudan$ According to multiple
+ ,eneral Assembl& esolutions!+./A! and the I//! humanitarian
actions are founded on fourguiding principles: humanity,
neutrality, impartiality andindependence. %hese principles provide
the foundation toestablishing and maintaining access to a'ected
people in a compleemergenc& such as armed con#ict$ If
humanitarian assistance reliefactions do not follow these
principles then the entire operation puts
the victims of con#ict at risk and humanitarian assistance can
becomea weapon in furtherance of armed con#ict$
Since 2une 3011! the ,overnment of Sudan has persisted in an
aerialcampaign to bomb the people and villages of the %wo Areas!
withattacks consistentl& having no militar& ob4ective$
ecent reportsindicate the government is preparing for renewed
5ghting in the %woAreas with the deliver& of new militar&
e6uipment and reinforcementsand the announcement b& the 7efense
Minister to Parliament that the%wo Areas 8will be liberated through
a massive militar& operation$9Aerial bombardment has terrori"ed
the civilian population! killed!
maimed and in4ured thousands! displaced over a million people!
andintentionall& destro&ed crops! the primar& food
source for the civilianpopulation$ At the same time! the ,overnment
of Sudan hase'ectivel& refused to allow humanitarian assistance
into the %wo Areas!often putting forward conditions that make
providing humanitarianassistance impossible$
Article : of the ome Statute! the founding legal statute of
theInternational /riminal /ourt ;I//
7/23/2019 Humanitarian Law Statement 4
2/2
states from unwarranted refusal of humanitarian access and
assistancein con#ict "ones$
Speci5c to Sudan! + Securit& /ouncil esolution 30?@
strongl& urgesthe parties to compl& with international
humanitarian law and the
guiding principles of emergenc& humanitarian assistance for
safe!unhindered and immediate access of the +nited ations and
otherhumanitarian personnel to deliver e6uipment and supplies and
toassist con#ict-a'ected civilian populations$ %he African +nion
Peaceand Securit& /ouncil has repeatedl& urged the parties
to respecthuman rights and International umanitarian Law and to
allowhumanitarian assistance to reach those in need$
7uring the peace talks in Addis Ababa! the government of
Sudanindicated that it would allow cross line humanitarian
assistance to beprovided from government-controlled areas! meaning
that the
government would be involved or would be perceived to be
involved inthe deliver& of humanitarian assistance to the same
people it isviolentl& targeting! a clear violation of the
principles of humanit&!neutralit&! impartialit& and
independence the people of the %wo Areashave a right to en4o&$
For obvious reasons, the people of the TwoAreas do not trust the
government of Sudan, and many partsof the population may well
refuse to accept assistance thatemanates from government-controlled
areas. This will makeassistance coming solely from government
controlled areasineective and will undermine the very result that
theinternational community is hoping to create.
e urge the +nited States! the +nited ations! and other
interestedparties to stop the ongoing crimes against humanit&
in the %wo Areasand throughout Sudan b& upholding international
humanitarian lawthat ensures the unhindered deliver& of
assistance from multiplelocations b& the international
communit& so that the people of Sudancan receive the life
giving assistance that the& so sorel& need$
