Sudan Needs One Peace Strategy, Not Another Peace Process

By Patience Nyange **

More than three years into the conflict, Sudan continues to endure one of the world’s gravest humanitarian and political crises. Millions have been displaced, communities torn apart, and institutions weakened. The conflict’s ripple effects have extended far beyond Sudan’s borders, threatening the stability of the entire Horn of Africa.
Yet amid this immense tragedy, one truth has become increasingly clear: Sudan does not lack attention. It lacks strategic coherence. The international community has shown unwavering concern for Sudan. Regional organisations, neighbouring countries, and partners, including the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the European Union, and others, have invested considerable diplomatic effort in support of peace. These commitments reflect a shared recognition that peace in Sudan is indispensable not only for its people but also for regional security and stability.
The challenge today is not the lack of mediation. It is the multiplicity of initiatives operating without sufficient coordination.
No single country, institution, or mediation effort can adequately address the complexity of Sudan’s crisis. The conflict combines military confrontation, a humanitarian catastrophe, political fragmentation, and regional implications, all of which demand a collective response. Success therefore depends not on creating additional mediation tracks, but on strengthening cooperation among those already engaged.
This conviction guided the Third Special Envoys and Representatives Forum on Sudan, convened by IGAD in Nairobi two weeks ago. The Forum brought together the African Union, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the European Union, the Quartet, the Quintet, Track II actors, and other partners. It was built on a simple premise: durable peace requires a common strategic assessment, disciplined complementarity, and a practical division of labour. Every institution brings unique comparative advantages. When these strengths are aligned rather than duplicated, they become far more effective at supporting the Sudanese people.
Sudan does not need another mediation process. What Sudan needs is a mediation strategy capable of safeguarding peace before peace is fully achieved.
This means moving beyond competing initiatives towards coordinated diplomacy that reinforces, rather than fragments, efforts to end the conflict. It means ensuring that humanitarian, political, and security interventions work in concert rather than in parallel. Above all, it means creating the conditions for an inclusive political process, owned and led by the Sudanese themselves.
The recent high-level mission by IGAD’s Executive Secretary, H.E. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, to Khartoum reaffirmed this principle. Discussions with Sudan’s leadership underscored that lasting peace cannot be imposed from the outside. Sustainable solutions must emerge through dialogue that reflects the aspirations and priorities of the Sudanese people and is supported by coherent regional and international backing.
The reopening of the IGAD Mission in Khartoum reflects this long-term commitment. It signals that peacebuilding cannot be sustained by periodic diplomacy alone. It requires continuous engagement, trusted partnerships, and a permanent platform to support dialogue, institutional recovery, and cooperation on the ground.
Equally important is the role of Sudanese civilian actors. Encouraging signs of political convergence among civilian stakeholders should be safeguarded and nurtured. While these developments do not yet amount to a political settlement, they offer an important opportunity to advance a more inclusive national dialogue. The voices of women, youth, traditional leaders, professional associations, civil society, and the private sector remain essential to building a legitimate and sustainable peace.
Time, however, is not on Sudan’s side. Every day the conflict continues, humanitarian suffering deepens, institutions erode further, and prospects for national reconciliation grow more remote. The cost of fragmentation is measured not only by diplomatic setbacks but also by the lives and futures of millions of Sudanese.
The path forward therefore requires greater unity among all partners. Regional and international actors must resist the temptation to pursue parallel approaches and instead strengthen a coordinated framework that supports African leadership and draws on the comparative advantages of the broader international community.
Peace in Sudan will ultimately belong to the Sudanese people. The responsibility of regional and international partners is not to prescribe outcomes but to accompany that journey with coherence, consistency, and solidarity.
The guns must fall silent. Humanitarian suffering must end. Sudan’s sovereignty and unity must be preserved. Achieving these objectives will require more than goodwill; it will demand a shared strategy, collective discipline, and sustained commitment.
Sudan does not need another mediation process. It needs a mediation strategy capable of protecting peace before peace fully arrives. That is the challenge before us, and it is one that the region and the international community must confront together.

**The Spokesperson, Office of the Executive Secretary at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)

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