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Civil Society Organizations urging the World that humanitarian aid to be delivered to Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile through  Ethiopia

The following  letter was sent on November 19th, 2015 by Nuba Mountains Civil Society Organizations and Blue Nile Sons Association to support the position of delivering the humanitarian aid to war affected areas throughout impartial and neutral party.

To:
African Union and the Chair of African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP)
United Nations and their representatives on peace negotiations
US, UK, and Norway representatives and mediators
European Union
SPLM Negotiations Team
NCP Negotiations Team

It is now proved beyond doubt that Khartoum regime vehemently refuses the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the two areas of Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile through an impartial third party. The regime is adamant that all desperately needed humanitarian aid should be delivered through Khartoum. The regime has exerted all possible pressure on SPLM negotiators through mediators to secure its preposition. This stand clearly contravenes all international and regional humanitarian agreements and conventions.

We, the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile civil society organisaitons, urging our friends and supports at the international pressure groups and parliaments in Eurpoe and the United States to express and affirm our rejection to the idea of the delivery of humanitarian assistance through Khartoum for the following reasons:

1. The trustworthiness of the regime: It is the same regime that is actively involved in genocide, racial cleansing, scorching of farmland and crop. It is the same regime that has consistently been refusing delivery of humanitarian aid and denial of child immunization since the start of war in June 2011. The perpetrator of such acts cannot and must not be allowed to be the executor of such a policy.
2. Our people in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile have bluntly expressed their dismay of the idea that the same regime who is actively engaged in daily aerial bombardment and organizing of military offensive, despite its deceitful declaration of a two month long ceasefire, should be allowed to play the role of aid deliverer. Aid delivered by such agents would find no hands stretched towards it and will never be welcomed.
3. The regime has lost the confidence of the regional and international community. To name a few the manifestations of that we mentions:
   • The head of the regime and some of his closed cronies are indicted and wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. The head of the regime has admittedly murdered 10 thousand people in Darfur, leave alone the other war affected areas.
   • The regime is listed by USA as a terrorist sponsoring state and the regime is knowingly harbouring and exporting terrorists and mercenaries from a number of countries.
   • The regime has expelled a number of UN representatives, aid and human rights agencies from Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur areas. The regime was indeed implicated in the murder of local UN staff from the Nuba ethnicity in Kadugli in June 2011. Not to forget the bombardment of regime to the American mother of mercy Hospital in Kauda and the targeting many times of doctors without borders hospital  in Frendla.
4. Therefore, the argument of the regime and its declared preparedness to conduct the delivery aid under supervision of UN representatives or even in the presence of SPLM representatives is totally unacceptable. Such an argument is presented by a regime that has a significant experience in deception and trickery. We have no doubt that the regime would happily take such an opportunity to use its army, militia, mercenaries and security agents to guard, store and transport aid to the depth the liberated areas to conduct reconnaissance and bring harm to the people in those areas. Such ill intends must not be ruled out from a regime that is readily using internationally banned cluster bombs over the same areas.
5. The regime has always viewed the situation in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas from an uncompromised military and security perspective. There is no evidence that this has altered in anyway. Nothing has basically changed since the Switzerland’s 2002 Nuba Mountains Cease-fire Agreement.

We demand the international community NOT to lightly drift behind justifications put forward by Khartoum regime to accept a third party monitoring the delivery process of humanitarian aid. We strongly recommend that they should view the situation from the victims’ perspective. We demand you all to look at it from the perspective of those innocent civilian citizens and in particular those most needy children, women, the old and the disempowered. We look forward to a positively active role by the international community a role that is keeping a clear distance from the deceitful terrorist regime in Khartoum.
In the light of above considerations, we see that delivery of humanitarian aid through Ethiopia as a third impartial and neutral party remains the best option left for our people.
We shall continue to defend and make the case of our people. We shall not rest until the rights of our people are restored and entitlements are held.

Singed by:

1- Nuba Mountains International Association- USA
2- Nuba Mountains Advocacy Group- USA
3- Blue Nile Sons league- USA
4- Nuba Mountains people’s Media Abroad
5- Nuba Mountains Center for Strategic planning and dialogue- London
6- Sudanese Marginalized Forum- USA
7- Nuba Mountains- United kingdom and Ireland
8- Nuba Mountains International Association- Canada
9- Nuba Mountains People’s Foundation- UK
10- Nuba Mountains International Association- Lebnan
11- Nuba Mountains Civil Society Organizations Alliance- Sudan
12- Nuba Mountains Union of Associations and Organizations- Africa
13- Nuba Mountains Civil Society Organizations Union- USA and UK
14- Nuba Vision Coalition
15- Nuba Mountains International Association- Egypt