Berlin Conference Brought Forth a Conspiracy

Hassan Abdel Hamid

On the third anniversary of the attempted seizure of the Sudanese state by the rebel Dagalo militia, aided by a “rogue mini-state” and others, a conference was convened in Berlin on 15 April 2026. Although I was convinced from the outset that this conference would offer nothing to Sudan—for reasons I shall outline—I nevertheless awaited its final communiqué, in the hope that those involved might come to their senses, describe reality as it is, and side with the truth. Instead, as usual, they dashed those hopes and persisted in their delusion. The final statement was insipid—neither affirming what is right nor rejecting what is wrong—recycling tired, hackneyed phrases about humanitarian suffering and the need for aid, without identifying the perpetrator responsible for it all, or those beyond the borders who assisted in a flagrant violation of international law. That law has come to resemble the “idol of dates” in pre-Islamic Arabia—revered at times, and devoured at others.

But what are the reasons for the failure of the Berlin Conference? And why did it follow its predecessors—the Paris Conference of April 2024 and the London Conference of April 2025—into failure?

Foremost among these reasons is that the Sudanese government was not invited. Here lies a double failure: on the one hand, no solution can be sound, nor any settlement expected, without the participation of the Sudanese government; on the other, excluding it constitutes an affront to the Sudanese people, the majority of whose free citizens have rallied behind their government against the rebel militia, mercenaries, and foreign interference, the contours of which were evident from the earliest days.

Another reason for the conference’s failure is that some of its participants represent symbols of Sudanese failure—chief among them Abdalla Hamdok, arguably the most unsuccessful prime minister Sudan has seen since independence. During his tenure, he further complicated the Sudanese scene: he dealt a severe blow to Sudanese sovereignty by inviting in the UN mission, which, by unfortunate coincidence, was led by the German Volker Perthes—a national of the very country hosting this conference. Hamdok failed in the security, economic, and even educational fields, where the curricula officials nearly wrought havoc, were it not for public outrage that forced a humiliating retreat and his eventual resignation. The catalogue of his failures is too extensive to recount here; in any case, the Sudanese people know them well.

The most fundamental reason for the failure of the Berlin Conference, however, is that the very powers which organised it—Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States—are not capable of resolving any international issue in a just manner. This is not conjecture but an observable reality in current global affairs, particularly those affecting Arabs and Muslims. Consider, for example, their positions on the Palestinian question, or on what the author describes as American–Zionist aggression against Iran; examine their stances on these issues and the conclusion becomes clear.

The conference’s final communiqué also contained passages that invite ridicule and evoke pity for their authors. In paragraph (4), it refers to continuing international mediation efforts, including the work of the “Quartet” on a ceasefire. Yet in paragraph (6), it calls for an end to all forms of external support. The irony—indeed the cause for both ridicule and concern—is that one of the Quartet’s member states is flagrantly implicated in providing external support to the rebel militia, to the extent that Sudan has submitted evidence of this role to the UN Security Council. Such a state is neither fit in principle nor in ethics to continue mediation efforts. It should instead cease its support immediately, apologise to the Sudanese people, and provide appropriate compensation for the harm caused. The communiqué would have done better to call matters by their proper names and demand directly that this state desist from its misconduct, rather than resort to such dubious and evasive phrasing.

The curiosities of the Berlin Conference do not end there. The essence of the matter, however, is that the Sudanese people are too aware to be deceived by such conferences—conferences that conceal conspiracies. Those who align themselves with the aggressor against the Sudanese people will, God willing, have no future in Sudan’s political landscape, no matter how much they are supported by the great powers or backed by lesser states.

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