“Lest the Kampala Declaration Not Get Lost in the Crowd!!”

By Mahgoub Fadl Badri
The declaration issued in Uganda by the Bana Foundation, which brought together a significant number of diplomats, journalists, politicians, and young people of both genders to examine the harsh circumstances Sudan has been facing for more than two years, began by defining the nature of the war.
The final communiqué stated that the war in Sudan is not an isolated crisis, but rather a continental security emergency, and a threat to African peace, sovereignty, and unity.
It further noted that the potential collapse of Sudan under the pressure of a destructive proxy war will inevitably spill over into the entire region — proving that the war against the Sudanese people is a war against all African nations, and a direct assault on Sudan’s sovereignty and an attempt to fracture the state.
The declaration stressed that the threat to Sudanese sovereignty is twofold: internally, from the escalation of institutional violence; and structurally, from coordinated foreign intervention. The normalisation of militias such as the Janjaweed — formally reorganised as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — granted them state legitimacy, transforming militia power into a rival state embedded within Sudan’s official institutions, ultimately splitting the state.
It asserted that the conflict is not merely an internal power struggle between two generals, but a war of aggression and foreign invasion carried out by a mercenary militia composed of fighters from more than 17 countries, aimed at destroying Sudan.
The declaration highlighted that external actors — Western and Eastern — are actively shaping and exploiting the conflict for strategic, military, economic, and geopolitical gain. This structural expansion of the war is enabled by direct and indirect support from foreign actors, most notably the United Arab Emirates, which arms, finances, recruits, and transports Janjaweed mercenaries. This has turned Sudan into a proxy battleground for Red Sea geopolitics and Gulf rivalries.
A large portion of the Sudanese population is being subjected to systematic persecution, displacement, and atrocities.
The RSF — also known as the Janjaweed — has committed heinous crimes amounting to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including systematic killings, massacres (such as the Geneina massacre, the El Fasher massacre, and others), sexual violence, and ethnic cleansing, particularly targeting the indigenous African populations (the Zurga) in Darfur.
The war has devastated Sudan’s national productive base: agriculture destroyed, financial institutions looted, and more.
The declaration — translated voluntarily by Mr. Taj Al-Din Bashir Niyam — concluded with several key recommendations:
1. Restoring the political space
Necessary for genuine negotiation and development, insisting that Sudanese civilian voices — especially women, youth, and professional associations — play an active role in shaping peace and reconstruction processes.
2. Supporting a national truth-seeking project and comprehensive security reform
Centred on compensating victims under an elected parliament; addressing reparations, land recovery, grievances related to land dispossession, and ethnically-driven violence.
3. Adopting a long-term reconstruction plan
To rebuild essential services — hospitals, schools, and water infrastructure — and invest in rehabilitating the agricultural sector to restore food security and prevent mass poverty.
The declaration concludes:
“The struggle for Sudan is part of Africa’s unfinished struggle for popular sovereignty.
We issue this pan-African declaration as a commitment to organising, not suffering, affirming the need for African dignity to be defended by African power.
We insist that Sudan’s future stability, and the security of Northeast Africa, must rest on justice, accountability, and the restoration of genuine democratic civilian rule.”
A final note by the author:
We profoundly value this declaration, which came at exactly the right moment.
We urge the official bodies concerned to give it the necessary attention so that its recommendations do not get lost in the crowd.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=9645