Sudan ceasefire talks held at United Nations General Assembly
Key international actors, including states and regional organisations, are coordinating efforts at this year’s UN General Assembly to put an end to Sudan’s devastating civil war, according to AP on September 26th.
The International Crisis Group’s project director for the Horn of Africa, Alan Boswell, said that the 2025 General Assembly meeting in New York could prove to be “make-or-break” for achieving a permanent ceasefire.
He issued a statement saying that “for the first time since the war broke out more than two years ago, Sudan’s most influential outside powers agreed this month on a roadmap to end the war.”
He added that “now comes the huge task of trying to convince Sudan’s warring parties to stop fighting.” Such a task may prove immensely challenging as both parties, the military and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, seem committed to total victory through force.
Sudan’s military Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan vowed in mid-August that his forces would continue fighting until the RSF is either totally defeated or surrenders, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to securing his vision for Sudan’s future.
Similarly, the RSF has established a parallel government to rival and undermine the authority of the military-backed administration in Khartoum. The group has also ramped up its efforts to flush the military out of the besieged and famine-stricken El-Fasher, which is the last city in the vast Darfur region still under military control.
On September 12th, the Sudan quartet, which is composed of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement that called for a humanitarian ceasefire to be implemented for three months. This would function to deliver life-saving aid to citizens suffering from what the UN has labelled as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
The temporary truce would be followed by a permanent ceasefire and an eventual transition to democratic elections “within nine months to meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people towards smoothly establishing an independent, civilian-led government with broad-based legitimacy and accountability.”
The quartet then met on September 24th at the UN assembly to discuss the implementation of their roadmap to peace in Sudan. Despite their common goal, the quartet has faced barriers due to conflicting visions over execution and the role of armed groups in the process.
This is largely because Egypt and Saudi Arabia support the Sudanese military while the UAE supports the RSF. In late July, a Sudan quartet meeting was delayed after the UAE inserted a last-minute stipulation asserting that neither warring party should have any involvement in the future transitional process. This was viewed as “totally unacceptable” by the other member states.
This dissonance seems to be an ongoing issue as, during its UN assembly meeting, it failed to announce the formation of a long-anticipated joint committee for restoring peace and security. This was allegedly due to what one Sudanese official called “sharp disagreements” between members, according to The Africa Report on September 25th.
Another simultaneous meeting on the de-escalation of Sudan’s war was convened by the African Union, European Union, and the foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
Following this, the British Foreign Office issued a joint statement with several other international actors urging “the warring parties to resume direct negotiations to achieve a permanent ceasefire” and committed to taking “further action to support its conclusion and implementation.”
The statement also welcomed the quartet’s September 12th statement and expressed support for the African Union and European Union’s push “to coordinate international and bilateral efforts to pressure all Sudanese parties towards a ceasefire, humanitarian action and political dialogue.”
AP; Maghrebi.org, United Nations, The Africa Report, British Foreign Office
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