Khartoum, August 30, 2026 (SUNA) – The Steering Committee for the Sudanese-Sudanese Dialogue announced the launch of a national initiative aimed at opening a path for dialogue within Sudan as a means of reaching Sudanese solutions to the crisis and ending the war. The committee stressed that the initiative is based on national consensus and rejects external dictates or tutelage. In a press statement issued during a press conference held on Sunday at Al-Salam Rotana Hotel in Khartoum, the committee said the initiative comes amid the “severe ordeal” experienced by the Sudanese people because of the war and the destruction it has caused, including loss of life, violations of human dignity, displacement and refuge, deteriorating services, the loss of personal and public security, and the destruction of infrastructure and public and private property. The committee affirmed that the initiative responds to the voice of the Sudanese people and their aspirations for security, stability, and a dignified life, stressing that ending the war and rebuilding the state must be based on national foundations agreed upon by the Sudanese themselves. It explained that its role at the current stage focuses on creating a conducive environment, building trust, and facilitating preliminary consultations with political, civil, and community forces inside and outside Sudan. The objective is to develop a shared vision regarding the conditions, framework, and guarantees of the dialogue, listen to the concerns of the parties, gather their proposals, and bridge differences. The committee stressed that the anticipated dialogue must be an independent Sudanese process and that national consensus cannot be achieved through exclusion or the imposition of a pre-arranged dialogue, but rather through listening, consultation, and building a minimum level of trust around the dialogue’s conditions, framework, and guarantees. The committee called on the state to provide the necessary guarantees for holding the dialogue inside Sudan. Chief among these are the suspension of legal complaints filed by state institutions against any Sudanese residing abroad because of their participation in consultations or dialogue, or because of opinions they have expressed in a political context. It also demanded that participants in the consultations and dialogue be granted temporary procedural immunity, preventing any criminal proceedings against them from the date of their entry into the country until their departure following the completion of their participation. The committee further called for no criminal proceedings to be initiated against any person because of an opinion expressed or direct or indirect political conduct during the consultations or dialogue, unless it relates to matters believed to be intended for discussion or practice during the dialogue. It also called for creating a general climate of freedoms allowing all Sudanese to express their views on the dialogue both inside and outside the halls, protecting consultation and dialogue venues, and preventing any attempt to influence the outcomes of the dialogue through the use of state authority. The committee addressed the international community, brotherly and friendly countries, and regional and international organizations, calling on them to support efforts to create a conducive environment, promote consultation, and build trust, while respecting the Sudanese will and refraining from interfering in the dialogue’s proceedings or outcomes. It urged them to support the Sudanese people in shaping their future with their own hands. The committee emphasized that the required role of the state is to provide guarantees, facilitation, and protection in a manner that preserves the dialogue’s independence and Sudanese ownership, without interfering in determining its participants, agenda, or outcomes. The committee concluded its statement by affirming that the Sudanese-Sudanese Dialogue Preparation Initiative represents a call to rebuild trust among the Sudanese people and begin preliminary consultations on the conditions for a serious, independent, safe, and inclusive dialogue, leading to a stable transitional phase governed by national consensus and free and fair elections that strengthen the authority of the people. It said that the Sudanese people are “capable of overcoming their ordeal” and deserve lasting peace and a united, just state capable of managing its diversity and advancing the interests of its citizens.BH/BH