John Godfrey upon assuming his duties as the first American ambassador to Sudan in 25 years (social networking sites)

Washington

- Sudan has returned to the circle of American attention following the revelation of several reports that the US Ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, will soon step down from his position in the coming weeks, and this coincided with news of the White House’s appointment of Tom Perello as a special envoy for Sudanese affairs.

Ambassador Godfrey, the first American ambassador to Sudan in more than a quarter of a century, has been carrying out the duties of managing American interests in Sudan from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, since the outbreak of the civil war in April 2023, which led to the closure of the American embassy and the evacuation of its diplomats from Khartoum.

It is unclear why Ambassador Godfrey - who has been in office since he was sworn in in August 2022 - decided to leave. Some reports indicate a deterioration in his relationship with members of Congress due to his mishandling of the evacuation of American citizens from Sudan after the outbreak of violence last April.

On the other hand, news of the naming of a new envoy to Sudan came months after Democratic and Republican lawmakers asked the Biden administration to help prevent Sudan from sliding into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, and it appears that the Biden administration has taken upon itself the necessity of moving and contributing to stopping the deterioration of the situation. Security and humanity inside Sudan.

Important development

The role of special envoys has become increasingly controversial within the US State Department, where they are often seen as duplicating the work done by ambassadors.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, David Sheen, former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and researcher at the Middle East Institute in Washington, pointed out that “the Biden administration’s appointment of Tom Perello, a Democrat and former member of Congress from Virginia, as a special envoy to Sudan is an important development.” ".

The same spokesman added that currently Sudan is being dealt with outside Washington by the Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, a former veteran ambassador, but Hammer has many responsibilities, files and issues. Hence, Perillo's appointment reflects a desire to focus on Sudan within the American administration, and allows him to focus on one problem.

Ambassador Sheen did not link the resignation of the US ambassador to Khartoum to the coincidence with the appointment of a special envoy to Sudan. He also downplayed the expectations resulting from the appointment of a new ambassador.

In the same conversation, Ambassador Sheen pointed out that “since the US embassy in Khartoum was closed following the outbreak of the conflict, there are restrictions on what the new ambassador can accomplish in his position.”

Insufficient

On the other hand, Daniel Sullivan, former senior policy advisor at the Save Darfur Coalition and director of the Africa, Asia and Middle East unit at the International Refugee Organization, noted that “the appointment of a new special envoy for Sudan is an encouraging but insufficient development, and he does not rise to the level of a presidential envoy.” Which was called for by Sudan’s defenders so that it would have the ability to renew the focus on the American approach that was missing.”

Sullivan said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "For the new envoy to be truly effective, he will need the support of the White House to meaningfully engage key actors in the region and confront those who support committing atrocities."

African affairs expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Cameron Hudson, agreed with the previous proposal, and told Al Jazeera Net that, “Although this appointment is appropriate given the circumstances in Sudan, it represents a clear step backwards at a time when we had hoped that Sudan and our bilateral relationship would enjoy this stage.” "With priority. We hope that the new move will create momentum for Washington to play a more public and practical role in the conflict as in the past."

Popular initiatives to serve displaced Sudanese in Kassala State (Al Jazeera)

The limits of American influence

Ambassador Sheen considered that "the preoccupation of President Biden's administration's foreign policy teams with many other major challenges in foreign policy has certainly resulted in a lack of the administration's ability to focus on Sudan. Hence, naming Perillo will help correct this situation."

Ambassador Shin stressed the need for everyone to understand that “the United States has limited influence on developments inside Sudan. Most importantly, both the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have shown no indication that they are ready to begin serious negotiations or make concessions that would "End the atrocities and end this terrible war."

He ruled out a quick end to the conflict in Sudan as a result of this appointment in Washington, asking, “Does Biden care about Sudan?” Sheen stated that during his first months in office, President Biden devoted attention to Sudan as a country with the potential for a democratic transition in light of an American agenda to confront tyranny around the world, and then he remained silent during recent months.

For his part, Hudson believed that Washington “since the coup is two steps behind the generals in Khartoum, and always hopes that we will be able to restore the transitional phase and avoid war. We were too late at every turn to realize the seriousness of what was happening in Sudan. As a result, all our steps were half-measures.” “Our leading voices, like the President and Secretary Blinken, have remained quiet.”

He considered that "saving Sudan now from complete state collapse will require much more than we have been willing to invest in our time and energy up to this moment. We hope that the appointment of a special envoy will begin to change that."

On the other hand, Sullivan stated that Washington had made an official determination that atrocities - including war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing - had indeed been committed in Sudan. Sullivan questioned Biden's commitment to the Sudanese issue, and said that Biden, during his work as a senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was a leading voice for taking measures to stop the genocide in Darfur, but today he is almost silent.

Sullivan told Al Jazeera Net, "The Biden administration's policy in Sudan is frustrating and completely inadequate. While the administration recognizes the serious nature of the crimes being committed, it has not shown the high-level interest, diplomatic engagement, and humanitarian resources that are commensurate with the seriousness of these crimes."

Source: Al Jazeera