Editing by: HAPC TEAM,
Date:26/3/2026
The new UN envoy, Pekka Haavisto , held his first consultations with some Sudanese officials regarding aspirations and serious solutions to the current Sudanese crisis.
This was his first visit since his appointment as the personal envoy of the UN Secretary-General last February.
His visit to Sudan came as a surprise after his appointment sparked widespread controversy in Sudanese political and social circles and a division between supporters and opponents, while the Sudanese government did not express its approval or official welcome to the United Nations announcement in his name, contenting itself with remaining silent.
Last February, the United Nations announced the appointment of Finnish diplomat Pekka Haavisto as the new UN envoy to Sudan, succeeding Ramtane. Lamamra ’s announcement sparked a major division within the political and social forces affiliated with the Sudanese Sovereign Council, while the Khartoum government remained silent regarding the announcement of Haavisto’s appointment .
Sources familiar with the matter said that Guterres contacted senior officials in the Sudanese government after it was slow to welcome Haavisto’s appointment .
In contrast, according to the Sudanese newspaper Al-Taghyeer, the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan expressed a general welcome immediately after the United Nations announced the appointment of Haavisto , expressing their agreement to engage in peace efforts, and expressing their hope that this appointment would lead to the beginning of positive efforts seeking to end the war.
Who is “Pekka Haavisto “?
Haavisto next to the Secretary-General of the United Nations
Pekka Haavisto is a political and diplomatic figure with no less than 40 years of political experience, holding numerous positions in his country, Finland, most notably as Minister of Foreign Affairs, in addition to high-ranking positions in the European Union and the United Nations.
He currently remains a member of the Finnish Parliament. He previously served as the Finnish Foreign Minister’s Special Representative for Crisis Management in Africa.
In his statement of appointment, the Secretary-General expressed his praise for Pekka Haavisto , for possessing diplomatic experience that transcends the corridors of Finnish and European politics, as he put it.
Secretary-General Guterres went on to describe him, saying: “We look forward to Haavisto , given his extensive experience in mediating and negotiating crises in Africa.”
Haavisto began his political involvement as a member of the Green Party, embarking on his first political experience in 1987 by running for a parliamentary seat in Finland, and subsequently holding ministerial positions as Minister of Development Cooperation and the Environment.
According to the United Nations website, Haavisto worked for the United Nations Environment Programme from 1999 to 2005.
Haavisto went beyond the borders of his country, Finland, assuming the presidency of the European Institute of Peace while beginning his experience working within the corridors of the United Nations.
From 2019 to 2023, Haavisto had a difficult experience at the head of Finnish diplomacy, taking over as foreign minister at the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, as Finland became a member of NATO by adopting a policy of non-alignment.
Havisto and his close ties to Sudan:
Pekka Haavisto served as the European Union’s Special Representative to Sudan between 2005 and 2007, and then participated in the Darfur peace negotiations as an EU envoy and UN advisor ; during the same period he was promoted to Senior UN Advisor to lead the Darfur peace process.
Haavisto competed in what was described as an international race to take over the leadership of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from Filippo Grandi .
Finland nominated him to head the commission despite suffering from a major financial crisis with the increasing number of refugees and displaced persons. Haavisto sarcastically stated at the time: “They ask me if I read the news? Yes, I read it, and I am fully aware of the financial crises at the United Nations and the High Commissioner for Refugees. I don’t think that the United Nations or the High Commissioner will fail.”
Analytical conclusion:
Since the new UN envoy, Pekka Haavisto , is no stranger to Sudan, having played previous roles in the Darfur peace process several times under various diplomatic titles, in addition to the testimony of Muawiya Al-Tom, the former deputy head of the Sudanese mission to the United Nations, who stated that Haavisto comes from a European negotiating tradition with his experience in Sudan and Darfur, and that his experience combines multi-level work and technical mediation.
This heralds the beginning of a new era for Sudan, one that will work to end the war and establish the foundations for peace, and that Haavisto This could be the beginning of the end of the war.
Herein lies the intention of the warring parties from the very first moment of the decision to appoint him as a UN envoy. Despite all parties being familiar with Haavisto’s personality through his experiences with them in making negotiations successful in past decades, some blocs, most notably the Sovereign Council, expressed their displeasure with the United Nations’ announcement of his appointment. Herein lies the clear orientation and intentions of each party towards peace or towards war.
Especially when mentioning the part that Muawiya Al-Toumi spoke about, continuing his talk about Haavisto , saying: “…and therefore the appointment of the Secretary-General of Haavisto may reflect an international trend to re-engineer the approach in Sudan through a figure less connected to internal African balances and more attached to European circles.”
What can be interpreted from Muawiya Al-Toumi’s statement is that “ Havisto ” does not care about flattering any party, whether it is the internal conflicting parties, or the external parties of political players from the countries of the region involved in the Sudan issue, who have a role in fueling and perpetuating the war.
Based on the above, there are parties in the Sudanese war who still seem unprepared for initiatives to end the war and establish peace, as the appointment of ” Haavisto ” as a UN envoy to Sudan came as a surprise to them.
