Having concluded the May 11, 2023 Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan and May 20, 2023 Agreement on a Short-Term Ceasefire and Humanitarian Arrangements, the negotiation parties are continuing talks, facilitated by international actors, to end fighting and reduce humanitarian suffering in Sudan.

Building on the important achievements in that declaration and agreement, the purpose of this Rapid Response Analysis is to provide guiding principles for the next phase of Sudan ceasefire negotiations to ensure effective and inclusive participation of civilians in ceasefire-related processes, according to international best practices.

First, this document gives a brief overview of five principles for monitoring humanitarian arrangements and ceasefires, and four additional principles regarding a humanitarian ceasefire agreement.  Second, it outlines the previous and ongoing Jeddah negotiations and achievements.  Third, it explains in more depth the analysis, including best practices, which informs the guiding principles.  The guiding principles center on effectively including civilians in ceasefire-related processes to improve ceasefire outcomes by providing mechanisms for civilian complaints and enabling transparency, accountability, and inclusivity.  In addition to civilian-inclusive negotiations and monitoring mechanisms, other guiding principles are for ceasefire agreements to be widely distributed, specific, flexible, and coordinated with local-level initiatives.  Negotiation parties can consider implementing each principle in subsequent ceasefire negotiations.

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