Humanitarian agencies secure access guarantees

The Sudanese government, SPLM/A and humanitarian agencies - under the auspices of Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) - agreed last week in Switzerland on a set of 'Principles Governing the Protection and Provision of Humanitarian Assistance to War-Affected Civilian Populations' in Sudan. They agreed that agencies accredited by the UN should have "free and
unimpeded access" to vulnerable populations, with the UN to decide on routes and logistics for humanitarian assessments and deliveries. It was also guaranteed that all aid would be distributed "only to targeted civilian beneficiaries" and would not be taxed or diverted from those. The Principles also bound the SPLM/A - though it is not a formal signatory to international treaties on human rights - to "customary human rights law", moral and ethical obligations to keep civilian populations safe from the effects of war. Khartoum and the SPLM/A also gave undertakings not to enforce illegal relocations of civilians and, where communities were to be relocated, to give adequate notice and consult communities.