Berlin Conference Pledges €1.3 Billion for Sudan; SAF Government Condemns Process as Sovereignty Violation

The Third International Sudan Conference in Berlin concluded on April 15–16, 2026 with international donors pledging approximately €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) in humanitarian aid, reconstruction assistance, and support for the civilian-led peace process. Germany pledged €230 million. The pledging conference, organized by the AU-UN-EU-Arab League-IGAD quintet, was attended by representatives of Sudanese civilian political blocs and humanitarian organizations but excluded both the SAF and RSF leadership by design. Sudan's SAF-aligned Port Sudan government, which had formally rejected the Berlin process, responded with a statement expressing 'profound surprise and condemnation,' characterizing the conference as a violation of Sudanese sovereignty and international law. The conference's stated goals included jump-starting the stalled UN humanitarian appeal (which had raised only 16% of its $2.9 billion target as of April 1) and building a civilian-inclusive political framework. Aid organizations welcomed the pledges but noted that conference pledges historically take months to materialize as actual disbursements and that immediate access challenges in conflict zones remain unresolved. The SAF government's formal rejection of the process raises acute questions about whether the pledged resources can be effectively channeled inside Sudan.