IRC forced to close aid programmes in Darfur, North and East Sudan
4 March 2009
The International Rescue Committee says the Government of Sudan has ordered the closure of its humanitarian aid programmes in Darfur as well as North and East Sudan – a decision that puts at risk the lives of 1.75 million men, women and children who depend on the IRC’s lifesaving programmes.
Other aid organisations received similar orders to suspend their services.
The IRC received notice today that its licence to operate in Darfur and the North and East of Sudan had been revoked. No formal explanation was provided.
The directive shuts down IRC medical care, water, sanitation, education programmes and other vital services for some 650,000 people in Darfur and a further 1.1 million people in North and East Sudan.
"We are extremely distressed by the forced closure of our aid operations," says George Rupp, the IRC’s president and CEO. "It appears the international aid effort in the region is being shut down and that raises grave concerns about the welfare of millions of Sudanese people who rely on humanitarian aid for survival."
The IRC hopes the safety of all humanitarian workers in Sudan will be given priority and guaranteed.
The IRC has been one of the largest providers of humanitarian aid in Darfur since 2004 and the North and East of Sudan since 1981. It is an independent, impartial, non-sectarian global relief organisation and has no affiliation with the ICC or any political, religious, governmental or armed movements. Its mission in Sudan is entirely humanitarian in nature.
"We have been delivering aid to vulnerable people in Sudan for 28 years and remain committed to helping Sudanese communities across the country recover and rebuild," says Rupp.
Please contact Melissa Winkler, +1 212-551-0972 / +1 646-734-0305, or Joanne Offer, + 254 20 272 0064, for more information or interviews.
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