Ending Suspension of Membership in IGAD: Is Sudan Close to Rejoining the African Union?
Sudan Events – Agencies
After 40 months of the African Union suspending Sudan’s membership following the decisions made by the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, which were considered a “coup,” the Sudanese government has intensified its communications with the new leadership of the Union to normalize relations. Khartoum also decided to end the suspension of its membership in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) after its membership was frozen 14 months ago.
The African Union suspended Sudan’s membership after Burhan’s actions on October 25, 2021, including dissolving the Sovereign and Ministers Councils and declaring a state of emergency in the country, which the Union regarded as a coup. Burhan, however, rejected this characterization and described his actions as corrective measures necessitated by the circumstances of the time.
Sudan also froze its membership in IGAD on January 20, 2024, protesting the participation of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) in an exceptional summit of the organization’s heads of state held in Uganda just two days before the suspension decision.
A New Move
In October, Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Youssef, whose country currently presides over IGAD, visited Port Sudan and asked Burhan to end the suspension of Sudan’s membership in the organization, considering Sudan as one of its founding members.
However, Sudan stipulated that IGAD must acknowledge the mistakes it made against Sudan, correct its position, and issue an apology before Sudan resumes its activities in the organization.
In a new development, Malik Agar, Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council, visited Djibouti on Sunday and informed President Ismail Guelleh of Sudan’s desire to resume its activities in IGAD and activate mechanisms to restore its membership in the African Union. He also congratulated him on his country’s success in winning the presidency of the African Union Commission.
The Sovereign Council stated in a statement that Malik Agar held a meeting with the new Chairman of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Youssef, where they discussed the developments in Sudan and ways to activate mechanisms for Sudan’s return to the Union.
Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Al-Amin explained in a statement that Malik Agar expressed Sudan’s confidence in the new leadership of the African Union Commission’s ability to correct its course and fulfill its role in finding solutions to African issues. He added that the circumstances surrounding the suspension of Sudan’s membership “were from a different phase than the one Sudan is going through now.”
In turn, the African Union Commission Chairman, Mahmoud Youssef, expressed the Commission’s readiness to discuss Sudan’s case and engage with the relevant institutions within the continental bloc.
Return to Peace
In response to the suspension of its membership, Sudan rejected any role for the African Union in the peace process to end the crisis in the country and did not respond to the Union’s plan to halt the war, which was approved in June 2023. Sudan accused the outgoing Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, of bias.
A Sudanese foreign ministry official told Al Jazeera that the African Union Peace and Security Council conditioned the end of Sudan’s membership suspension on taking practical steps toward a return to civilian rule and a democratic transition, including the formation of a civilian government.
The official, who asked to remain anonymous, explained that Agar informed the African Union Commission Chairman that the Sovereign Council had recently made constitutional amendments that would allow the Council to appoint a Prime Minister and task them with forming a government, which will happen soon.
In a statement that observers considered a message to the African Union and IGAD, Malik Agar said there was nothing preventing talks with the RSF if they committed to implementing the Jeddah Agreement signed between both parties in May 2023.
He added in a press statement following his meeting with the Djiboutian president, “But the military expansion of the rebel forces forced the national army to fight to protect the Sudanese people and their resources,” urging President Guelleh to play a larger role in ending the Sudanese crisis.
An Inevitable Evil
On the other hand, the former Director of the Peace Research Institute at the University of Khartoum, Manzoul Al-Asal, said that the reasons for Sudan’s suspension in IGAD still stand, and it is unclear why they might be overlooked, though he considered it a good step.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the researcher and professor at the University of Khartoum believes that the important issue is ending Sudan’s suspension in the African Union because its role complements that of the United Nations, despite the Union’s weak response to the crises in the African continent.
In his opinion, Sudan may not benefit from lifting the suspension of its African Union membership, but it will suffer from its continuation. He pointed out that Morocco suspended its membership in the African Union for about 40 years due to the Western Sahara issue before returning to the Union.
For his part, researcher in African affairs, Badruddin Abdel Ati, said that Sudan has become more aware than ever of the importance of returning to the African fold to avoid having its file hijacked by international entities with no interest in Sudan’s security and stability.
The researcher speculated in a statement to Al Jazeera that the signing of an agreement between the RSF and military and political forces to form a parallel government in the areas under its control and its communication with African capitals led the Sovereign Council to move towards African organizations to block any attempt to engage with or recognize the parallel government of Hemedti.
Source: Al Jazeera Net
