US envoy to Sudan criticises 'lack of will' from both sides as Geneva talks end

Discussions yielded a code of conduct for RSF soldiers and progress on humanitarian corridors, Mr Perriello said

The warring parties in Sudan have both agreed to provide safe humanitarian access into the conflict-ravaged nation but there is more work to be done, the envoy said. AFP

The US has secured agreements from Sudan's warring parties to allow aid deliveries to areas affected by the conflict, but more needs to be done to address the humanitarian crisis, US special envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello said on Thursday.

Mr Perriello told a press briefing that the agreements, reached through a diplomatic initiative led by the US, had allowed for the delivery of nearly 2.7 million kilograms of food and emergency relief to areas in need at a cost of more than $1 billion.

US-brokered peace talks aimed at ending the 16-month conflict in Sudan concluded in Geneva this week without any progress on the cessation of hostilities. The Sudanese Armed Forces did not attend the talks, but were consulted on progress.

One outcome of the Geneva talks is a code of conduct for soldiers in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias, due to be implemented at the end of August, Mr Perriello said.

RSF soldiers have committed rampant human rights abuses in areas under their control, according to the UN, including murder, rape and theft of property.

However, despite the breakthroughs, Mr Perriello said both sides showed a lack of a political will to end the war, which is accelerating, he said.

He warned of forces working to undermine the diplomatic efforts to accomplish a ceasefire, including former regime officials from the ousted National Congress Party (NCP) who are trying to lock in governmental or political power.

He said “war profiteers who are making money off the conflict” are trying to undermine army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the sovereign council and further warned of foreign fighters who are coming in on the side of the Rapid Support Forces who “have no interest in the stability or well-being of the Sudanese people”.

The US envoy underscored that the scale of suffering in Sudan remains “truly shocking” and that the international community must do more to address the crisis.

“The people of Sudan have suffered far too long, with 16 months of war and daily horrors of shelling and aerial bombing,” Mr Perriello said. “We need to get the parties to respect humanitarian law and protect civilians, particularly women and children who have borne the brunt of this conflict.”

He said that the United States is working with other countries and international organisations to increase support for humanitarian efforts in Sudan.

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan was exacerbated by the collapse of Arbaat dam on Sunday, located about 40 kilometres north-west of Port Sudan, after weeks of heavy rain caused at least 30 deaths, displaced tens of thousands and levelled dozens of villages.

Aid to tens of thousands of people affected by the collapse are proving to be far short of what is needed, a Unicef relief officer told The National.

“The suddenness of the dam’s collapse and the fact that the affected villages are spread out over a large area has made collecting accurate data very difficult. We are working to provide an accurate count of the dead, injured and displaced,” said Monib Mohamed, a Unicef public health officer and a team leader with Addition for Disaster Assistance and Development (ADD), a Sudanese NGO.

Ceasefire efforts need more attention

In response to criticisms from Sudanese civil society that US efforts to broker a ceasefire have thus far been insufficient and ineffective, he acknowledged that the Sudanese war has not received the attention it deserves.

“No, I believe it doesn't get anything like the attention it needs and deserves given the scale of suffering. I do think in addition to the stark scale of humanitarian suffering, the war now presents a real regional threat of instability and I think that has also increased the attention from a number of key actors,” Mr Perriello told The National during Thursday’s briefing.

He asserted that although the US mediation might have been less effective in the first year of the war, efforts have intensified since earlier this year.

“We can no longer accept any excuses for inaction, and we want to move forward and produce the results we can,” he said. “We do believe the international community has failed to meet the level of urgency for the crisis in Sudan but we really are appreciative of the partners that were part of the initiative, but much more needs to be done.”

Mr Perriello also emphasised the need for a return to a civilian-led transition in Sudan.

Sudan's transitional government, established after a 2019 uprising, was a power-sharing arrangement between civilian and military leaders meant to guide the country towards democratic elections. However, tensions between the two factions led to a military coup in October 2021, derailing the transition and setting the stage for the current conflict.

“The people of Sudan want to see an end to this war and a return to a civilian-led transition,” he said. “We will continue to work with our partners to try to find a path to peace and to support the people of Sudan in their aspirations for a democratic and inclusive future.”

The US envoy also addressed concerns about the flow of arms into Sudan, saying that the United States is working to enforce and extend the arms embargo for Darfur and to discourage the flow of arms into the country. “We need to get countries to be partners in trying to end the war and help the people of Sudan rebuild their country,” he said.

However, two of the humanitarian corridors agreed upon at the talks, Al Dabbah and Sinnar, remain caught in the crossfire of the civil war, with the SAF and RSF clashing over access as famine and conflict worsen.

The Geneva talks began two weeks ago and brought together representatives from the US, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the UN, African Union, Egypt and the UAE.

Sudan's warring factions signed the Jeddah Declaration in May 2023 pledging to protect civilians, but fighting has continued with the SAF chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan accusing the US of hosting Geneva as a means of bypassing previous engagements to the Jeddah platform.

Responding to these criticisms, Mr Perriello reaffirmed the US's commitment to the Jeddah platform. He emphasised that the US is continuing to engage with both parties on a regular basis to ensure that they live up to the agreements they made at Jeddah.

More than 25 million Sudanese face acute hunger and 755,000 are on the brink of famine, according to the World Food Programme.