Hamdok: civilians at Berlin talks

Abdalla Hamdok said Sudanese civilians will have a formal seat at the Berlin talks on April 15, a change from earlier international meetings on the war. (msn.com) Germany, the African Union, the European Union, France, Britain and the United States are co-hosting the conference in Berlin. Foreign ministers, United Nations officials, humanitarian groups and a structured forum of Sudanese civil society representatives are expected to attend. (theafricancourier.de) Hamdok, who now heads the Somoud coalition, said previous anniversary conferences in Paris in April 2024 and London in April 2025 largely sidelined civilians. He said any lasting settlement has to be political, not just military or humanitarian. (europesays.com) The meeting comes as Sudan’s war reaches its third anniversary this month. Fighting began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and the conflict has become the world’s largest displacement crisis. (unhcr.org) United Nations agencies said on April 11 that about 14 million people have been displaced and Sudan’s health system has been devastated by repeated attacks. The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund said an attack on Al Jabalayn Teaching Hospital in White Nile State on April 2 killed 10 health workers. (news.un.org) (emro.who.int) Aid groups are pressing Berlin’s hosts to turn the meeting into funding and access commitments, not another statement of concern. Amnesty International said on April 10 that donors should increase support for frontline groups and press the warring parties to allow humanitarian access. (reliefweb.int) Sudan’s army-aligned government has objected to the conference because it was not included in the preparations. Sudan formally protested to Germany on April 10, saying Berlin was convening the meeting without Khartoum’s participation or consent. (msn.com) That dispute reflects a wider split over who can speak for Sudan while the war continues. Some Sudanese civilian and humanitarian groups have welcomed any forum that gives noncombatants a direct role, while officials aligned with the army say outside powers are bypassing the state. (theafricareport.com) (sudantribune.com) Berlin will test whether outside powers can move beyond pledges and put civilians closer to the center of Sudan diplomacy. Hamdok’s argument is that the people living through the war should be in the room when others discuss how to end it. (msn.com)