IGAD calls for lifting of all sanctions hampering humanitarian, development assistance in region

Addis Ababa, December 1, 2022 (FBC) – The IGAD Council of Ministers held its 48th Ordinary Session on 30th November 2022 in Khartoum, Republic of Sudan, under the chairmanship of Ali El-Sadig, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan and Chair of the IGAD Council of Ministers.

The Council discussed regional issues including peace and security, regional disaster, displacement and humanitarian situation.

Alarmed by the dire financial situation of the two IGAD-supported monitoring mechanisms of the South Sudan peace process, Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) and Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMVM), occasioned by the abrupt withdrawal of support by the U.S., called upon Member States, regional and international community to mobilize and avail in-kind and financial support by convening the chiefs of defense from Member States to assess the immediate logistical and material needs of CTSAMVM.

The Council also called for wider resource mobilization by working with the AU and UN to fast-track the establishment of the Special Reconstruction Fund (SRF) and South Sudan pledging conference.

Regarding the principle of “African Solutions to African Problems” and decided to apply this doctrine as the modus operandi of IGAD with regard to peace and security as well as humanitarian, development interventions and regional integration.

The Council also called upon the international community to accept that sanctions are not solutions and instead disproportionately affect vulnerable communities and, in this regard, urged for the lifting all sanctions hampering humanitarian and development assistance in the region and further urged all partners to refrain from conditional provision of humanitarian support.

Concerned by prolonged drought impacting over 10% of the region’s population that has caused large-scale population displacement with over 2 million people becoming internally displaced, the Council resolved to mobilize all the necessary support to timely and adequately respond to the looming humanitarian crisis in the region.

Council further commended the exemplary work done by IGAD Secretariat in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that has reached more than 1.9 million people and 8.6 million sets of personal protective equipment, 36 medical support vehicles and 14 PCR mass-testing machines have been delivered to Member States including in high-risk cross border areas, 14 refugee camps and IDP settlements and 11 migrant reception centers.

The council further called upon Heads of State and Government to adopt Arabic as one of the official languages of IGAD.