Sudan conference: pressure for an end to the humanitarian catastrophe

At the third international Sudan conference in Berlin, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher called for "a clear vision for the future of Sudan". He spoke of a test for the international community.

The Sudanese people must not be left in the lurch any longer, Fletcher demanded. "Peace work is complex and requires patience, but it is not rocket science."

More than eleven million people on the run

The power struggle between two generals has brought terrible suffering to the civilian population in Africa's third-largest country: 11.6 million people are currently on the run, there is hunger in many cities, massacres and massive sexual violence. The United Nations is currently talking about the biggest humanitarian disaster in the world. The main opponents are not present in Berlin. The main issue in the German capital is the financing of humanitarian aid.

Fletcher said he was bringing with him "the frustration, anger and despair of a population that has experienced so much suffering". There is "too much sexual violence against women and girls, too many deaths from drone attacks by international actors, too much neglect and apathy on the part of the international community". What is needed is an end to the supply of weapons and drones by supporters of the warring parties, which are killing so many Sudanese as well as humanitarian aid workers.

War of the generals - "They are destroying their country"

The civil war began exactly three years ago - on April 15, 2023. Since then, the government army SAF of de facto ruler Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and the militia RSF under Mohamed Hamdan Daglo have been fighting for supremacy in Sudan. The two had once jointly seized power - Daglo was al-Burhan's deputy.

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairman of the Commission of the African Union (AU) regional organization, said: "The Sudanese actors are destroying their country. They are losing entire generations of Sudanese."

Call for a humanitarian ceasefire

Like the UN Special Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, the US government's advisor for African and Arab countries, Massad Boulos, called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. This should be accepted immediately without preconditions so that a political transition could be worked on, said Boulos.

Several conference participants spoke out in favor of involving Sudanese civil society in the talks on the country's future - and a new democratic beginning. Part of the conference in Berlin is a platform for consultations between representatives of civil society, who are to develop a plan for a civilian instead of a military government for the country.

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for the investigation of atrocities in the civil war to be referred to the International Criminal Court. An arms embargo for the whole of Sudan, not just the Darfur region, is "extremely important".

The civil war is also about spheres of influence: It is considered indisputable that the RSF receives support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The government troops, in turn, are supported by neighboring Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Hope for extensive aid pledges

Following meetings in Paris and London, the Sudan conference in Berlin was organized by Germany together with Great Britain, France, the USA and the European and African Union. In Paris, there were pledges of aid amounting to around two billion euros (around 1.84 billion Swiss francs) and in London around one billion euros. The aim in Berlin is to exceed the funds from the previous conference in London, said German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Deutschlandfunk radio.

He called on the international community to make a stronger commitment to ending the conflict. "This major humanitarian catastrophe in Africa must not be forgotten," demanded Wadephul. The conference would not be the solution to the conflict, but it could make a substantial contribution to ensuring that the associated human catastrophe was recognized.

Katharina Dröge, head of the German Green Party parliamentary group, told the German Press Agency (dpa) that even if important financial commitments were now coming from Germany, this should not hide the fact that Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government had more than halved its funding in this area - including for Sudan. "In view of the catastrophic situation on the ground, this is contradictory and irresponsible."

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced new aid amounting to around 168 million euros. According to its Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, Norway intends to provide 42 million euros. According to UN figures, only 16 percent of the aid money for Sudan has been secured so far this year.