Sudan humanitarian talks in Geneva end without agreement

The indirect negotiations between the warring Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Swiss city of Geneva between July 11-19, concluded yesterday without reaching an agreement concerning the safe passage of humanitarian aid in Sudan. Following the meeting, the RSF, fighting the Sudanese army since April 15 last year, invited the UN to set up offices in the areas under its control.

Ramtane Lamamra, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy to Sudan, who had invited the belligerents to agree on protecting civilians during the battles and the delivery of humanitarian aid, said in a press statement yesterday that the discussions held by delegations of both parties in Geneva “are an encouraging initial step in a longer and complex process.

“Although unilateral commitments by the parties do not constitute agreements with the UN, I welcome the commitments announced today by one of the two parties to enhance humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians.

Ramtane intends “to remain in close contact with the leadership of the two parties, to follow up on the implementation of commitments and to engage them on critical issues” and urged both sides “to step up their engagement for peace for the sake of the Sudanese people and the future of the country”. 

The special envoy had invited both parties “to nominate senior delegations to discuss “measures to be undertaken to ensure the distribution of humanitarian assistance to all the Sudanese population in need”, and “options to ensure the protection of civilians across Sudan. 

“I invited the delegations appointed by both parties to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to participate in discussions in “proximity format”, in which I would separately engage the delegation of each party, supported by a United Nations integrated technical team providing relevant expertise. [..]

“Throughout these engagements, the delegations expressed their positions on key issues of concern, in light of their responsibilities, allowing us to deepen our mutual understanding. We then explored avenues to address these issues to contribute to alleviating the suffering of the civilian population in Sudan. I am encouraged by the willingness of the parties to engage with me on these critical matters, as well as by the commitments made to respond to some specific requests we presented to them,” he stated.

“The humanitarian situation in Sudan remains catastrophic and is deteriorating every day. Urgent action is needed to ensure that humanitarian assistance safely reaches all those in need and to guarantee the protection of all civilians in Sudan. I count on the parties to promptly translate their willingness to engage with me into tangible progress on the ground. The United Nations will continue to make every effort to support the civilian population throughout the country.”

On April 15, an international conference on Humanitarian Issues in Sudan was held in the French capital of Paris. France, Germany, and the European Union pledged donations of more than €2 billion. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) pledged a further $100 million to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan and neighbouring countries. 

A month earlier, the Sudanese government agreed on the use of certain land border crossings and airports as corridors for humanitarian aid.

The borders had previously been closed to traffic due to SAF concerns that allowing such corridors would facilitate RSF arms smuggling, which in turn lead to accusations that the Sudanese government was using starvation as a weapon.

UN membership

Yesterday evening, a member of the RSF negotiating delegation, Izzeldin El Safi, read a letter from RSF Commander Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, at a press conference in Geneva.

In the letter, Hemedti outlined “RSF’s commitments, including the facilitation of humanitarian aid deliveries in coordination with the Sudanese Agency for Relief and Humanitarian Operations and the strengthening of civilian protection measures”.

El Safi said that in the past two weeks, more than 160 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered Darfur. The distributed aid but is “far less than the real needs in the region. Therefore, we call on the UN to proceed with the arrangements we agreed upon to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and to set up its offices in the areas under RSF control,” which, he said, are inhabited by between 18 and 20 million Sudanese.

The letter also spoke about the measures taken by the RSF to enhance the protection of civilians in Sudan. A special force has been formed to combat negative phenomena among its fighters and to form major and minor field courts to try those among them who violated the law.

Hemedti in the letter further called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution to suspend Sudan’s UN membership due to the absence of a government in the country since the (joint SAF-RSF) coup d’état of October 2021.

Additionally, the UNSC should adopt a resolution criminalising the deprivation of Sudanese citizens by the authorities from obtaining identity documents on the basis of race, geographic, religious or political affiliation.