After nearly a year and a half of civil war, millions of Sudanese civilians are facing starvation, displacement, and violence, including sexual violence. Considering the scale of the violence against civilians, a recent UN fact-finding mission called for an “independent and impartial force with a mandate to safeguard civilians be deployed without delay.” The UN secretary-general is expected to make recommendations for the protection of civilians in Sudan within the next month, as requested by the UN Security Council.

In this interview, Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, Executive Director of Fikra for Studies & Development, a Sudanese think tank, discusses the shortcomings in the international response to the situation in Sudan and options for the protection of civilians.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The level of suffering and atrocities being experienced by civilians in Sudan right now is staggering, but the protection of civilians has not been a major focus of the mediation efforts. What do you see as the shortcomings of the current mediation efforts when it comes to the protection of civilians?

I think the major shortcomings are related not only to the protection of civilians but also to the entire peace process in Sudan. This is because of the institutional impunity that is given to domestic and regional stakeholders such as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their breaches of international law, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 1591, which banned the transfer of weapons to Darfur. Both of these actors have been allowing crimes against civilians to take place without any sort of political accountability. Read more