1. On December 1, the Government of Japan decided to extend emergency grant aid totaling $30 million to contribute to improving the humanitarian situation and supporting the consolidation of peace in the Republic of the Sudan . The breakdown of the aid is as follows: $13 million to the World Food Programme (WFP), $12 million to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), $3 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and $2 million for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
2. The Government of Japan has decided on this emergency grant aid, considering that it is necessary to improve the serious humanitarian situation in the Darfur region. It is also anticipated that a large number of refugees and internally-displaced persons will return into the southern part of the Sudan after the end of the rainy season. The emergency grant aid is intended for the following:
- Food Assistance to Population affected by Conflict in Sudan (WFP)
- Assistance for the returning refugees in the southern part of the Sudan (provision of transportation, construction of way stations, etc.) and for the reintegration of returnees centering on community services (improvement of healthcare centers, provision of blankets and mosquito nets, etc.) (UNHCR)
- Emergency Mine/UXO Survey, Clearance and Verification in South Western Sudan (UNMAS)
- Improvement of water-supply-related facilities such as hand-pumps and wells in the Darfur region (ICRC)
3. Since January 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed, Japan has been extending assistance including demining, food aid and supporting of returning refugees. Including this emergency grant aid, Japan has so far pledged assistance amounting to about $150 million.
4. Japan hopes that the humanitarian situation will improve so that peace will be promptly consolidated in the Sudan and other parts of Africa , and intends to continue its proactive support.
[Related links]
Statement by the Press Secretary/Director-General for Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the Adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1706 on Darfur, Sudan (August 31, 2006)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2006/8/0831-3.html
Food Aid to African Countries through the World Food Programme (WFP) (July 31, 2006)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2006/7/0731-3.html
Japan-Sudan relations
http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/sudan/index.html
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