The Republic of Sudan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Office of the Spokesperson and Media Directorate

Press Statement

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reviewed the statement issued by the Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on November 22 regarding the humanitarian situation in Sudan following his visit to the country. The Ministry has also taken note of the remarks made by the NRC’s Country Director in Sudan before the International Development Committee of the British House of Commons on November 26, addressing the same topic.

The Ministry expresses its deep dismay over the unfounded accusations and extreme bias against the Government of Sudan, its competent agencies, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) included in the statements of the organization’s two officials.

The Secretary-General of the organization unjustifiably implicated SAF in using starvation as a weapon and obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need, actions that are exclusively attributable to the Janjaweed militias. At the same time, he failed to identify the perpetrators of crimes such as village destruction, scorched-earth policies, mass rapes, and other atrocities against civilians. The terrorist militia frequently documents these crimes itself, leaving no room for doubt about its responsibility. Meanwhile, the NRC Secretary-General suggested that the Sudanese Air Force targets civilian homes, a claim refuted by the fact that approximately 11 million displaced civilians reside in areas under SAF’s control. SAF fully adheres to international humanitarian law and places protecting civilians as its top priority. This remains the case despite the Militia’s use of civilians as human shields and its turning of civilian objects, including ordinary people’s homes, into military operation centers and launch pads for heavy artillery. A comparison of the devastation caused by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon over just a few weeks with the alleged damage caused by the supposed Sudanese military air operations in nearly 20 months further disproves such allegations. Conversely, the statement failed to acknowledge the genuine and comprehensive efforts taken by the Sudanese Government to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, including opening all border crossings, even those exploited for supplying arms and equipment to the Militia, and using all operational airports to receive aid and coordinate air drops, even to areas outside its control. Last week, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs witnessed and commended these efforts during his visit to Sudan.

Further underscoring the organization’s politically motivated stance against the Sudanese Government are the remarks of its Country Director in Sudan before the British House of Commons, which were biased and far from the truth. He claimed that the regulations governing humanitarian work in Sudan are designed to obstruct aid delivery to those in need.

Reflecting the worst example of politicizing humanitarian work, this hostile position of the organization regrettably came despite the Sudanese Government’s extensive cooperation and positive engagement with the NRC, as evidenced by its reception of the organization’s Secretary-General and facilitation of his visit to the country. This stance can only be interpreted as an attempt to tarnish the image of the Sudanese Government internationally by suggesting that NRC officials care more about the safety and well-being of Sudan’s citizens than their own government does. It may also be interpreted as an attempt to undermine SAF’s ability to protect the nation and its people from the atrocities and massacres committed by the terrorist militia. Ironically, NRC avoids holding the Militia accountable, a position that amounts to encouraging impunity and consequently implicitly endorses the continuation of these crimes.

Sunday, December 1, 2024