Checked Against Delivery
I would like to thank Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher and Under-Secretary Rosemary DiCarlo for their important briefings.
I would also like to thank Dr. Eva Khair for her forceful recommendations to the Council.
Excellencies,
Some wars immediately seize the world’s attention. Others, send warning after warning, yet the world looks away.
Sadly, Sudan falls in the second category, despite frequent meetings in this Council.
Analysts warned of catastrophic consequences from the competition between two generals, months before the first shot was fired in April 2023.
The signs were unmistakable. Yet, they were ignored as violence spread, city after city, region after region, leaving a trail of mass atrocities and human suffering on a horrendous scale.
A battle for power has laid Sudan to waste.
Excellencies,
Civilians are not on the edges of this war. They are at its very centre.
More than six million people are displaced inside Sudan today. Another four and a half million have fled across borders.
This is not only a catastrophe – it is the unmaking of a nation.
Tomorrow, this Council will discuss conflict-driven hunger. In Sudan, hunger is not simply a consequence of war. It is a tactic of war. Aid is unlawfully obstructed, cities are attacked, and humanitarian lifelines are attacked. Civilians are starved, displaced and terrorised into submission.
The warnings keep coming, over and over again.
I express my deep appreciation for the humanitarians, doctors and nurses who continue working, often at grave personal risk, to lessen this suffering. But humanitarian courage cannot and should not substitute political action.
The last concrete attempt by this Council to strengthen the protection of Sudanese civilians was unsuccessful, unfortunately ending with a veto, and civilians paid the price. Sudanese civil society has carried an impossible burden alone – documenting grave abuses, running emergency response rooms and burying the dead. It does so without the support and protection it deserves.
Excellencies,
Let us be clear about what is at stake - the war in Sudan was never contained within its own borders. It is destabilising neighbouring countries and the wider region. It is a magnet for foreign arms and criminal networks.
At the expense of the Sudanese people.
And as a threat to international peace and security.
The Independent Fact-Finding Mission found that the atrocities committed by the RSF and allied forces during the takeover of El Fasher met all the elements of the crime of genocide. The mission found evidence of killings, mass sexual violence, and starvation as a weapon of war targeting specific groups. We condemn in the strongest possible terms such brutal and horrific acts.
One survivor said: ‘they raped me in front of the bodies of my mother, my father, and my slaughtered brother’.
These are not just words in a report, they are another warning. We must act on them, not merely receive them.
Children as young as eleven, are being recruited as soldiers. Women and girls are suffering appalling sexual violence. Civilians are being detained, made disappear, and denied the basic means to live.
And still, there is no end in sight.
More than a thousand have been killed by drones in the first five months of this year alone. These attacks reach far beyond frontlines – they strike markets, hospitals, water infrastructure, power stations and homes. Civilians across Sudan now live under a constant threat from above.
There is no military solution to this conflict.
Therefore, we call on the warring parties to come to the negotiation table immediately.
Denmark fully supports the Quintet’s efforts and welcomes the improved coordination among mediators. The process must be inclusive, Sudanese-led and Sudanese-owned, and we also support the work of the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy.
Sudan is by far the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. The needs are vast, and funding limited. Denmark urges donors to commit further financial assistance to address the grave humanitarian situation in Sudan. I am pleased to announce today that Denmark will contribute a further 15,6 million USD in humanitarian support for Sudan, bringing our funding to almost 105 million USD since 2023 when the conflict started.
Excellencies, fellow Council members,
We reaffirm the urgent need for a humanitarian truce, leading to a permanent, sustainable ceasefire, and we very much welcome US-led efforts in this regard. This is the only path to meaningful civilian protection.
Denmark calls on the warring parties to cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. Allow safe passage for those fleeing and protect those who remain. Issue clear orders enforcing international humanitarian law down every chain of command. Allow access for international investigators, for journalists, for civil society and for humanitarian actors.
The external influence in this war is enabling and prolonging this catastrophe. This is clearly unacceptable, and must stop. Any influence should be used to bring an end to the war, not fuel it.
The existing UN sanctions regime applies only to Darfur. It is not enough. We support efforts to extend the sanctions to the whole of Sudan, and to strengthen efforts to identify and enforce measures against those who violate it.
Lastly, impunity fuels the cruelty of war. Perpetrators have shamelessly filmed their own crimes and shared them online, confident nothing will follow.
But something must follow. Accountability cannot wait.
Those responsible must face consequences. They must be brought to justice. We call on full cooperation with the existing Security Council mandate for the ICC and urge for the extension of this mandate to cover the whole of Sudan.
In closing,
This Council has the power in its realm, and the responsibility to prevent further mass atrocities. To stop the war and end the suffering.
Let’s do it now.
I thank you.
