Sudan’s anti-war civilian bloc withdraws from AU-led meeting

CAIRO – The Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces (Taqaddum) announced on Wednesday its withdrawal from the first phase of political dialogue organized by the African Union-led mechanism on Sudan, citing a lack of transparency and concerns over the meeting’s design.

The alliance, which includes a number of Sudanese political parties and civil society organizations advocating for end of the war, had received an invitation to participate in the talks, scheduled to take place in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa from 20^th to 15 July 2024.

“After careful consideration of the invitation, we decided to apologize for our participation in the meeting due to the lack of sufficient details about the parties involved and the methodology followed in designing the process,” said a statement issued by the alliance’s general secretariat.

Taqaddum stressed its commitment to achieving a sustainable peace in Sudan, emphasizing that the “optimal methodology” for launching the political process “is for Sudanese forces to own and lead the process, and that its launch should be the result of genuine consultations with all Sudanese parties and that it should reflect their consensus on all issues, including the parties, agenda, stages, timelines, and the role of regional and international facilitators.”

The alliance pointed out that the African Union High-Level Mechanism had not involved representatives of civilian forces in the consultations on the design of the meeting, despite the fact that it was specifically intended for them.

The statement also mentioned information that emerged “very late” indicating “serious concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the design of the meeting, as it became clear beyond any doubt that this meeting is dominated by elements of the former regime and its facades and war forces, and that it marginalizes and excludes the forces of peace and democratic civil transformation and weakens their role.”

The statement reiterated the group’s “active participation in the conference of political and civil forces in Cairo, and its support for all initiatives to stop the war of April 15, and contributed to it seriously,” renewing its commitment to “continue positive engagement with the African Union in all that enhances the chances of achieving peace in Sudan.”

The alliance’s withdrawal from the Addis Ababa talks is a setback for the African Union’s efforts to mediate a peace agreement between Sudan’s warring factions. It remains to be seen whether other opposition groups will follow suit.