The United Nations on Friday said delegations from both of Sudan’s warring parties turned up for a second day of cease-fire talks in Geneva aimed at protecting civilians and providing humanitarian aid to millions of people devastated by the conflict.
The talks got off to a rocky start Thursday when one of the delegations failed to show up. Without revealing which party didn’t appear, U.N. spokesperson in Geneva Alessandra Vellucci told journalists that the talks now are underway.
“I can confirm that some of the discussions are taking place,” she said. “I cannot give you the details on which warring party has showed up or not. What I can tell you is that the engagements continue today. So, we will see how it goes.”
The U.N. spokesperson noted that the Sudanese delegations are not meeting face-to-face but are engaging in so-called “proximity talks,” with Ramtane Lamamra, the personal envoy of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, shuttling between the two delegations.
Vellucci said that even though one delegation did not arrive on the first day, the U.N. mediator still was able to hold talks with representatives of the party that did appear.
After 15 months of brutal warfare, Vellucci suggested that a day’s delay in the negotiations was less important than the fact that senior representatives from both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have accepted Lamamra’s invitation to get on with discussions.
“We urged them to participate because, as you all know, we have also spoken about this here on this podium,” she said. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan is deteriorating by the day. So, we really need to look at the devastating impact that this has on the civilian population. And we urge the delegations to rise up to this challenge and engage in constructive discussions.”
Since rival generals triggered the conflict in mid-April 2023, the United Nations reports nearly 19,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured. The war has also created the world’s worst displacement crisis.
Latest reports find it has displaced 12.7 million people — 10.5 million still living inside Sudan and 2.2 million who have become refugees in five neighboring countries.
The World Food Program warns that some 18 million people are suffering from acute hunger, with 755,000 people on the brink of famine. The World Health Organization reports nearly 15 million people need urgent health assistance, with many suffering from deadly infectious diseases and others from chronic ailments including cancer and diabetes.
On-again, off-again cease-fire talks between the SAF and RSF in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah broke down at the end of last year, making these latest efforts to halt the catastrophic escalation of this brutal war more crucial than ever.
In a Thursday briefing to journalists at United Nations headquarters in New York, spokesperson for the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, warned against raising expectations about the talks.
“We and others have been trying to move this process forward,” he said. “We need to give it a little bit of breathing room and that’s why we’re not trumpeting all of this.”
The format of the talks is based on two Security Council resolutions that express concerns over the spreading violence in Sudan.
Resolution 2724 calls for Personal Envoy Lamamra “to use his good offices with the parties” to coordinate regional peace efforts, while Security Council Resolution 2736 urges the parties to de-escalate in El Fasher and “allow and facilitate unfettered humanitarian access across the country and ensure the protection of civilians.”
El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State and last SAF stronghold in the region, is the scene of a fierce battle being waged for its control by RSF fighters.
The Security Council resolutions call on the parties to the conflict to seek “an immediate cessation of hostilities, leading to a sustainable resolution of the conflict, through dialogue.”
Vellucci told journalists the focus of the talks is “to ensure the distribution of humanitarian assistance to all the Sudanese population in need and to ensure the protection of civilians across Sudan.”
“The two delegations are comprised of senior representatives who have been delegated by the leaders of the warring parties to participate in the talks. And the delegations are composed of humanitarian, security and military experts,” she said. “So, that is what I can tell you about the delegation and the delegation level.”
The U.N. spokesperson added that it was not clear how long the talks would last.
“For the moment, the talks are continuing, and we will see how long they will continue,” she said. What is important, she added, is that “the warring parties identify and agree on ways to protect and assist the civilian population, possibly by agreeing on local cease-fires.”
