A draft text seen by AFP, prepared by Britain and Sierra Leone, calls on the parties to “immediately cease hostilities and engage, in good faith, in dialogue to agree steps to de-escalate the conflict with the aim of urgently agreeing a national ceasefire.”

Sudan has been ravaged since April 2023 by fighting between the regular army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who seized power in a 2021 coup, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his onetime deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 11 million people, including 3.1 million who have fled the country, according to UN figures.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who will preside over Monday’s session, promised to “press for a resolution that ensures the protection of civilians and an unrestricted passage of aid.”

While several diplomats told AFP they felt confident the text would be adopted, the position of Russia – a veto holder on the council – remained less clear. One diplomat said that during negotiations over the draft, Russia had appeared to become “visibly more aligned” with General Burhan’s camp.

the draft asks UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to consider a possible system for “surveillance and verification” of an eventual ceasefire. Guterres himself made such a recommendation in a recent report, though he added that “at present, the conditions do not exist for the successful deployment of a United Nations force to protect civilians in Sudan.”