African Union Calls for Confidence-building Measures in Sudan

African Union's Peace and Security Council meeting (AU file photo)

May 4, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union on Wednesday called on the Sudanese military authorities to create an environment conducive to dialogue in the country ahead of an intra-Sudanese process.

The UNITAMS, African Union and IGAD plan to launch a political process in mid-May to restore the constitutional order in Sudan after a coup d’etat that paused political and economic reforms carried out by a transitional government formed in 2019.

In a statement dealing with the unconstitutional change of government in Sudan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, and Mali, the PSC welcomed the efforts by the tripartite mechanism to hold an inter-Sudanese dialogue to restore the constitutional order in the country and expressed its commitment to support the process.

The 15-member body “calls on all stakeholders to place the supreme interest of Sudan above all else and commit to creating a conducive environment for the political transition process,” reads the statement.

The Council further urged to end violence, respect the right of peaceful assembly and end arbitrary arrests. Also, they called to release all political detainees to demonstrate goodwill in support of the intra-Sudanese consultations and transparent political transition;

The PSC, last October, suspended Sudan’s membership in the regional organisation as a result of a coup d’etat.

To tighten their grip on power, the military used excessive force against anti-coup protests killing over one hundred people, detained political leaders and activists and imposed a state of emergency to make use of exceptional powers.

The statement underscored the adverse socio-economic effects of the coup on the lives of ordinary Sudanese and encouraged the military to demonstrate a genuine commitment to the political process.

The Council “Appeals to the Sudanese authorities to consider a full lifting of the state of emergency to demonstrate the country’s readiness to return to normalcy,” stressed the statement0

On 28-29 April, special envoys from the European Union, France Germany, Norway, the UK and the USA were in Khartoum to encourage the military leaders to end political repression and take the required measures paving the way for the intra-Sudanese process.

They also stressed that the resumption of international financial and economic support to Sudan would resume only after the restoration of the constitutional order.

The head of the Sovereign Council and coup leader Abdel Fatah al-Burhan is expected to address the nation in the coming days to announce a series of measures related to the current political stalemate in the country.

(ST)