Aid donors have pledged more than $1.5 billion in support for Sudan, it was revealed on Wednesday at a conference marking three years since the civil war broke out.
The talks in Berlin heard of a “deeply alarming humanitarian situation” as the war enters its fourth year, made worse by knock-on effects of the Iran war.
Wednesday is three years exactly since the conflict broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen Mohamed Dagalo.
Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, the UAE's Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development and International Organisations, told the Berlin talks that civilians “continue to bear the brunt of the conflict”.
He said an immediate truce was needed in order to increase assistance. “Humanitarian assistance must reach civilians wherever they are through all available means and routes, without discrimination,” he said.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the meeting should provide a “moment of hope” for the Sudanese people. He later said participants had “made pledges to the total amount of more than €1.3 billion ($1.53 billion) in a world of shrinking humanitarian means”.
The meeting heard the Iran war was worsening matters. UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said freight costs were up 25 per cent, while Sudan relies on troubled Gulf exports for half of its fertiliser supply.
Massad Boulos, senior adviser for Arab and African affairs to US President Donald Trump, said the Sudanese people had “endured unimaginable hardship for far too long”. The anniversary “must be more than a commemoration, it must be a turning point”, he said.
The fighting began in April 2023 when tension between the two generals broke into open conflict. The confrontation followed weeks of mounting disputes over plans to integrate the RSF into the regular army as part of a stalled transition to civilian rule, quickly spiralling into a nationwide war.
Speaking before the start of the meeting, Mr Wadephul said: “We want to achieve more than at the last conference in London, that was a billion dollars.”
“It seems to be working,” he told the Deutschlandfunk broadcaster, adding: “There are more pledges coming in now, we are working on this.”
Germany will provide an additional 20 million euros ($23.58 million) to Sudan this year, with further funding commitments currently under review, the development ministry in Berlin said.
Civilian presence
The Berlin conference is co-hosted by Germany, the African Union, the EU, France, the UK and the US. It includes, for the first time, a structured civilian forum involving Sudanese civil society groups.
Abdalla Hamdok, Sudan’s former civilian prime minister, is in attendance. He was removed in the 2021 military coup led by Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo, which collapsed the civilian political process and paved the way for the rival military forces to turn on each other.
Mr Hamdok told The National in an interview before travelling to Berlin for the conference that the civilian delegation expects to push for humanitarian access, protection of civilians and a political track to end the war.
“For the first time, they are giving a civilian voice and listening to us as civilians,” he said.
Neither the Sudanese army nor the RSF has been invited to the Berlin meeting. The Sudanese government said Germany’s plan to host a conference on Sudan on April 15 was “a surprising and unacceptable” interference in its internal affairs, saying it was done without consulting Khartoum and warning that engaging with paramilitary groups would undermine state sovereignty.
The war has killed tens of thousands, and about 14 million people have been displaced, according to a recent UN report, with 9 million inside Sudan and 4.4 million across borders.
International efforts to end violence have failed so far. Even a humanitarian truce – called for by the US, the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, collectively known as the Quad – is out of reach.
Mr Boulos said on the sidelines of the conference that his country is not taking sides in the war in Sudan and is focused on working on a UN mechanism to resolve the conflict.
The US wants to secure a humanitarian truce that allows aid to reach people, he added.
Global failure
For her part, British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said that the international community has failed in Sudan, calling for an international concerted effort to stop the arms flow.
“Countries from across the world are coming together here in Berlin to discuss the way, frankly, the international community has failed the people of Sudan,” said Ms Cooper.
“We need to ensure that every possible pressure is put on those warring parties to reach the urgent ceasefire that we desperately need to see,” she said, as she reiterated the need for humanitarian support.
About 21 million Sudanese are now facing acute food insecurity, including 6.3 million in the most dire state of food emergency, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation. The UN says widespread human rights crimes continue, including sexual violence, forced recruitment, arbitrary arrests and massacres. The two sides have been accused by the world body of war crimes.
Pekka Haavisto, UN special envoy to Sudan said the Berlin conference is an essential meeting to help humanitarian aid in the country and stop the war.
“Today's meeting in Berlin is an excellent opportunity, one more time, to appeal for the humanitarian truce so that humanitarians could get the aid to the ordinary people in Sudan, and also stopping this kind of war and using very disturbing weapons like drones in the front,” he said.
