Can the US broker a deal?
STPT is publishing two opinion pieces July 15 and 16 on the prospects for success of the upcoming Washington, D.C., meeting of the Quad mechanism—comprising the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—in achieving its stated goal of ending the war in Sudan.
The first piece, by Bakry Eljack Elmedni, Professor of Public Policy and Administration at Long Island University, highlights the core priorities of Sudanese civilians for achieving a just and lasting peace.
The second, by Abdul Mohamed and Alex de Waal, sheds some light on the US approach to peacemaking in Africa and explores the potential for the Quad to broker a peace agreement while stressing that genuine and sustainable peace, rooted in democratic governance, depends on centering the agendas and participation of Sudanese civilian actors
The war in Sudan has entered its third year, leaving thousands of deaths and close to 13 million internally displaced and refugees.
Despite the magnitude of the destruction, the international response has been weak. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, the US has played a muted role, appearing to prefer to outsource the crisis to be managed by Gulf States as could be inferred from the US State Department’s recent convening of the Quad of the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt to revive the mediation efforts.
Coming off the signing of a deal between Rwanda and the DRC, however, the administration is now indicating that it will renew its engagement with the conflict in Sudan with a foreign ministers’ conference for the Quad to agree on ways to end the war by addressing their direct interests in Sudan.
However, will they pursue a quick-fix solution based on the prioritization of humanitarian access and civilian protection or a longer-term, comprehensive agreement.
Read the full paper.
