Sudan’s conflict – civil society and the war between the generals: key takeaways from a roundtable with Sudanese and international experts | ODI: Think change

This note summarises the discussion points of a private online roundtable convened by the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI on 26 June 2023. It brought together a group of Sudanese and non-Sudanese researchers and analysts working on Sudan to discuss the massive outbreak of violence that has engulfed the capital and overwhelmed the country, and the response of Sudan’s complex and diverse civil society to the crisis.

Participants discussed the present and future role of civil society in local and international peace efforts, and in addressing the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict. Finally, the roundtable discussed how international actors could work with civil society in order to reduce violence, address the humanitarian crisis, and support peace.

Key Messages

Civil actors need to be part of the search for peace. Peace processes need to be based on the activist, pluralist, decentralised strengths of leading civil actors, such as the Resistance Committees. Their inclusion must go further than giving them a seat at negotiating tables dominated by state actors’ interests.
Three different peace processes have made little progress and have not so far included civil actors. For many Sudanese observers, this marginalisation of civil actors reflects several years of international failure to address the necessity of demilitarising Sudanese politics.
So far, peace processes have reinforced the positions of the belligerents and have undermined broader political engagement. There is an opportunity with the IGAD process that appears to recognise the need to involve civic activists. But it may be that the two processes need to run in parallel, with legitimacy/guarantees being offered through the civic process.
Resistance Committees need resources and funding if they are to continue providing services and political alternatives. But any attempts to help the Resistance Committees to develop a common agenda or organise services in a more cohesive way need to understand and support their strengths: their combination of decentralised structures, political engagement and local legitimacy.
Outsiders must recognise the intimate connections between peace efforts and service provision. International humanitarian actors should try to learn from the Resistance Committees’ grasp of local accountability, perhaps by giving them a role in monitoring humanitarian aid. The committees have profound systems of accountability that would be eroded if they are turned into implementing organisations.
Most international humanitarian actors have adapted slowly to catastrophic new realities within Sudan; they risk capture by security interests; and their legitimacy is undermined by the inadequate international response to Sudanese refugees. These factors may lead to Sudanese disenchantment with international processes.

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Sudan’s conflict – civil society and the war between the generals: key takeaways from a roundtable with Sudanese and international experts