The Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR) welcomes the renewed and concerted efforts by international and regional actors to bring greater coherence to diplomatic efforts aimed at ending Sudan’s devastating war, following the Sixth Consultative Meeting on Enhancing Coordination of Peace Initiatives and Efforts in Sudan, held in Geneva on 21 October 2026.
The meeting was significant not simply because a broad range of international and regional actors gathered in one place, but because it represented a renewed effort to bring together diplomatic initiatives that have largely operated through different channels. Representatives of the Quad, the Quintet, all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and neighbouring and regional countries came together to strengthen coordination, draw on their respective roles and ensure that their efforts reinforce rather than duplicate one another.
This convergence is important. The Quad, comprising the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt, has been leading efforts towards a humanitarian truce as a pathway towards a durable ceasefire. The Quintet, comprising the African Union, IGAD, European Union, League of Arab States and United Nations, has been advancing the political track and efforts towards an inclusive Sudanese political process. The permanent members of the UN Security Council bring their collective international peace and security leverage, while neighbouring and regional states continue to confront the humanitarian, economic, displacement and security consequences of the war. Geneva provided an opportunity for these distinct efforts to come together around a common objective: ending the war and responding to the urgent needs of the Sudanese people.
SAR welcomes this renewed convergence and the recognition that the security, political, humanitarian and regional dimensions of Sudan’s crisis cannot be addressed in isolation. As UN Personal Envoy Pekka Haavisto underscored, a humanitarian truce or ceasefire must be connected to a credible political pathway for what follows. The meeting therefore offers an important opportunity to move from parallel diplomatic initiatives towards a more concerted
The value of this renewed convergence will ultimately depend on whether it can generate the sustained pressure needed to change the course of the war.
Participants rightly reaffirmed that there is no military solution to Sudan’s war and called for immediate de-escalation, genuine engagement towards a ceasefire, respect for international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. They also called on foreign States and non-State actors to stop fuelling the conflict through mercenaries, military equipment, particularly drones, and financial support.
For SAR, these commitments must become the basis for a concerted strategy capable of generating real consequences for those prolonging the war. Renewed diplomatic coordination must be matched by sustained and coordinated pressure on the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to end attacks against civilians, facilitate humanitarian access and engage genuinely in efforts towards a durable ceasefire.
It must also extend to those enabling the conflict. External actors providing weapons, drones, military equipment, financing or other forms of support that facilitate violations must no longer be treated as peripheral to the conflict. International and regional actors must use their collective leverage to disrupt the networks sustaining the war and ensure that those fuelling the violence face meaningful consequences.
SAR further welcomes the renewed emphasis on an inclusive, credible and Sudanese-owned political process. The coming together of the different diplomatic tracks must not result in a political process shaped solely by governments, military actors or international mediators. Sudanese civilians, including women, youth and representatives of Sudan’s diverse geographic and social constituencies, must have a meaningful role in determining the country’s future.
Accountability must remain an essential part of this effort. The pursuit of peace cannot come at the expense of justice, nor should accountability be postponed until a ceasefire or political settlement is reached. Continued documentation of violations, preservation of evidence and credible accountability processes are essential to preventing further impunity and ensuring that victims and survivors are not forgotten.
SAR also welcomes the inclusion of neighbouring and regional countries in these discussions. The participation of Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda is particularly important, given the direct humanitarian, economic and security consequences they are already experiencing as a result of Sudan’s war. These countries are bearing the impact of displacement, humanitarian pressures and growing regional instability, making their perspectives essential to any sustained effort to end the conflict and prevent further regional spillover.
The Geneva meeting should be understood as an opportunity to consolidate this renewed international convergence, not as an endpoint. Neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the Rapid Support Forces participated in the meeting, and no ceasefire was secured. The significance of the meeting will ultimately be measured by whether the actors now working together can translate their shared positions into coordinated pressure and tangible improvements in the lives of Sudanese civilians.
SAR therefore calls on the international and regional actors engaged in Sudan’s peace efforts to sustain this concerted approach, align their diplomatic, political and economic leverage, and ensure that each initiative strengthens the others. The planned continuation of these consultations provides an opportunity to maintain this momentum, assess progress and address gaps collectively.
After more than three years of war, Sudanese civilians cannot afford another cycle of fragmented initiatives and repeated calls for restraint. The renewed coming together of international and regional actors must now produce a unified and sustained response capable of ending the violence, protecting civilians, securing humanitarian access, advancing accountability and creating the conditions for a genuinely civilian-led future for Sudan.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights (SAR),
22 October 2026.