Home / News

IGAD appoints Lawrence Korbandy as special envoy for Sudan

Lawrence Korbandy, a South Sudanese lawyer, has been appointed as Special Envoy for Sudan. (Photo: X/Lawrence Korbandy)

By Mwangi Maina | 28 Mar 2024

His responsibilities include addressing various aspects of the crisis in Sudan, such as humanitarian, security, economic, social, and political issues.

The regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) announced the appointment of Lawrence Korbandy, a South Sudanese lawyer, as Special Envoy for Sudan.

According to a statement from the bloc on Tuesday, Korbandy will play a crucial role in facilitating dialogue between conflicting parties in Sudan, aiming to find common ground among factions.

Keep reading

His responsibilities include addressing various aspects of the crisis in Sudan, such as humanitarian, security, economic, social, and political issues.

In addition, Korbandy will help establish a robust coordination mechanism within South Sudan and across the region to effectively address the conflict in Sudan.

The decision to create this position was made in December last year in Djibouti, following a request from Khartoum to end Kenyan President William Ruto-led quartet of countries' mediation role.

As a result, regional leaders opted to dissolve the quartet of countries led by Kenya and instead appoint a special envoy to tackle the conflict.

On Thursday, the bloc announced that it had signed a $500,000 grant agreement with Japan to support the ongoing peace-building and conflict-resolution process in Sudan.

A power struggle between military leaders led Sudan to descend into chaos last April, leaving almost 25 million people — more than half of Sudan’s population — in need.

Before the conflict, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis.

“The humanitarian situation in Sudan is deteriorating day by day. Japan demands all parties of this conflict a serious effort to end the hostility through reaching an effective ceasefire to end the crisis and the suffering of the innocents," said Kentaro Mizuuchi, Chargé d’affaires of Japan to Sudan.

The statement added, "We respect all local, regional, and international efforts towards peacebuilding, hoping Japan’s contribution will furnish momentum to advance such initiatives through the IGAD platform."

Tokyo said they "believe in IGAD’s commitment to solving African issues within Africa as Japan is fully committed to supporting the agency and autonomy of the region as its sincere partner."