The international quintet, consisting of the African Union, IGAD, the League of Arab States, the European Union, and the United Nations, said they are committed to facilitating an inclusive Sudanese political dialogue among Sudanese, aimed at ending the war and laying the foundations for a peaceful political transition.

In a joint press statement issued ahead of the Berlin conference on Sudan, they added that they are concerned about the continuing deterioration of the situation in Sudan.

The international quintet: Participants in the Berlin conference on Sudan have no official status.

They also stressed the urgent need to reduce violence to prevent further suffering and destruction; to ensure the protection of civilians and vital national infrastructure; and to enable full, safe, rapid and sustained humanitarian access to all those in need.

They noted that the Berlin conference is an opportunity to enhance international engagement, stressing the call for de-escalation and highlighting the views of Sudanese civilians at this critical stage of the conflict.

They stated that the conference is not the end goal, and that it alone cannot accommodate the full diversity of Sudanese civil and political voices, noting also that the capacity of the civil and political symposium in Berlin is limited to forty participants, and therefore not all stakeholders will be able to travel to attend this particular event.

They emphasized that they would work on rotating participation in all events to ensure that the largest possible number of Sudanese stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute and participate directly.

Attending the Berlin conference does not grant any of the parties involved in Berlin official status, nor does it prevent others from participating in any future dialogue.

They also stressed the importance of the civilian role in the Sudan International Conference, as a platform for the relevant Sudanese civilian parties to express a joint call for de-escalation and to advance the Sudanese political process.

They expressed their encouragement to Sudanese civilians to seize this opportunity to broaden the scope of points of agreement by helping to ease political tensions, promote social cohesion, engage constructively in preparations for a final Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue, and fully respect Sudan’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and reject any attempt to undermine these principles, including the imposition of parallel governance structures that threaten to fragment the Sudanese state.

The international quintet concluded by urging all those with influence in Sudan to support de-escalation efforts and help create favorable conditions for a lasting peace achieved through negotiations.