Sudan Renews Rejection of Berlin Conference, Describing it as a “New Approach to Colonial Guardianship”
The Sudanese government expressed its profound astonishment and condemnation of the conference on Sudan being held in Germany. It stated that it was “surprised that this step, cloaked in concern for humanitarian issues, was taken without consultation, coordination, or an invitation to the Sudanese government.”
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation this morning (Wednesday) asserted that the organizers “ignored the visions presented by the Sudanese state and its official institutions, reflecting the colonial guardianship approach still practiced by some Western countries, through which they attempt to impose their agendas and visions on free nations and peoples.”
The statement added, “Sudan and its people, who are the primary and ultimate stakeholders, will not accept that regional and international states and organizations convene to decide on their affairs, bypassing the Sudanese government and hiding behind the pretext of neutrality to justify ignoring Sudan at this meeting. This is a baseless argument, unacceptable, and sets a dangerous precedent in international relations. Equating the government and its national army, on the one hand, with a multinational terrorist militia that targets the state’s institutions and its very existence, and perpetrates genocide and the worst human rights violations, on the other, will undermine the foundations of regional and international security. It will also encourage this militia and similar terrorist movements in Africa and the Middle East to escalate their criminal activities, and provide foreign powers with a pretext to disregard the sovereignty of affected states and their governments under the guise of neutrality.”
The statement emphasized that “the real challenge facing this conference, as with its predecessors, is not whether or not to attend and participate, but rather the central premise from which the conference’s concept and methodology stem. This includes defining the war imposed on Sudan and its people, adopting proposals for ending and halting it, and all of this based on flawed, inaccurate, and biased characterizations that will not produce peace or stability. Instead, they will lead to further polarization, granting the right to speak and represent Sudan to limited and small groups, while ignoring and marginalizing the Sudanese state and the vast majority of Sudanese people who are suffering the daily ravages of war.”
The Sudanese government statement asserted that the Berlin Conference, and the series of unproductive conferences that preceded it, represent “a blatant disregard for the principles of international law, the UN Charter, and the principle of state sovereignty, the foundation of the contemporary international order. It is an unacceptable attempt to reinstate a system of trusteeship. Such conferences have never and will never produce anything but rewards for terrorist militias, their foreign backers, and their political wing, providing them with a platform to participate and continue committing horrific crimes against the Sudanese state, its great people, and its infrastructure.”
The statement reiterated the Sudanese government’s firm commitment to “continuously striving to achieve peace and stability and end the war imposed on it and the Sudanese people,” noting that it had previously presented the Sudan Peace Initiative to the Security Council session in December 2025. It also affirms its openness to all serious and impartial peace initiatives that are consulted and coordinated with it, and that respect Sudan’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and achieve the just interests of the Sudanese people, declaring that “any initiative that is not consistent with these principles will be rejected and unacceptable.”