3/5/2022: Foreign Policy – How the U.N. and the West Failed Sudan, by Justin Lynch

Justin Lynch, who experienced Sudan’s transition as a UN and NGO professional, calls for pro-democracy nations and institutions to “learn from [Sudan’s] botched transition”. With Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s coup prevention strategy being to boost the economy and civilian government’s popularity, Lynch suggests that pro-democracy institutions missed a window of opportunity.

Firstly, Lynch alleges that embassies “didn’t know how to spend the money they had been allocated,” and ended up giving it to UN agencies in Sudan “even though they knew it would be ineffective”.

Secondly, Lynch states that he felt “the goal of the UN and some NGOs was to grab more money rather than actually help people,” citing a UN official opposed to funding for peacekeepers amid worsening crisis in Darfur, which “spoke to a system that seemed to value milking money at all costs and career politicking rather than actually helping Sudanese”.