PORTLAND, Ore. — Sudan’s decision to expel Mercy Corps and 12 other humanitarian organizations from the war-torn nation risks millions of lives, says Neal Keny-Guyer, chief executive of the Portland, Ore.-based humanitarian agency.
About 2.5 million Sudanese have been living on international aid channeled largely through relief organizations and the United Nations. They are no longer able to farm or work and the exodus of aid agencies will leave many without food, potable water and health care, Keny-Guyer said. “People will start to move, likely toward Chad and toward the southern part of Sudan. That’s likely to increase instability.”
The expulsion orders followed the International Criminal Court’s announcement March 4 that it was charging Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir with war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region.
Al-Bashir’s government in Khartoum alleged that aid agencies passed evidence to the court. The expelled organizations are Mercy Corps, Doctors Without Borders’ Dutch and French chapters, Save the Children’s U.S. and British branches, Oxfam Britain, Solidarites, the Norwegian Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, CHF International, Action Against Hunger, Care International and Padco.
The Associated Press reported that the U.N. human rights office will examine whether Sudan’s decision to expel the groups constitutes a breach of basic human rights and possibly a war crime. Sudanese media reported that seven more agencies would be kicked out.
Share with others: