Sudan aid chief slams UN, AU officials for attending UAE-sponsored meeting

February 14, 2025 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Salwa Adam Biniya, criticized the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and the outgoing African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki, for participating in a United Arab Emirates-facilitated meeting on Sudan’s humanitarian crisis.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa. Biniya described their participation as “shameful and disgraceful.”

The conference included Guterres, Faki, Kenyan President William Ruto, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, who leads the “Smoud” coalition.

During the conference, the UAE pledged $200 million in aid for Sudan.

Biniya argued that the meeting was an attempt by the UAE to improve its image and obscure its alleged “crimes” in Sudan. She specifically referred to the UAE’s support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been accused of widespread abuses in the conflict.

Biniya stated that the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan is a direct result of the war waged by the RSF militia. She accused the RSF of indiscriminate attacks on hospitals and schools, displacement of civilians, systematic sexual violence and rape, and looting of humanitarian aid warehouses.

She held the UAE directly responsible for exacerbating the crisis through its ongoing funding and arming of the RSF, making it a “direct partner in the war against Sudan.”

Biniya urged the UN Secretary-General and the AU Chairperson to “stand with the Sudanese people” and pressure the UAE to halt its support for the RSF.

She also called on the international community to “refrain from politicizing the humanitarian file” in Sudan, emphasizing that “humanitarian assistance should be provided to those in need without any political agendas.”

The conflict in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, has created a massive humanitarian crisis, forcing millions to flee their homes and requiring urgent assistance.