Can the U.S.-Saudi summit revive humanitarian efforts in Sudan?
The Humanitarian situation in Sudan has reached a critical stage. Will the U.S.-Saudi summit help reactivate the Jeddah platform and declaration?
By Yasir Arman
The humanitarian situation across Sudan has reached a critical stage, especially after what has taken place in Port Sudan — the headquarters of many United Nations agencies, humanitarian organizations, and the country’s main port for the entry of humanitarian aid.
The war threatens the lives of millions of displaced people and will force them to seek refuge beyond Sudan’s borders if the humanitarian catastrophe within the country is not urgently addressed. The healthcare system is on the verge of collapse — if it hasn’t already collapsed — and doctors and healthcare workers have no protection, just like all other civilians.
The visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the summit meetings he will hold with the King and the Crown Prince represent a rare opportunity. This summit brings together the highest level of engagement with the Jeddah Initiative and Platform and offers a chance to exert maximum pressure in favour of the victims — to protect civilians, stop the war, and reach a practical and achievable humanitarian agreement that opens aid corridors throughout Sudan.
This must be done with full consideration of the Jeddah Declaration to ensure that food reaches all those in need before the arrival of the rainy season. It must be implemented unconditionally and in accordance with international humanitarian law. If achieved, it would be a historic and unprecedented success in responding to the world’s largest humanitarian disaster today.
The army’s leadership must agree to negotiations to address the humanitarian catastrophe. The situation is too dire to allow for the rejection of talks, especially as the rainy season approaches, making it more difficult to access vast areas of the country and putting civilians at further risk and exposing them to more war crimes.
What happened in Port Sudan is horrifying. The real solution lies in ending the war, protecting infrastructure, and a courageous commitment from all warring parties to address the humanitarian crisis. Addressing it is a right of the people and the civilians, not a favour.
We trust that the mediators of the Jeddah Platform will engage with Sudan’s neighbouring countries, African and Arab states, and the broader international community to secure a humanitarian ceasefire that the Sudanese people urgently need across the entire country.
“Indeed, Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost.”
— The Holy Qur’an