(Geneva) Talks on a ceasefire in Sudan are due to begin in Switzerland on Wednesday under the leadership of the United States, which is determined to move forward even if the Sudanese army walks away from the negotiating table.
The war in Sudan has been going on since April 2023 between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of his former deputy, General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo, a conflict that has plunged the country to the brink of famine.
Previous rounds of negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, failed, and in late July Washington invited the military and paramilitaries to participate in ceasefire talks in Switzerland starting August 14.
The paramilitaries quickly accepted the invitation, giving “unconditional consent to participate,” according to U.S. special envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello.
Sudan, de facto led by the army commander, has, however, expressed disagreement with the United States over the talks, suggesting that the military would pursue an empty chair policy.
Washington has wanted the talks, co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, to include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the UN as observers.
The Sudanese government disputes the presence of the United Arab Emirates, while the United States believes on the contrary that they could, with Egypt, be “guarantors” of a possible agreement.
Khartoum is also considering the need to establish a platform for discussions elsewhere than in Jeddah, but Washington sees Switzerland as an “extension” of the talks in Saudi Arabia, Mr Perriello said.
With or without Khartoum, Washington intends to launch these discussions, even if the American special envoy acknowledged on Monday that the meeting, in the absence of the Sudanese army, would have a technical format, with experts, but would not be a “formal mediation” between the parties.
“Serious internal divisions”
Initial discussions between the two warring parties in Sudan and an envoy from the United Nations (UN), Algerian diplomat Ramtane Lamamra, took place from July 11 to 19 in Geneva, focusing on humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians.
The goal of these new talks, this time led by the United States, is “to achieve a nationwide cessation of violence, to allow humanitarian access to all those in need, and to establish a robust monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure the implementation of any agreement,” explained US Secretary of State Antony Blinken when announcing the talks.
These new negotiations will not, however, address “broader political issues,” he said in a statement.
Alan Boswell, Horn of Africa project director at the International Crisis Group, said: “The resumption of talks would be a step forward, given that there have been no formal negotiations since last year.”
But the army’s participation is highly uncertain, as General Burhan’s camp is “facing serious internal divisions” on the issue, he said.
If army representatives do not come to Switzerland, diplomats will have to reconsider, he said, but General Burhan “will also come under increasing external pressure if he is seen as the main obstacle to ending the war.”
This first meeting in Switzerland, in a location kept secret for security reasons, should last a maximum of ten days.
It comes as Sudan stands at a catastrophic “breaking point”, with a confluence of crises threatening to leave tens of thousands dead, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned this week.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people and caused a major humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
A ceasefire is “essential,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder said from Sudan.
“I was talking to a surgeon who had not been paid for 16 months and who had operated on some of these boys who had been injured and killed playing football. He said to me, ‘If the people responsible for this war could just see these injuries, these dead children, they would find a way to sit down and talk,'” he said.