Red Cross in contact with UN to broker release of Sudan detainees

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Sudan has said it stands ready to act as a neutral intermediary to facilitate the safe and dignified release and transfer of detainees held by the parties to Sudan’s conflict, if requested to do so. Farid El Humaid, spokesperson for the ICRC delegation in Sudan, told Radio Dabanga that the organisation is aware of recent public statements about the possible release of detainees and remained in close contact with the United Nations on the issue.

He says the ICRC is prepared to provide humanitarian support if requested by the parties concerned.

“Given the sensitivity of the matter and our long-standing practice of confidentiality, we do not comment publicly on any ongoing discussions or potential arrangements,” he said.

El Humaid explained that whenever the ICRC is asked to act as a neutral intermediary in a prisoner release operation, the selection of detainees rests entirely with the parties to the conflict.

“The ICRC does not participate in establishing the selection criteria,” he said. “Nor do we have any say over the specific names included on the final lists.”

He added that the organisation does not publish lists of detainees, confirm identities publicly or disclose personal information. As a neutral intermediary, its role is to help ensure that humanitarian considerations are respected throughout the process.

The ICRC, he said, does not determine the reasons for detention, the legal status of detainees or the charges brought against them.

“Our role is purely humanitarian and neutral,” he said. “Our sole objective is to facilitate the safe, dignified and voluntary transfer of individuals whose simultaneous release has been agreed by the parties concerned.”

Sudanese government welcomes UN initiative

The Sudanese government has welcomed what it said was a proposal by the UN secretary general’s personal envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, to facilitate a prisoner exchange between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In a statement published by the foreign ministry, Sudan’s minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Ambassador Mohi El-Din Salem, said the government welcomed the UN initiative, which envisages cooperation between the Sudanese government, the office of the UN envoy and the ICRC to facilitate the exchange of prisoners of war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF.

He said the government remained committed to protecting the lives of Sudanese citizens across the country and to conducting any prisoner exchange in accordance with legal procedures, international humanitarian law and the relevant Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of prisoners of war and detainees during armed conflict.

Tasees coalition says prisoner exchange should be part of wider peace process

The Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees), which includes the RSF, described the UN envoy’s initiative as an important humanitarian step but said it should form part of a broader political process aimed at ending the war.

Ahmed Taqad Lisan, the alliance’s spokesperson, said it was “very strange” that what he referred to as the “Port Sudan authority” had previously rejected initiatives, including proposals for humanitarian truces, and had refused to enter negotiations, making its current welcome for a prisoner exchange open to question.

“As soon as it heard about this initiative, its foreign minister took to the podiums and filled the air with talk about a willingness to exchange prisoners,” he said.

Taqad Lisan described prisoner exchanges as an important humanitarian principle and said the alliance had been calling for them since the early stages of the conflict.

He said Tasees viewed the initiative from several perspectives, including its humanitarian and moral dimensions, while reiterating the coalition’s commitment to engaging in a comprehensive political process capable of delivering security, peace, and stability in Sudan.

Such a process, he said, should create the conditions not only for prisoner exchanges but also for humanitarian relief operations.

Under those arrangements, he said, all detainees held in connection with the conflict by both sides should be released, while conditions should be created to enable displaced people and refugees who have fled the country to return safely to their homes and resume their normal lives.

Calls for a humanitarian truce

Taqad Lisan also reaffirmed the alliance’s long-standing call for a humanitarian truce.

Speaking to Radio Dabanga, he said the coalition’s leader, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the RSF, had repeatedly declared his willingness to accept any humanitarian ceasefire designed to facilitate the delivery of aid and create conditions for meaningful political negotiations.

The alliance, he said, viewed a humanitarian truce as a practical step consistent with its strategic position of engaging with any initiative proposed by the Quad mechanism or its member states as part of a political process to end the war and restore peace and stability.

The Quad comprises the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

Taqad Lisan said the alliance had welcomed previous calls for a humanitarian truce but stressed that a ceasefire could not succeed if only one side supported it.

“We remain in the same position,” he said. “As we have seen, a truce cannot achieve its objectives if it comes from only one side. One hand cannot clap.”

He said both parties would have to agree to a humanitarian truce that could be monitored, reviewed, and implemented on the ground, enabling international organisations to deliver aid safely while allowing civilians to benefit from the pause in fighting.

He also stressed the need for an independent third party to monitor compliance with any ceasefire and help facilitate humanitarian assistance.

According to Taqad Lisan, Tasees remains committed to any serious peace initiative, but believes such a process should begin with agreement on a humanitarian truce, followed by a temporary ceasefire for humanitarian purposes, creating the conditions for the international community to support a meaningful political process leading to an end to the war.

Lawyers urge release of civilian detainees

The Emergency Lawyers group also welcomed the decision by the de facto authorities in Port Sudan to accept the UN envoy’s prisoner exchange initiative, describing it as a positive development that could help ease humanitarian suffering and build a measure of confidence between the warring parties.

In a statement seen by Radio Dabanga, the rights group urged both sides to begin, without delay, exchanging all military prisoners held by each side in accordance with international humanitarian law and under the supervision of the ICRC, ensuring their safety and dignity.

The group stressed, however, that the initiative should not be confined to military detainees.

It called for the immediate release of civilians held arbitrarily, particularly those facing what it described as politically motivated accusations or criminal complaints used as a means of detention or retaliation, while insisting that anyone facing credible criminal charges should receive a fair trial in accordance with due process.

The Emergency Lawyers also called on both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces to disclose the fate of all forcibly disappeared people, allow detainees access to their families and legal representatives, grant the ICRC and independent humanitarian organisations access to places of detention, and release all civilians held without legal basis.

The group renewed its call for the initiative to become the starting point for a broader process addressing arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, establishing the fate of missing people and strengthening the protection of civilians in line with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.