Ladies and gentlemen,

Honourable guests,

My thanks to Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister Badr Abdelatty and Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield for co-hosting this discussion with the European Union.

Since we met at the Paris Conference last April, the conflict in Sudan has continued to pass tragic milestones.

We all know of Sudan's desperate situation.

Of how this is one of the worst humanitarian crises globally.

Of how it is facing the world's largest displacement crisis.

Of how half of the population being food insecure. With famine in the Zamzam camp and likely many other places.

On top of this, according to the recent UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, international humanitarian law continues to be largely ignored.

Sudan has been brought to this state of collapse in under 18 months, mostly away from the spotlight of public attention. And with parties unwilling to negotiate peace, the situation is set to deteriorate further.

We are pleased that a window of opportunity opened on 15 August for three months to bring relief from Chad through Adre.

However, this is not enough. Darfur needs 20 000 metric tons of assistance per month in the form of food, water, sanitation and more. Less than 15% of this has passed through Adre so far.

While the Paris Conference encouraged parties to increase access, our partners report renewed obstacles, including visa processing delays.

Together, we must demand that all conflict parties immediately lift physical, security and bureaucratic barriers to allow unconditional humanitarian access.

But it is not just Sudan that is affected by this crisis. Since the outbreak of conflict, 2.3 million people have been welcomed by neighbouring countries.

I thank these and all other countries sheltering Sudanese refugees.

We cannot look away from the horror and tragedy of what is happening in Sudan right now.

We urgently need international pressure on all parties to engage in peace negotiations.

Both conflict parties must engage actively in this process in good faith to ensure access, compliance with the commitments of the parties made in Jeddah and work towards a ceasefire.

A final point on the importance of sustaining humanitarian funding for Sudan.

When the European Union organised the Paris Conference, the UN appeal for Sudan was funded at less than 6%. After raising over two billion euros at this event, the UN appeal is now almost 50% funded.

This is welcome progress. However, there is still a funding gap of nearly 1.5 billion US dollars. We must bridge this gap to help those in need.

I also call on all those who pledged in Paris to disburse their commitments. So far only 66% of these pledges have been disbursed.

In a situation of famine the earlier the funding arrives, the bigger its impact. The EU has already disbursed 100% of its funding and I am pleased to announce an additional 69 million euros for this crisis.

We must seize this High-Level Week as an opportunity to work towards these goals.

Thank you.

Humanitarian aid and civil protection

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