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Uganda is among the countries attending a conference in Paris, France to drum up humanitarian support for Sudan to prevent further collapse and misery.

A yearlong war in Sudan has devastated the country and pushed its people to the brink of famine. Top diplomats and aid groups held a meeting on Monday, April 15, 2024

Uganda’s delegation to the meeting is led by Okello Oryem the foreign affairs state minister in charge of international affairs.

As the meeting went on, the French Ambassador to Uganda Xavier Sticker addressed an online discussion with Uganda’s journalists about the Sudan conference.

“Uganda has a lot of knowledge and expertise on Sudan. Uganda has helped to see that warring factions stop and commit to political dialogue. Uganda has the goal to be helpful to the Sudanese for the political process and cessation of hostilities,” Sticker explained.

He noted that there is so much risk that the crisis can worsen. He noted that the conference needs to put the crisis on the international agenda. He said that France seeks to help find solutions to regional crises and crises in various places that deserve international attention. France is a member of the UN Security Council.

He indicated that Sudan’s neighbours are participants in the conference. He said in many neighbouring countries where Sudanese have fled, they need protection and support. He said the conference will address issues of supporting Sudan’s neighbouring countries.

He cited Chad is hosting over 500,000 refugees coming from the Darfur region in Sudan. He said France, Germany, and the EU have convened the international conference.

Sudan descended into conflict in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the country.

Sticker said that donors need to raise funds for the humanitarian needs of Sudan and over 4b Euros is needed. He said that France has committed €110m, Germany €200m, and the EU €350m.

The EU is the main contributor to the relief for humanitarian assistance. “French and Team Europe are committed to providing solutions to problems in Sudan. We want humanitarian assistance and access not to be impeded, cross border assistance to be assured through Chad and to Darfur,” Sticker said.

“The conference brings various mediation groups to meet in Paris. We want to create a platform for Sudanese civil society to serve Sudanese people and give opportunity to Sudanese people. The civil society can express themselves and outline the directions, the voiceless need to be given a voice, and the weaponless need to be given a tool to express themselves,” Sticker said.

French foreign minister Stephane Sejourne said the conference aims to mobilise humanitarian funding to help Sudanese people, who have been victims of both a “terrible war” and “international indifference.”

“It's a colossal task,” Sejourne said. "It's a war the Sudanese people did not want, a war that only produces chaos and suffering,” he added. The EU’s crisis management commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, said the 27-member bloc seeks to ensure that Sudan is not forgotten as wars in Gaza and Ukraine dominate the international news.

“People of Sudan, caught up in this emergency, are almost completely invisible,” Lenarcic said. In a year-long war, Sudan has turned into one of the worst humanitarian disasters ever on the African continent, he said, and added: “It is our duty not to look away.”

Relief workers have warned that Sudan is moving towards a larger-scale calamity of starvation. Food production and distribution networks have broken down and aid agencies are unable to reach the worst-stricken regions.

The conflict has been marked by reports of atrocities of killings, displacement, and rape, particularly in the area of the capital and the western region of Darfur.