Al-Burhan calls on African Union to stop freezing Sudan’s activities
In an attempt to get his country back on the map of international institutions, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan called on the African Union to stop freezing his country’s activities.
This came during a meeting between the Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council and Senegalese President of the current session of the African Union, Macky Sall, on the sidelines of his participation in the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“The step taken by the Sudanese military last October was aimed at preserving security and stability in the country and giving the Sudanese the opportunity to reach a broad national consensus to manage the political transition process,” the Chairman of the Sovereign Council said during the meeting.
He called on the African Union to “correct its decision to freeze the activities of the Sudan in the Union.”
“Sudan is waiting for an African Union mission to establish the facts on the ground,” he added.
Senegalese President Macky Sall stressed his commitment to the security and stability of the Sudan and the importance of activating joint African action to address the continent’s issues.
He called on the Sudanese people to accelerate the pace of dialog to reach a consensus that serves the interests of the Sudanese people.
Reasons for suspension
On 21 October, the African Union announced that it was suspending Sudan’s participation in all activities until civilian leadership was restored to power.
This came against the backdrop of a campaign of arrests at the time against the majority of the civilian component of the sovereign council and several ministers of the government of Abdullah Hamdok, who was also under house arrest before his release.
Al-Burhan also decided to suspend the implementation of some articles of the constitutional document, dissolve the transitional councils, and form a new government in the country.
African union resolution
According to the African Peace and Security Council statement in October, the resolution “followed deliberations on the situation in the Sudan, the briefing by the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Mozambique to the African Union and the President of the African Peace and Security Council, Alfredo Novoonga, and the presentation by the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Bankol Adiwei, on developments in the situation and the coup against the civil authority in the Sudan.”
The decision comes “in line with the protocol on the establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance”, the statement said.
At that time, the Security Council and the African Peace Council called for the immediate release of the ministers and civilians in detention.
He affirmed the solidarity of the African Union with the people of the Sudan in their legitimate aspirations to deepen and consolidate democracy and to overcome the challenges facing their country.
He also renewed the African Union’s continued commitment to supporting the transitional Government of the Sudan and stressed the need for a civilian and consensual-led transition in the Sudan, in line with the Constitutional Declaration and the Juba Peace Agreement, as well as the aspirations of the people of the Sudan.
The Council requested the Chairperson of the African Union Commission to send a Special Envoy for the Sudan to engage with stakeholders on the steps necessary to accelerate the restoration of constitutional order in the Sudan and to take the necessary action and intensify his engagement with the leaders of the Transitional Government and the Sovereign Council to facilitate the resumption of dialog.
