AU holds second round of dialogue preparatory meeting in Sudan

9 August 2024 (Addis Ababa) – The second preparatory meeting for the Sudan Political Dialogue, hosted by the African Union and IGAD, opened in Addis Ababa on Friday with the participation of political forces that boycotted the first round.

The Taqaddum Civilian Forces Alliance abstained from preliminary consultations in July, citing a lack of transparency and the dominance of former regime forces such as the National Congress Party (NCP), which it said would marginalize peace forces and weaken their role in the democratic transition.

The current session is expected to last until August 12.

Participants in the operation included members of the Taqaddum Alliance, as well as the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N-Hilu) led by Abdul Aziz Al-Hilu, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdul Wahid Al-Nour, the Arab Socialist Baath Party, and others.

Mohamed Abdel Rahman Nayyir, spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdul Wahid faction, confirmed that their participation in the meeting was conditional on the exclusion of the dissolved National Congress Party. The African Union provided a list of participants that met this condition.

The leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC), Hadi Idris, also welcomed the invitation and said the previous rejection was due to a lack of agreement on procedures and the inclusion of elements of the previous regime.

Idris expressed hope that regional and international efforts would end the war and called on all Sudanese to put pressure on all parties to the conflict to engage in direct negotiations in Geneva.

The first round of preparatory meetings hosted by the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development from 10 to 15 July, which brought together a range of Sudanese political factions, including the democratic camp, agreed on the need to exclude any political party banned by the transitional constitutional declaration and accused of crimes against humanity or war crimes, such as the National Congress Party.

(English stone)