The Republic of Sudan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Office of the Spokesperson and Media Directorate

Press Statement

25/45

Foreign Minister Dr. Ali Yousif has addressed a written message to his British counterpart, David Lammy, conveying Sudan’s objection to the UK hosting a conference on Sudan without extending an invitation to the Sudanese government, while inviting other states that are, in effect, parties to the war against Sudan, its people, and its sovereignty.

In the letter, received by the British side last week, the Minister criticized the UK government’s approach of equating the sovereign Sudanese state, a United Nations member since 1956, with a terrorist militia committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and unprecedented atrocities against civilians. The letter highlighted evidence of British leniency toward the militia, including reports in the British press from April 2024 that the UK Foreign Office had held secret talks with the Janjaweed militia, visits by militia leaders to Britain despite U.S. sanctions against them, and the fact that Britain has become a hub for the militia’s propaganda, which spreads hate speech and promotes sexual violence. The letter stated that many in Sudan are now asking: how many more atrocities and massacres must the Janjaweed militia commit against Sudanese civilians before Britain designates it as a terrorist group?

The message noted that the UK Foreign Office claimed the conference participants are those who support and invested in peace in Sudan. However, the UAE, Chad, and Kenya were invited. The Minister’s letter explains that the UAE’s participation allows it to whitewash its image and conceal its complicity in acts of genocide in Sudan. It further states that the previous British government blocked the UN Security Council from discussing the UAE’s involvement in the Sudanese war in April 2024. Had the Security Council addressed the issue and taken a firm stance, countless innocent lives could have been saved and the war might have been ended, the letter states.

The letter called on the British government to reconsider its policy toward Sudan and to engage constructively with the Sudanese government, based on the historic ties between the two countries.

Issued on Sunday, 6 April 2025