Negotiations on a ceasefire in Sudan are set to begin Wednesday in Switzerland, mediated by the United States, which is determined to proceed even if the Sudanese army does not participate. Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in war between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, pushing the country to the brink of famine. Previous rounds of negotiations held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have failed.
At the end of July, Washington invited the warring parties to a new round of negotiations scheduled to start Wednesday to try to put an end to the devastating war that has continued for nearly 16 months. U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, stated that the Rapid Support Forces have announced their "unconditional" agreement to participate. However, Sudan's authorities, where the army chief is the de facto ruler, expressed reservations about the American invitation for negotiations in Geneva and disagreed with the United States regarding the participants, indicating that they would not take part in the Geneva talks.
The U.S. wants to involve the African Union, Egypt, the UAE, and the United Nations as observers in the Geneva talks, which it is co-sponsoring with Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. The U.S. considers Abu Dhabi and Cairo to be "guarantors" that any agreement will not remain merely words on paper. Meanwhile, Sudanese authorities are skeptical about the effectiveness of finding a negotiation platform other than the one established in Jeddah. However, Perriello emphasized that "these talks are an extension" of those held in Jeddah. The U.S. envoy pointed out that the talks "will proceed" with or without Khartoum's participation but noted that if government representatives do not attend, "formal mediation will be impossible," and the focus will be on "practical matters."
Major Internal Divisions
From July 11 to 19, preliminary talks took place in Geneva between the warring parties in Sudan, mediated by Algerian UN envoy Ramatan Lamamra, focusing on humanitarian aid and civilian protection. When announcing the new round of talks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that it aims "to achieve a cessation of violence nationwide, allow humanitarian aid to reach all those in need, and establish a robust monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure the implementation of any agreement." Blinken noted that the talks would not "address broader political issues."
Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, considered that "resuming talks would constitute progress, as no formal negotiations have taken place since last year."
The round of talks to be held in Switzerland at an undisclosed location for security reasons is expected to last up to ten days at most. The talks come at a time when the International Organization for Migration has warned that the country stands at a "catastrophic breaking point," facing multiple crises threatening the lives of tens of thousands. The war has pushed the country to the brink of famine, according to the United Nations, and has caused the deaths of tens of thousands.
From Sudan, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder emphasized the "necessity" of a ceasefire. Elder recounted, "I was talking to a surgeon who hasn't been paid for 16 months and has performed surgeries on some of the children who were injured and killed while playing football. He told me: 'If those who are waging this war saw these wounds and these children who were killed, they would find a way to sit down and discuss.'"
