As the Sudan peace talks falter, the US must find a way to win back the trust of the Global South

This week’s US-led Sudan peace talks in Geneva appeared to have lost all momentum before they even began. With so many failed agreements already, mediators had a mountain to climb. Then it became clear that neither side of the conflict was going to show up. The Sudanese Armed Forces had said from the start that they would not attend; their adversaries, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had sent a delegation but it refused to enter the negotiating room.

Nowhere man: Tom Perriello, the US special envoy for Sudan 

The peace summit’s chief organiser, US special envoy Tom Perriello, has insisted that these talks have traction. But do they? The Sudanese have rightly been sceptical of foreign powers that seek out the opinions of expats rather than locals, while sending representatives to glad-hand officials over expensive meals in Geneva. Photo ops of this kind are a world away from the realities of the conflict. Perriello’s public shaming of Sudan’s de facto government for its failure to attend was ill-advised – especially since he hasn’t even visited the country yet in his role to assess the situation on the ground. It has been interpreted as clear evidence that foreign mediators cannot be taken seriously when it comes to representing Sudan’s interests.

By giving a platform to the RSF, whose legitimacy is not recognised by many in Sudan, the US might also be placing itself on the wrong side of history. Worse still, the US has invited a delegation from the United Arab Emirates to participate, even though human-rights groups have unearthed evidence that the country is funding and arming the RSF. Sudan’s civilians see this as a war for resources and influence: the UAE wants control over Red Sea ports and Sudan’s gold mines, and is willing to fund a militia to get it, just as it did during the conflict in Yemen. Meanwhile, Iran is after a piece of those waterways too and has recently repaired diplomatic relations with Sudan’s government, reportedly to trade weapons. The US sees another region falling into a proxy war and is keen to re-establish its influence. But American officials must accept that many nations of the Global South no longer see them as peacemakers but as out-of-touch paternalists.

Leila Molana-Allen is Monocle’s Middle East correspondent. For more opinion, analysis and insight subscribe to Monocle today.

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