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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-43202002-114
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2002Contact: USAID Press Office
WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States government condemns the latest action of the Government of Sudan (GOS) to prevent the delivery of humanitarian assistance to war-affected areas. If the flight bans are not lifted immediately and fully for all war-affected areas, the lives of tens of thousands of Sudanese in opposition-controlled areas of Sudan who rely on humanitarian aid will be at grave risk.
The October flight clearance list given to the United Nations Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) by the GOS on September 28 continues the ban on all flights to Eastern and Western Equatoria, places new restrictions on flights to the Nuba Mountains, and denies access to 63 specific locations in opposition-controlled areas, making this the most restrictive monthly flight clearance placed on OLS in many years. New restrictions placed on the delivery of aid to opposition-controlled areas of the Nuba Mountains are particularly egregious, given the cease-fire agreement signed by the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in January 2002.
This denial of access continues the GOS pattern of using humanitarian assistance as a weapon of war. The ban effectively shuts down all humanitarian operations to opposition-controlled areas, forcing the evacuation of humanitarian staff and placing vulnerable civilians even more at risk. The World Food Program estimates that 400,000 people will not receive food aid as a result of the ban. When added to the number of people served by other non-governmental and UN organizations, the number of people cut off from aid could easily total three million. The lack of prior notice of the ban has resulted in hundreds of international staff being stranded in southern Sudan.
Once again, the United States calls on the parties to respect international humanitarian norms embodied in the Geneva Conventions and the Agreement on the Implementation of Principles Governing the Protection and Provision of Humanitarian Assistance to War-Affected Civilian Populations signed by the Government of Sudan, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, and the United Nations in 1999. The United States calls on the Government of Sudan to allow unfettered humanitarian access to populations in need, and to return to the IGAD-sponsored peace talks, which offer the best hope for bringing a just peace to the long-suffering people of Sudan.
For more on USAID assistance programs in Sudan, please visit www.usaid.gov/about/sudan
U.S. Agency for International Development is the government agency that has provided
humanitarian assistance and economic development worldwide for more than 40 years.
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