Carter Center Calls for End of Hostilities in Sudan

From: The Carter Center

The Carter Center urgently calls for a ceasefire in Sudan and implores all factions involved — military and civilian, local and international — to immediately embark on a path toward peace through dialogue and negotiation.

A recent publication of Sudan’s Youth Citizen Observer Network paints a grim picture of escalating suffering. The conflict has uprooted an estimated 7 million people, resulted in more than 10,000 civilian casualties and the arrest of thousands of activists and aid workers. Despite diplomatic efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and facilitate dialogue, mediation efforts have failed to stop the fighting.

Sudan is on the brink of catastrophe after nearly one year of devastating violence. The window to prevent the conflict in Sudan from spreading into a regional one is closing. Refugee outflows and returnees – numbering in the millions – risk heightening tensions across the region. The crisis, which has put the majority of Sudan’s population in dire need of humanitarian assistance, underscores the critical need for decisive action.

The World Food Program has declared that Sudan faces “a high risk of slipping into catastrophic hunger conditions.” Without a swift and significant course correction in Sudan’s conflict, the estimated 25 million Sudanese people currently struggling with hunger and malnutrition will be at risk of starvation.

The Carter Center firmly believes that Sudanese civil society, especially youth, must play a central role in reconstituting Sudan and must be at the forefront of rebuilding efforts.

The Carter Center calls on the Sudanese and the international community to act immediately to end the violence and resulting humanitarian crisis and prevent the conflict from destabilizing the region.