Photo by Timon Gschwind on Unsplash
MEPs have underlined the need for a coordinated humanitarian response to help those already in need in Sudan.
They say this is also needed to prevent the conflict from spreading over into neighbouring countries.
Members have now called on European authorities and leaders to do their utmost to push both parties in conflict towards an immediate unconditional ceasefire and for peace talks to start in this geopolitically crucial country.
The message is: A chain reaction in the Sahel region must be avoided at all costs.
Austrian MEP Hannes Heide said: “Sudan needs everything but another war. Both parties involved should respect the ceasefire and immediately stop violence as a precondition to kick off real negotiations.
“This should be – for the EU – the natural ground to play an active role in peacebuilding, while also preventing other international players from infiltrating the country and running another proxy war. If the EU misses the opportunity to play an active role in the solution of the crisis, other dangerous actors – like the Wagner group – could do so, replicating what we are already experiencing in the Sahel region
The UN Refugee Agency has calculated that more than 800,000 people have fled the country, whereas the internal displaced persons are roughly 334,000.
MEPs say the EU should do its utmost to ensure humanitarian access and prevent further suffering for the population across and beyond the country.”
The issue was debated in the plenary of the European Parliament.
Heide is S&D coordinator of the EU-African, Caribbean and Pacific countries Assembly.
