Canada commits to providing $120 million in aid to Sudan after three years of civil war

OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced humanitarian and development assistance 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,” stated Ms. Anand in an interview on Wednesday. “I am deeply concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis.”

The United Nations estimates that 34 million people in Sudan – two-thirds of the population – require humanitarian aid. Over 13 million people have been displaced, and the U.N. has reported at least 40,000 deaths, although humanitarian organizations suggest the actual toll is much higher.

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

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

Canada is also pledging $25 million in development aid for schools, trauma victim support through Save the Children Canada, and funding for the prevention of sexual violence through the U.N.

Randeep Sarai, State Secretary for International Development, announced this funding at a conference in Berlin, where the German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul indicated that over $2 billion in humanitarian aid had been promised by various countries, including $343 million from Germany and contributions from Canada.

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

The Sudanese government in Khartoum criticized the conference as “unacceptable,” stating that Germany had not consulted them before organizing it.

Ms. Anand noted that Canadian funding was in addition to the $220 million already committed to help those in Sudan and those who have fled the conflict.

“There is credible evidence that famine is being used as a weapon of war,” said Minister Anand at a press briefing on Wednesday. “Hospitals and civilian infrastructure are targeted, and women and girls describe sexual violence not as an exception, but an inevitable reality.”

“The Sudanese population needs water. They need health services. They need food, shelter, and security. This is what international humanitarian law advocates for,” she added.

Washington has accused the Rapid Support Forces of committing genocide, but Ms. Anand emphasized that while serious human rights violations are evident, it is up to international courts to determine if genocide has occurred.

“It is up to international courts to legally determine whether a situation constitutes genocide, but we do not hesitate to acknowledge that there may be credible evidence – as is the case here – of gross and horrifying human rights violations,” she pointed out.

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

Online videos showed hospital rooms riddled with bullet holes, and satellite image analysis by Yale University revealed blood pools indicating massacres at multiple sites.

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

The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights in Montreal proposed a plan on Wednesday to strengthen civil society in Sudan, end violence, and hold perpetrators accountable with the help of multilateral institutions.

This plan, supported by several human rights advocates including former U.N. ambassador Bob Rae and former Senator Roméo Dallaire, aims to address the ongoing crisis in Sudan.

– With information from the Associated Press