According to the UK’s The Guardian – London Fails in Its Bid to Establish Contact Group to Resolve Sudan Conflict

London – The Guardian
A British attempt to establish a contact group to facilitate ceasefire talks in Sudan collapsed on Tuesday when Arab states refused to sign a joint statement following a conference held in London.
The day-long disagreement between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE over the statement marked a major diplomatic setback for efforts to end Sudan’s two-year civil war.
The UK Foreign Office expressed regret over the failure to reach an agreement on a political path forward, though it emphasized that some progress had been made.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, along with his counterparts from France, Germany, the African Union, and the European Union, issued a joint statement in the absence of a formal final communiqué. They pledged to support efforts for a peaceful resolution and rejected all actions—including foreign interference—that escalate or prolong the conflict. The statement also emphasized the importance of a solution that avoids Sudan’s fragmentation.
Lammy opened the conference with strong moral appeal, saying:
“Many have given up on Sudan—and that is a mistake. A moral mistake, when we see this level of civilian beheadings, one-year-old children subjected to sexual violence, and more people facing famine than anywhere else in the world. We simply cannot look away. As I speak, civilians and aid workers in El Fasher and Zamzam IDP camp are facing unimaginable violence.”
He added:
“The biggest obstacle is not funding or UN resolutions—it’s the absence of political will. We must persuade the warring parties to protect civilians, allow aid in, and prioritize peace above all.”
However, Lammy’s efforts to get Arab states to agree to a set of diplomatic principles for a future contact group failed.
Officials stressed that the conference was not a mediation platform or a pledging event, but aimed to forge political consensus among countries claiming to have a stake in Sudan’s future.
Signaling the conflict’s complexity, external drivers, and expanding nature, Lammy chose not to invite any of Sudan’s main parties or civil society representatives. Instead, the modest goal was to reach consensus on forming an international contact group led by the African Union and to recommit to lifting restrictions on humanitarian aid.
The war, which began in April 2023, stems from a power struggle between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemedti”).
The goal of the contact group was to encourage Middle Eastern states to prioritize diplomacy over backing rival factions. But officials struggled from the start to craft neutral language that would be acceptable to both Egypt and the UAE, particularly regarding Sudan’s future.
Sudan and others have accused the UAE of arming the RSF—an allegation the UAE strongly denies—while Egypt has maintained close ties with Sudan’s army.
The Sudanese government criticized the conference organizers for excluding it, while inviting the UAE.
At a separate event on Tuesday morning, humanitarian and rights organizations called on the international community to sanction countries involved—directly or indirectly—in supplying arms to warring factions, in violation of the UN arms embargo.
Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, said:
“The international community will fail utterly if we hold a conference today with actors involved in the conflict and come out with nothing. We need an alliance led by the UK and host countries that says clearly: we are generating the political momentum needed to protect civilians. This cannot go on. The world cannot turn a blind eye to another genocide. There are international obligations to protect civilians and uphold international law.”
Kate Ferguson, Co-Executive Director of Protection Approaches, said ahead of the conference:
“This is a test of the kind of Foreign Secretary Lammy will be in a world full of chaos, crisis, and violence, with U.S. leadership absent. Lammy needs to be clear and unapologetic about the UK’s position. The conference must confront and immediately work to halt the ongoing genocide in Darfur.”
The meeting came as the U.S. scales back its aid program. Kate Phillips-Barrasso, Vice President of Global Policy at Mercy Corps, said the nature of the U.S. cuts makes it hard to determine the full impact on Sudan, but in their case, a lifeline serving 220,000 people has already been severed.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=5157