POLICY PAPER Gerrit Kurtz and Talal Salih The Role of Civil Society in Transitional Justice and Peace in Sudan Introduction The devastating war in Sudan centres, by definition, on those waging it: the army, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), armed groups, militias, mercenaries. It seems to relegate civilians to the passive position of victims of the hostilities, of mass atrocities, forced displacement, starvation and gender-based violence. Conventional approaches to ending the war, based on Sudan’s long experience with conflict, tend to be narrow elite bargains that privilege those with guns through power and wealth sharing arrangements. Impunity reigned, either through blanket amnesty or long-delayed implementation of official commitments. Those well-known recipes to conflict management in Sudan have spurred its spiral of war and military rule, interspersed with short democratic openings and periods and areas of relative peace. That is why any credible peace process needs to include transitional justice that accounts for the accumulated violations and abuses. Civil society in its diverse forms has key roles to play in this context. The December 2018 revolution marked a key shift in Sudan. Coming on the heels of their abrogation of the transitional period in October 2021, the power struggle within the military is also a fight over the dominance and definition of the country, and who it belongs to. It has been described as a“counter-revolutionary war” that weaponizes pre-existing cleavages between the centre and periphery as well as among neighbouring communities. 1 Mass displacement challenges the social fabric and the competing claims of two self-appointed governments divide the country, questioning state integrity. It has been civic actors that mobilized from day one of the war, ensuring a measure of mutual support even where international aid did not reach. In this terrain, civil society is not an accessory to elite bargaining; it is the country’s evidence pipeline, governance fallback, and moral compass. This paper outlines some of their contributions that meaningfully impact people’s daily lives. They provide important lessons for formal and informal approaches to transitional justice and peace, and how international actors can better support them. The Role of Civil Society in Transitional Justice and Peace in Sudan. 1