Number one, the costs on the belligerents are not high enough to incentivize a ceasefire, nor are the costs on the RSF and the SAF, as well as on their backers. We know the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Russia, Iran and others are supporting the belligerents, not just through funding and politically, but also through arms and the exploitation of minerals, including gold. The backing by these international sponsors is critical to the continuation of the conflict.
As I mentioned, this is in some regard a conventional conflict. Artillery, mortars, drones and munitions for air strikes require a continuous supply. This conflict is being fuelled from the outside, so the costs both on the sponsors and on the belligerents themselves must be substantially increased.
There needs to be more support for the civilian coalition. What they tell us, the civil society actors who are pushing hard for peace, is there needs to be a unified platform for negotiations for a unification of the peace processes. They want the international community to pay attention, to elevate this issue and to use all the levers at their disposal to get to a ceasefire and to substantive negotiations to address the issues at the heart of this conflict.