Adopted by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) at its 1117th meeting held on 2 November 2022, on the Updated Briefing on the Situation in Sudan:

The Peace and Security Council,

Recalling all its previous decisions and pronouncements on the Situation in Sudan, particularly, Communiques [PSC/PR/COMM.1076 (2022)] adopted at its 1076th meeting held on 14 April 2022; [PSC/PR/COMM.1060.1 (2022)] adopted at its 1060th meeting held on 25 January 2022; as well as [PSC/PR/COMM.1041 (2021)] adopted at its 1041st meeting held on 26 October 2021.

Noting the opening statement made by H.E. Ambassador Emilia Mkusa, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia to the AU and Chairperson of the PSC for November 2022, and the briefing by H.E Ambassador Mohamed Belaiche, Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission to Sudan; Reaffirming the AU solidarity with the Government and people of Sudan in their aspirations and commitment to expedite the transition and restore constitutional order; and,

Acting under Article 7 of its Protocol:

1. Takes note of the stakeholders’ consultations, since the resignation of the former Prime Minister to reach consensus on the appointment of a new Prime Minister to lead a civilian transitional government, and in this context, commends the commitment of all stakeholders to the process of restoring constitutional order to Sudan;

2. Urges all civilian stakeholders to expedite the intra-civilian consultations, in order to reach consensus on the commencement of formal negotiations with the military;

3. Reiterates the necessity of an all-inclusive political process to ensure full ownership and legitimacy of the outcome by every segment of the Sudanese society;

4. Underscores the importance of ensuring equality among the stakeholders involved in the process of the development of a new constitutional document and appointment of a Prime Minister;

5. Reaffirms support to the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism as the facilitator of the process to restore constitutional order in Sudan; expresses deep appreciation to the international community for their continued support to the process; and while appealing to the Trilateral Mechanism to maintain equidistance from all the stakeholders to enhance its credibility and effectiveness as a facilitator;

6. Takes due note of the draft Constitutional Document initiated by the Sudan Bar Association (SBA) working in collaboration with other stakeholders; and urges all the stakeholders that were not part of the Sudan Bar Association process for the draft constitutional document, to join the process and make their contributions through the Trilateral Mechanism, in order to have a single document and one civilian delegation to the negotiations with the military; in this regard, strongly encourages the parties still outside the process to reconsider joining the Trilateral Mechanism’s facilitated process;

7. Also notes the contributions of the military to the draft constitutional document, which makes the draft a potential single basis for negotiations, thus eliminating the problem of multiple initiatives that were preventing stakeholders from reaching consensus;

8. Urges all the parties to work together and expeditiously to complete the process of consultations and negotiations to restore the country to constitutional order, appoint a Prime Minister, and draw up a new transitional agenda leading to elections;

9. Expresses deep concern over the violent intercommunal clashes in different regions of Sudan, which resulted in loss of lives, destruction of property and displacement of the population in the affected areas;

10. Encourages, the Sudanese authorities to, in line with AU noble goal of silencing the guns in Africa by 2030, continue the weapons collection program and, in the same context, underscores the need to operationalize the Disarmament,Demobilization and Reintegration component of the Juba Peace Agreement, particularly in regions such as Darfur;

11. Expresses solidarity with the people of the regions affected by the violent intercommunal clashes, and appeals to the Sudanese authorities and humanitarian agencies to provide necessary support to the affected communities;

12. Reiterates the commitment of Council to undertake a field mission to Sudan, in order to have a first-hand appreciation of the current situation towards contributing to the resolution of the crisis; and

13. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

COMMENTS