Sudan is not lost. Here at last is a way to break the cycle of violence in our country | Abdalla Hamdok

8 hours ago 5

Freedom, peace and justice. Three words that united the Sudanese people and became the banner under which 30 years of dictatorship was brought to an end. An era of corruption, religious extremism, repression and conflict was over.

I did not think that seven years on from the glorious December revolution, our nation would be on the edge of irreversible collapse. Three years of senseless violence have pushed Sudan to the brink. The country is engulfed in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. And for what?

Africa’s third-largest country laid waste by warmongers so intoxicated by the prospect of power that the suffering of the Sudanese people means nothing to them. Those who weaponise starvation or use chemical weapons against their own people are not the ones to bring us freedom. The recent attacks on civilian targets in East Darfur and North Kordofan should make that painfully clear.

From the moment the first shot was fired it was apparent neither the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) nor the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) could win this war. The idea of a total military victory is a fallacy, propagated by those who profit from prolonging it.

Yet the senselessness of this conflict cannot justify inaction. Sudan still has a future. Across the country, civilian coalitions are stepping up in the absence of a functioning state, delivering food and medicine, and coordinating support for peace efforts.

The Sudanese have not lost hope of a return to a functioning state. Now, for the first time since this war erupted there is a credible plan that can make it happen – and end the vicious cycle of violence, wars and coups that has plagued Sudan for decades.

Since the war started, we have seen commendable efforts to bring it to an end. However, too often these initiatives have taken sides or lacked the support needed to bring the relevant parties to the table.

The roadmap tabled last September by the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, known as the Quad, is different. This is a plan backed by the people with the leverage to stop this war.

This renewed engagement has been particularly significant. The fact the RSF and SAF are now entertaining a ceasefire proposal is testament to this shift.

Critically, this plan goes beyond a temporary pause in hostilities and recognises the need for an independent, civilian-led government. Making this work requires three things: a truce that sees all parties in the conflict commit to an immediate and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire; the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid and protection of civilians; and a national dialogue that brings together representatives from across Sudanese society.

The primary aim must be to decide how we want Sudan to be governed, not who governs it. This should be left to the people to decide.

These three components must happen simultaneously, not in stages. A truce without a political process is meaningless. Multiple times over the past three years, both parties have shaken on a ceasefire with one hand and continued to spill Sudanese blood with the other.

Each time, the country descends back into chaos.

Addressing these elements together is a way to break the cycle. Ensuring that all parts of society who believe in peace, democracy and civilian rule are included in this process means we can shape a path to peace that tackles the root causes of this conflict.

A ministerial conference in Berlin on Wednesday 15 April will be an opportunity to push this process forward. The meeting must be used to unify international efforts and channel political will into a mechanism that can deliver peace. This means tying together the disparate initiatives on Sudan that we have seen from the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, League of Arab States, the UN, European Union and others to get behind the Quad’s roadmap for peace. The duplication of all these mediation initiatives only dilutes our chances of ending this war.

A united international community in Berlin can help to accelerate the process from truce through to humanitarian aid and towards the civilian-led political process we need.

I am not naive to the scale of the challenge but, like so many Sudanese, I believe in a better tomorrow. We have overcome three decades of dictatorship. We have overcome the division of our country.

There is now a credible plan to return our nation to peace, with the international support to deliver it. We must take the opportunity before the window closes.