{"id":61939,"date":"2026-07-28T15:06:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=61939"},"modified":"2026-07-28T15:06:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T12:06:38","slug":"the-wilton-park-dialogue-on-sudan-what-happened-and-what-did-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/the-wilton-park-dialogue-on-sudan-what-happened-and-what-did-not\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wilton Park Dialogue on Sudan: What Happened\u2014and What Did Not"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Al-Wathiq Kameir<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The civil technical dialogue on Sudan held at Wilton Park (22\u201324 July) generated considerable controversy even before it convened. Given the current climate of war, polarization, and deep mistrust, it is only natural that questions would be raised about any external initiative concerning Sudan. Scrutiny is legitimate, concern is legitimate, and criticism is legitimate. However, there is a significant difference between informed criticism and forming opinions based on inaccurate information or misleading assumptions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I participated in the Wilton Park dialogue in my personal capacity. This is an important point that deserves to be stated clearly: those in attendance did not participate as representatives of political factions, parties, armed groups, governments, or organized political platforms. Rather, participants were invited as individuals to contribute based on their knowledge, expertise, and professional and intellectual backgrounds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Without breaching the Wilton Park Protocol, I believe it is important to clarify what this meeting was\u2014and what it was not.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dialogue was not a political negotiation among Sudanese parties. It was not a mediation platform, nor was it a forum intended to reach a political settlement. It did not seek to determine Sudan’s future constitution or political system. Nor did it claim to represent the Sudanese government, Sudanese political forces, or the Sudanese people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Claims that the United Arab Emirates or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) participated in the meeting I attended are entirely false. No official delegations from the Quad countries, including the UAE, were present. The RSF did not participate. The meeting was not a dialogue between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, nor between the Sudanese government and any regional power. It was a civil technical discussion exploring possible options for future governance arrangements.<\/strong><\/p>\n

International participation was limited to technical experts and representatives associated with the Quint framework. It is therefore inaccurate to portray the meeting as a secret negotiation with regional actors or as a parallel political track. Such participation can help broaden consultation and enable international and regional stakeholders to hear a wider range of Sudanese perspectives beyond the usual political and military circles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The discussions focused on three principal themes: the distribution of powers within a federal or decentralized system; fiscal federalism, including the sharing of resources and revenues; and representation, particularly how regions, communities, and diverse groups might be included in future governance arrangements.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although these issues may appear technical, they are profoundly political in the Sudanese context. They relate to legitimacy, trust, historical grievances, the relationship between the centre and the periphery, the state’s ability to endure, and the conditions under which Sudanese citizens might accept any future constitutional or governance arrangements.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dialogue brought together Sudanese participants, including academics, researchers, intellectuals, and individuals engaged in public affairs, alongside international experts with comparative experience from Africa and beyond. Some participants may have been known for particular political views or affiliations, which is difficult to avoid in any broad Sudanese discussion. However, that does not mean they were negotiating on behalf of, or representing, those entities. The essential point is that participants attended in their personal and professional capacities, not as official representatives of political blocs, governments, or armed actors.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a long time, I have argued that mediation efforts on Sudan require broader input. International and regional actors often hear primarily from political leaders, armed groups, and official representatives. They also need to hear from Sudanese thinkers, professionals, researchers, and civil society voices capable of addressing the deeper questions of state-building, governance, representation, the sharing of power and resources, and the future relationship between citizens and the state.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this sense, a civil technical dialogue is not a substitute for Sudan’s own political process. It cannot, by itself, end the war, nor can it determine Sudan’s future. What it can do is enrich thinking, sharpen the key questions, identify potential risks, and help mediators and policymakers develop a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities of the Sudanese crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some critics also dismissed the meeting on the grounds that it brought together “the same old faces” and therefore could produce nothing new. This objection reflects a widespread and understandable Sudanese frustration with the repetition of familiar forums and personalities. Yet that alone is insufficient grounds for dismissing any discussion as worthless. The value of such a dialogue should not be measured by whether it immediately produces solutions or introduces entirely new participants, but by whether it helps clarify options, risks, safeguards, areas of agreement and disagreement, and the questions that still require further debate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Wilton Park Protocol does not permit attributing specific views or interventions to individual participants or to the institutions with which they are affiliated. Accordingly, I will not discuss who said what or describe participants’ positions during the sessions. However, the protocol does not prevent explaining the general nature of the meeting or correcting the misinformation that has circulated about it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sudan today needs every serious effort that can contribute, directly or indirectly, to ending the war and opening a path toward a legitimate Sudanese-led political and constitutional process. Sudanese people have every right to scrutinize the roles of the United Kingdom, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the African Union, the United Nations, or any other external actor. Such scrutiny is essential. However, meaningful scrutiny must be grounded in facts, not in accusations that transform every technical or civil discussion into evidence of a conspiracy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sudan’s future will not be shaped at Wilton Park, nor in London, Cairo, Addis Ababa, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Washington, or New York. Sudanese people must determine their own future through a legitimate and inclusive Sudanese process. That does not mean, however, that every organized discussion held outside Sudan is inherently illegitimate or harmful. Some of these discussions can help broaden consultations, deepen understanding, and prepare more mature options for a future Sudanese-led process.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Correcting misinformation about the Wilton Park dialogue is therefore not a defence of Britain or of any external actor. It is a defence of responsible public discourse. It is also a defence of the right of Sudanese people to engage seriously and honestly with the difficult questions of governance, power, resources, representation, and peace, without reducing every effort to accusations, suspicion, and political condemnation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If Sudan is to move from war to peace, it needs a more informed dialogue, not a diminished one. It needs more Sudanese voices inside discussion rooms, not fewer. It also requires the wisdom to distinguish between legitimate vigilance against external interference and the destructive habit of closing every door before knowing what lies behind it.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Al-Wathiq Kameir The civil technical dialogue on Sudan held at Wilton Park (22\u201324 July) generated considerable controversy even before it convened. Given the current climate of war, polarization, and deep mistrust, it is only natural that questions would be raised about any external initiative concerning Sudan. Scrutiny is legitimate, concern is legitimate, and criticism …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61940,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61939\/revisions\/61940"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}