Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

Sudan

Sudan: UN Emergency Relief Coordinator seeks resolution to departure of NGO head

(New York: 29 August): John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, expressed his surprise and concern today at the departure from Sudan of Paul Barker, Country Director for CARE, one of the world's largest international non-governmental organizations.

"I am disappointed that Mr. Barker had to leave the country in this way. The reasons given by some government officials to Mr. Barker for his departure appear to be specious," said Mr. Holmes. "I very much hope that this is actually a misunderstanding that can be resolved as soon as possible so that Mr. Barker may resume his vitally important humanitarian activities."

CARE is a significant provider of humanitarian assistance to some four million people across Sudan, and is a vital partner for the United Nations humanitarian community. CARE has been working in Sudan for more than a quarter of a century.

Mr. Holmes stressed that the manner of Mr. Barker's departure has clearly undermined both the spirit and letter of the Joint Communiqué on the Facilitation of Humanitarian Activities in Darfur, signed earlier this year by the Government of Sudan and the United Nations.

"Since its signing in March, the Joint Communiqué has relieved many bureaucratic impediments to our work, for which we are grateful. However, issues such as those now faced by CARE are a disturbing example of how far we still have to go," said Mr. Holmes. "Enabling Mr. Barker to resume his important work would send a positive signal to the international community that the Government of Sudan wishes to further strengthen its partnership with humanitarian actors."

For further information, please call: Stephanie Bunker, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 917 892 1679; Dizery Salim, OCHA-New York, +1 917 367 9262; Elisabeth Byrs, OCHA-Geneva, +41 22 917 2653, mobile, +41 79 473 4570. OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int.

Disclaimer

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.