War in Sudan displaces over 500,000 to South Sudan

Statement by Jan Egeland, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Secretary General, on the large-scale displacement from Sudan to South Sudan

“More than 500,000 people have now fled from the war in Sudan to South Sudan. This means that over 30 per cent of all the refugees, asylum seekers, and ethnic South Sudanese were forced to flee Sudan since the war exploded in April 2023 for protection in one of the poorest places on earth.

“We are appalled by the global inaction as countless defenceless civilians are killed and displaced within and from Sudan. We witness a total disregard for civilian life and heinous atrocities committed by the parties to the conflict. The devastating impact of the conflict has spread to surrounding countries where host communities have no capacity to cope with the massive displacement.

“South Sudan, that has itself recently come out of decades of war, was facing a dire humanitarian situation before the war in Sudan erupted. It already had nine million people in need of humanitarian aid, and almost 60 per cent of the population facing high levels of food insecurity.

“The outside world must better support South Sudan as it shoulders the cost of more than half a million people fleeing conflict. We cannot look away while unspeakable violations are taking place in Sudan and neighbouring countries shoulder a burden they cannot bear.

“We call on the parties to the conflict to stop the carnage and allow aid organisations including the Norwegian Refugee Council to reach all civilians in need. And we appeal to the international community to donate generously to help civilians survive wherever they are.”

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who take injustice personally. We are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. We are funded by members and people like you. We are independent of any political ideology, economic interest or religion. No government is beyond scrutiny. No situation is beyond hope. Few would have predicted when we started that torturers would become international outlaws. That most countries would abolish the death penalty. And seemingly untouchable dictators would be made to answer for their crimes. In 1961, British lawyer Peter Benenson was outraged when two Portuguese students were jailed just for raising a toast to freedom. He wrote an article in The Observer newspaper and launched a campaign that provoked an incredible response. Reprinted in newspapers across the world, his call to action sparked the idea that people everywhere can unite in solidarity for justice and freedom. This inspiring moment didn’t just give birth to an extraordinary movement, it was the start of extraordinary social change. Only when the last prisoner of conscience has been freed, when the last torture chamber has been closed, when the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a reality for the world’s people, will our work be done.