What Could Have Been Done

At multiple moments, relatively modest international actions could have changed Sudan's trajectory:

In 2019 (After Bashir's Overthrow):

1. Strong international support for civilian government
2. Immediate debt relief and investment
3. Pressure on military to honor transition timeline
4. Integration of RSF into unified command before they became too powerful
5. Constitutional conference with international guarantees

Estimated cost: $5-10 billion over 5 years Actual cost of inaction: Hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced, country destroyed, generational trauma, regional instability

In 2021 (During the Coup):

1. Swift, coordinated international condemnation
2. Immediate sanctions on coup leaders
3. Suspension from African Union and Arab League
4. Freezing of military and RSF leaders' foreign assets
5. Support for pro-democracy movement

Estimated cost: Diplomatic effort, modest sanctions Actual cost: Civil war, partition, genocide

In 2023 (As War Began):

1. Emergency UN Security Council meeting
2. Deployment of African Union peacekeepers to separate forces
3. Arms embargo with actual enforcement
4. Sanctions on UAE for weapons shipments
5. Massive humanitarian response before catastrophe

Estimated cost: $20-30 billion peacekeeping/humanitarian operation Actual cost: Genocide, 2+ years of war, country effectively destroyed, ongoing humanitarian catastrophe

In 2024-2025 (Even Now):

1. Serious pressure on UAE to stop arming RSF
2. Sanctions on companies and individuals profiting from gold trade
3. Humanitarian corridors enforced by international community
4. Emergency African Union summit with binding resolutions
5. ICC arrest warrants for both Burhan and Hemeti
6. Partition recognition conditional on human rights guarantees

Estimated cost: Political will, modest economic sanctions Actual cost: Continued genocide, permanent partition, failed states, terrorism safe havens, generational suffering

The Opportunity Cost

The resources spent on one week of Ukraine aid could transform Sudan's situation. The diplomatic energy spent on one Middle East crisis could broker a Sudanese peace. But these investments aren't made because Sudan doesn't matter enough to those who make such decisions.

This is the most damning truth: Sudan's catastrophe is not inevitable, not beyond human capacity to address, not too complex to solve. It is simply not worth the effort to those with power to act.