<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) has contributed €5.65 million to improve the humanitarian situation in Sudan between 2023 and 2025, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</strong></h4> "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation maintains close contact with its European partners to establish different positions on Sudan and promote a joint and coordinated response to the crisis," stated the department headed by José Manuel Albares in response to a series of written questions submitted by the People's Party (PP) Parliamentary Group in Congress. Specifically, the PP asked the government about Spain's push for new diplomatic or humanitarian initiatives within the European Union or the UN to strengthen the international response to the crisis in Sudan, about the evaluation of the impact and results of the humanitarian aid delivered to Sudan since the beginning of the war in April 2023, about the control and monitoring mechanisms implemented by the AECID (Association of European Unions of Central African States) to ensure that the funds provided actually reach the intended beneficiaries, and about plans to continue humanitarian aid in Sudan if the situation continues or worsens, especially in the areas of health, nutrition, and psychosocial support. According to the Foreign Ministry, Spain supports the mediation efforts of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sudan and has joined the Core Group recently established by several European states to strengthen and support the work of the European Union Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber, in Sudan. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 30.4 million people (63% of the country's population) require humanitarian assistance to survive in Sudan. Some 12.3 million people have been forcibly displaced since the beginning of the conflict in April 2023, and nearly four million have sought refuge in other countries, the Ministry stated. In addition, 26 million people in Sudan live in a situation of food insecurity, especially in the Darfur region, and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict have caused a high number of civilian casualties, including ethnic violence, mass displacement of people, and indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas, with serious damage to all types of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals. Of particular serious concern is the situation of large-scale sexual violence against women and girls by armed actors. “Given this situation,” it stated, “AECID has contributed to improving the humanitarian situation in Sudan with a total of €5.65 million between 2023 and 2025.” Likewise, it continued, “in the international forums and meetings in which Spain regularly participates, the need for all parties to the conflict in Sudan to respect international humanitarian law is clearly defended, particularly with regard to the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as the necessary accountability for violations thereof, including acts of sexual violence in conflict.” This position, he continued, has been defended, in particular, at the meetings of the Council of the European Union Working Group on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA), whenever the situation in Sudan has been on the agenda, as well as at the meeting of senior officials on Sudan that took place in Brussels on March 13. In his speeches at the European Humanitarian Forum, held in Brussels on May 19 and 20, AECID Director Antón Leis advocated the same approach regarding the humanitarian situation and the conflict in Sudan. <h5><strong>Aid monitoring</strong></h5> Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued, a collaboration agreement has been in place since 2012 to monitor the contributions made by AECID to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). This agreement was renewed in 2018 for four years, with automatic extension. Within the framework of this relationship, regular meetings are held in which the IFRC provides information on its humanitarian response in the various contexts in which Spain provides funding, including Sudan. Furthermore, the IFRC issues annual reports on its activities in the various contexts in which it is active, which include detailed information on its actions, including Sudan. In the case of UNHCR, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is also a fluid relationship, with regular meetings held to plan humanitarian interventions and to evaluate their impact and monitor them. Following the interventions, the UNHCR also sends implementation reports, allowing donors to adequately monitor them. On the other hand, "AECID has monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure, among other things, that funding is used for the purposes for which it was granted. The resolutions granting the funds establish, in each case, the method of monitoring and justifying the contributions awarded, in accordance with applicable regulations," the Ministry stated.
