Sudan

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Volker Perthes of Germany as his new Special Representative for Sudan and Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). Mr. Volker Perthes brings to this position over 25 years of experience in academia, research, international relations and diplomacy, including with the United Nations, as well as deep expertise in conflict resolution and regional geopolitics.

One year after its inception, the transitional government of Sudan, born out of the protests that brought down the 30-year regime of Omar al-Bashir in 2019, continues to face grave challenges at domestic and international level.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has hit out at the country’s military over its vast business interests, at a time of heightened tensions within the civilian-military transitional administration.

Sudan took a major step back into the international fold on Monday when the United States formally removed it from a list of nations that sponsor terrorism, ending a 27-year period of isolation that left the vast African country a diplomatic pariah, hobbled its economy and blocked access to financial aid that it now urgently needs.

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok briefly visited Addis Ababa Sunday for talks on Ethiopia’s restive Tigray region, where fighting has caused tens of thousands of people to flee to neighboring Sudan. … Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says the violence in Tigray has stopped and that there is no need for Sudan’s offer to broker a cease-fire.

Russia has signed an agreement with Sudan to build a naval base on the country’s Red Sea coast, in Moscow’s latest push into Africa as it seeks to renew its geopolitical clout. The deal, published on the Russian government’s website Tuesday, will see Moscow establish a “logistical support center” in Port Sudan where “repairs and resupply operations” can take place.

International support for Sudan is critical as the country continues on the path to democratic transition, amid challenges that include political disagreements, economic decline, and the COVID-19 pandemic, UN political affairs chief, Rosemary DiCarlo told a virtual meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday. 

[...] The UNITAMS start-up team began to deploy in October, following the completion of the work of the Sudan planning team, which included submitting the Mission’s first annual budget, for 2021Artikeltext

The leaders of the parties to the transitional government in Sudan agreed on Wednesday to form the Transition Partners Council, consisting of 21 members. The new political body is one of the disposition added to the transitional constitution after the signing of a peace agreement with the armed groups.

Sudanese rebel leaders who returned to Khartoum this week said they are fully committed to implementing a new peace agreement with the government in good faith.