'Time for action is now': UAE diplomat welcomes EU push to end Sudan’s civil war

UAE Minister of State Lana Nusseibeh says country remains aligned with regional and international partners

Lana Nusseibeh has reiterated the UAE's call for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan. Reuters

The UAE has urged intensified global action to end the atrocities in Sudan, with senior diplomat Lana Nusseibeh welcoming the European Parliament’s commitment to ending the country's devastating civil war.

In a joint motion, the European Parliament on Thursday called for the immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan and urged all parties to “engage in meaningful dialogue to end the conflict and establish a transition to civilian democratic governance”.

Members of the parliament voted unanimously on a resolution over the escalation of the civil war and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe.

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Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE Minister of State and Envoy to the EU, said that her country remains aligned with regional and international partners in backing a road map endorsed by fellow Quad countries, the US, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It begins with a humanitarian truce and leading to a civilian-led transition free from extremist influence.

She reiterated the UAE’s call for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan. "A unified regional and international effort is essential to ending the atrocities in Sudan," she said in a statement. "The time for action is now."

The conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has claimed 150,000 lives since 2023. It has led to famine and claims of genocide in the Darfur region.

“We continue to firmly condemn the grave violations committed by both warring parties – the RSF and the Port Sudan Authority,” said Ms Nusseibeh. “Their conduct has caused profound suffering and undermined Sudan’s future. An immediate end to the war and all acts of violence is imperative.”

The Quad countries mapped out a plan for Sudan in September. It centred on a three-month truce, to be followed by a ceasefire and a political process to determine the country’s future leadership.

The RSF unilaterally declared this week a cessation of hostilities in response to the road map. However, the army said on Tuesday it had repelled an RSF attack on a base in the city of Babanoussa, in Kordofan, where the front lines of the 31-month war have shifted after the RSF seized the army's last stronghold in the neighbouring Darfur region.

Sudan's army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan has rejected the plan to end the civil war as the “worst” proposal he had seen, before softening his criticism and saying it is up to “relevant authorities” to draft a response.

EU condemns atrocities

The European Parliament condemned the “grave atrocities committed by the RSF in El Fasher and across the rest of Sudan, including widespread, ethnically targeted killings and violence; rape and sexual enslavement; torture; enforced disappearances; attacks on hospitals and humanitarian facilities; and the deliberate starvation of civilians, possibly constituting acts of genocide”.

It also denounced the continuing violence and violations of international human rights committed by both sides in Sudan.

Last week, EU foreign ministers approved sanctions against Abdelrahim Dagalo, deputy commander of the RSF. Both the Sudanese army and the RSF are accused of committing atrocities and war crimes, according to the UN.

The US State Department's Africa Bureau said on Wednesday that “the government of Sudan must immediately acknowledge its violations, cease any further use of chemical weapons and fully co-operate with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to address these violations”.

This year, the US imposed sanctions against Gen Al Burhan, saying that the army had used chemical weapons.