Canada promises $120 million in aid to Sudan

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, has announced humanitarian and development aid of $120 million for Sudan.

According to the United Nations, more than 40,000 people have been killed since the start of the civil war in Sudan on April 15, 2023, three years ago.

“Sudan is a priority for us,” said Anand in an interview. “I am deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis.”

The United Nations estimates that 34 million people in Sudan – two-thirds of the population – are in need of humanitarian aid. More than 13 million people have been displaced and the UN has reported at least 40,000 deaths, although humanitarian organizations claim the actual toll is likely much higher.

The conflict began as a political struggle between the army and paramilitary forces of the country, before escalating into a brutal ethnic conflict in the Darfur region. Sudan is now divided between a government supported by the army and internationally recognized, based in the capital Khartoum, and a rival administration controlled by the Rapid Support Forces in Darfur, in the west of the country.

Canada’s announcement includes over $94 million in humanitarian aid, particularly in the form of emergency food assistance and nutritional support. This amount includes aid for displaced Sudanese in neighboring countries.

Canada also promises $25 million in development aid for schools, support for trauma victims through Save the Children Canada, and funding for the prevention of sexual violence through the UN.

Randeep Sarai, State Secretary for International Development, announced this funding at a conference in Berlin, where the German Minister of Foreign Affairs, Johann Wadephul, indicated that over $2 billion in humanitarian aid had been promised by various countries.

This amount includes $343 million from Germany, as well as Canada’s contribution.

Wadephul told German media that this aid was offered to fill the funding gap left by cuts in American foreign aid under the presidency of Donald Trump.

The Sudanese government in Khartoum has deemed the conference as “unacceptable,” emphasizing that Germany did not consult them before organizing it.

Anand noted that Canada’s funding is in line with efforts to assist civilians caught in wars and political conflicts from Cuba to Lebanon.

“One of the priorities that this aid highlights is our ability to respond in this very unstable world where civilians and civilian infrastructure are constantly under attack,” she said.

Washington has accused the Rapid Support Forces of committing genocide. Anand supported that while serious human rights violations are clear, it is up to international courts to determine the issue of genocide.

“It is up to international courts to legally determine if a situation constitutes genocide, but we do not hesitate to recognize that there may be credible evidence – as is the case here – of serious and horrific human rights violations,” she said.

She mentioned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on a hospital in the Sudanese city of El-Fasher last October, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of patients and the capture of many healthcare professionals.

Online videos showing hospital rooms riddled with bullet holes and a satellite image analysis by Yale University revealing bloodstains suggesting massacres at multiple sites have been published.

Many humanitarian organizations are calling for more attention and funding for the crisis in Sudan.

The Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights in Montreal has proposed a plan to strengthen civil society in Sudan, end violence, and demand accountability with the help of multilateral institutions.

This plan, released on Wednesday, has received support from several human rights advocates, including former UN ambassador Bob Rae and former Senator Roméo Dallaire.

– With information from the Associated Press