The UAE will not withdraw from efforts to secure peace in Sudan, a senior Emirati diplomat said, reaffirming Abu Dhabi’s commitment to working with the US-led Quad.
Sudan has been gripped by a war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, which has devastated large parts of the country, displaced millions and led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Regional and international mediators continue to struggle to secure a ceasefire.
"The UAE will not withdraw from the Quad efforts or any efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable and lasting peace in Sudan," Jamal Al Musharakh, the UAE’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, told The National in an interview in the Swiss city.
"The UAE has made it very clear through its $500 million additional pledge in Washington DC that [the country is] committed towards alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people, and we will work side by side with the Quad, with US leadership to make sure that happens," he added.
The US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, collectively known as the Quad, have been working to end hostilities in Sudan.
Last week, Massad Boulos, the US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, called on the army and the RSF to immediately and unconditionally accept a humanitarian truce and launch a political process leading to a civilian government.
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry's response to Mr Boulos's call came on Monday as a thinly veiled rejection.
“We would like to make clear that floating or presenting any proposals does not necessarily mean that the Sudanese government accepts or agrees to it,” it said. “Any proposals that don't consider the country's supreme interests will not be agreed to by the government and consequently will not be implemented."
Despite that, Mr Al Musharakah said truce efforts are not failing, adding that the turmoil of the past three years meant that "neither the RSF nor the SAF have any role to play in the future of Sudan".
Sudan's Justice Minister Abdullah Dirif accused the UAE at the Human Rights Council on Wednesday of "sponsoring" the RSF and supplying them with arms. In Response, Abu Dhabi said it rejected "false and baseless accusations by a warring party with the blood of its own people on its hand".
The US had previously imposed sanctions against the head of SAF and Sudan’s de facto leader, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, saying that the army had used chemical weapons.
The UN also found that the RSF carried out ethnically targeted killings, widespread sexual violence and enforced disappearances during their October takeover of El Fasher city in the Darfur region.
The UAE has "constantly and consistently unequivocally condemned" the two warring sides for their atrocities, said Mr Al Musharakh.
Gaza Board of Peace
The UAE is also part of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, initially established to oversee the Gaza ceasefire but has expanded its mandate. Critics argue the board could undermine the UN.
The board's inaugural meeting was held last week in Washington, during which several countries have together raised more than $17 billion in relief funds for the strip. The UAE announced a further $1.2 billion in support for Gaza.
Led by Mr Trump, the board is responsible for overseeing the second phase of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Plans for phase two include disarming the Palestinian militant group and rebuilding the coastal enclave from the rubble of Israel's two-year war.
However, the reality on the ground may be far more complex. Progress will require sustained pressure on Israel, which continues to breach the ceasefire, as well as addressing the challenge of demilitarising the enclave.
"Aid alone is not enough to deal with the devastating situation that we're seeing. Aid must be accompanied by political will and a political process," said Mr Al Musharakh.
US officials say reconstruction can only proceed if Hamas is disarmed, although they have offered no details on what that would mean in practice.
Mr Al Musharakh said the Board of Peace does not seek to replace the UN but to complement its work.
"The UN role is indispensable in solving the situation. The Board of Peace is complimentary to those efforts and brings innovative ideas on the way forward," he said.
