In Sudan, I confronted the darkest corners of humanity
There should be no hierarchy of conflicts, but sadly much of the world acts as if there is one, writes foreign secretary David Lammy. If this were happening on any other continent, it would garner far more attention
There are moments as foreign secretary where it is your duty to confront the darkest corners of humanity. This week, I bore witness to what will go down in history as one of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes of our lifetimes.
On the Adré border between Chad and Sudan, I met with groups of Sudanese people – mostly women and children, who were fleeing mass murder and rape just over the borderline, a few hundred metres away, driven by ethnic hatred. I visited a malnutrition clinic, where children fought to save their lives from starvation. The death toll caused by the past two years of conflict in Sudan is too high to count. Eighty-eight per cent of the refugees here in Adré are women and children.
The women refugees I spoke to in a World Food Programme tent had lived through the killing of their husbands and brothers. One had burns on her arms; another was beaten while she was pregnant, leaving her baby disabled. They asked me: what is the world doing to help us? What more will the world do to stop this senseless killing and death?
The truth no one wants to admit is that if this was happening on any other continent – in Europe, in the Middle East, or in Asia – there would be far more attention from the media – far more outrage. There should be no hierarchy of conflicts, but sadly much of the world acts as if there is one.
Every war is complex. Since independence, Sudan has been engaged in some kind of civil war for nearly 60 of the past 70 years – but this is not licence to shrug our shoulders. As we have seen in Gaza, it can take hundreds of days of diplomatic failure before we get to even the most fragile of ceasefires.
And it is not because this war is isolated from the rest of the world. Irregular migration from Sudan to Britain alone increased by 16 per cent last year. Unscrupulous smuggling gangs are looking to profit from the misery in Sudan. And the longer this war lasts, the greater its ripple effect.
We must give credit to countries like Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan for managing this crisis alongside others nearby. The UK’s support to the region helps support those fleeing the conflict to stay nearer their homes. Upstream work across the world also helps us secure our borders and prevent dangerous Channel crossings.
This government is delivering the priorities of hard-working people, through a decade of national renewal, as set out in our Plan for Change. But to succeed in that task, we must navigate an increasingly volatile world, and harness the strengths of the Foreign Office.
Since this government came to office, we have been determined to make sure Sudan is not forgotten. Working with Sierra Leone, the UK had prepared a United Nations Security Council resolution to address this humanitarian catastrophe. Despite support from every other member of the council – including China – Russia cynically used their veto to shoot it down. Russia’s cynicism will not deter us.
In November I announced a doubling of UK aid to support nearly 800,000 displaced people and in spring I am looking to convene foreign ministers in the UK to galvanise efforts for peace in Sudan. I am calling for three things:
First, a commitment from all parties in this war to open all cross-border and cross-line routes to aid and humanitarian workers. We need the UN to be able to operate cross-border and cross-line routes in Darfur. Second, all participants in this conflict must commit to the protection of civilians. Third, we need a new international commitment to a political process towards ending this conflict.
The world cannot continue to shrug its shoulders. There can be no hierarchy of suffering. We cannot forget Sudan.
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