GENEVA, 20th February, 2025 (WAM) -- Shahad Matar, Deputy Permanent Representative and Acting Charge d'Affaires at the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva, participated in the joint launch by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) of the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Sudan and the Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan.

Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, noted that two years of conflict in Sudan have resulted in one of the largest and most severe displacement crises in the world.

Accordingly, the United Nations has prepared its largest-ever humanitarian appeal for Sudan, with a total funding requirement of USD 6 billion. In this context, Under-Secretary-General Fletcher highlighted the initial success of the conference in Addis Ababa - which served as a crucial precursor to Geneva's meeting. He said, "This is an unprecedented crisis in terms of scale and severity and requires an exceptional response."

Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, expressed his appreciation for the financial commitments made during the conference, stating, "We thank those who made pledges in Addis Ababa. What is truly important is that these pledges translate into real action."

During the joint launch of UNHCR and OCHA's humanitarian response plans for Sudan, Matar underscored that the event took place at a pivotal moment on the margins of the African Union Summit in the Ethiopian capital. She noted that the UAE, alongside the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in coordination with the United Nations, organised a high-level humanitarian conference for the People of Sudan.

In this context, she emphasised that the collective message from the Addis Ababa conference was clear: launching a strong and unified call for a humanitarian truce during the holy month of Ramadan - a time for peace and, most importantly, the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to all Sudanese in need.

She added, "The UAE announced the provision of an additional USD 200 million of aid to the brotherly Sudanese people during the High-Level Humanitarian Conference for the People of Sudan. The additional aid reflects the UAE's unwavering humanitarian values: to stand in solidarity with the Sudanese people in the face of a deteriorating humanitarian situation."

She also underscored that the provision of additional humanitarian aid reflects the country's unwavering and continuous commitment to support the brotherly Sudanese people. Since the onset of the crisis, the UAE has provided US$600.4 million to support a humanitarian response (US$200 million of which was announced during the conference in Addis Ababa, while US$400 million wasprovided during the past 22 months of conflict). The UAE has provided US$3.5 billion of humanitarian aid over the past 10 years to the people of Sudan, affirming the country's unwavering commitment to support people in need during crises.

She concluded her remarks by stating, "We must seize this moment to mobilise the international community toward a unified and decisive humanitarian response, as Sudan cannot afford further delays."

The UAE reiterated its call for all parties to ensure the safe, urgent, and unhindered access of essential humanitarian aid. The UAE considers this as not merely a humanitarian request - it is an obligation under international humanitarian law. And should humanitarian assistance be hampered, there should be no hesitation in calling out those responsible.