Five years ago, a peaceful civil society uprising managed to oust Sudan´s long-term dictator Omar Al Beshir, and to install a joint civilian-military government for a three-year transition to democratic elections. However, a military coup in October 2021 put an end to hope for democracy and in April 2022, the two power-sharing military forces initiated a cruel war. As a result of looting, the conscious destruction of the economy and the use of hunger as a weapon of war by both warring parties, ten million people have been displaced and 25 million face the threat of a man-made massive famine and starvation.
The war in Sudan had also devastating effects on its already unstable neighboring countries on the continent. Its strategic location at the Red Sea has huge implications for the Arab Peninsula as well as for international trade and migration. Multiple international players have a stake in this crisis, most prominently Saudi Arabia and the UAE as active supporters of belligerents, but Russia, the US, the EU and others have their stakes too. Different mediation efforts by Egypt and other neighboring countries, the African Union, Saudia Arabia and the US have had little success.
Despite the humanitarian catastrophe and international implications of this crisis, there seems to be little attention to it by Western media and decision-makers. “The world is failing to live up to its commitments to protect civilians in armed conflict”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned. When states fail to protect their citizens, the international community has a responsibility to do so.
Who are the different conflict parties, what are their interests and who is behind them? Why have the different efforts for mediation failed so far? Why do Western powers not intervene more strongly in this catastrophic conflict? What has become of the strong Sudanese civil society movements? What role can they play in the current conflict situation? Within the country and as Sudanese diaspora? How can Sudanese civil society and the diaspora contribute to support humanitarian relief for the victims of this war?
These and other questions will be addressed in this panel discussion, which constitutes the opening event of a three-day meeting of representatives of the Sudanese diaspora from nine European countries in Vienna.
Panel
Suliman Baldo
is the Executive Director of the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker. He was previously director of the Sudan Democracy First Group, a Sudan-focused think tank on democratization and peace. Baldo has also worked as an U.N. Independent Expert on Human Rights in Mali, and as an advisor to joint U.N. and African Union mediation teams in the conflict in Darfur. He served as Africa director of the Africa Program at the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and Africa Director at the International Crisis Group (ICG). Previously, he worked for Human Rights Watch (HRW) as a senior researcher for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Horn of Africa. He holds a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Dijon in France and undergraduate degrees from the University of Khartoum.
Dániel Weiss
is Deputy Head of Division for the Horn of Africa and East Africa at the European External Action Service (EEAS). Before he assigned as Charge de Affaires of the Delegation of the European Union to Sudan.
Amira Osman
is a peace activist and researcher with an interest in diaspora communities, gender, peace-building and humanitarian intervention. She holds a PhD in Peace Studies from the University of Bradford and a double Master in Rural Development and in Gender and Development, both from the University of Sussex, UK. She is a founding member of the Gender Centre for Research and Training (GCRT) in Sudan. She was also a former Council Member of the International Peace Research Foundation (IPRAF). Her published articles include among other “The Sudanese women in civil society and their roles in post-conflict reconstruction” and “The role of the Sudanese diaspora in the UK in the 19th December Revolution: Reflections, challenges and the way forward.
Osama Kheir Mohamed
is a social activist and studies political science at the University of Vienna. He grew up in modest circumstances in Vienna-Hernals. His father valued education greatly and wanted a good career for his son. Osman Kheir Mohamed initially turned to music before discovering his passion for political science. Today he is an activist and engaged to contribute to a fairer, more pluralistic and democratic society. His main areas of interest are international politics, African theory and anti-racism.
Irene Horejs
was ambassador for the EU and director with ECHO (European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations). She is a lector in Political Science at University of Vienna and senior consultant at the Bruno Kreisky Forum.