ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
The African Union on Wednesday suspended troubled
Sudan after the military forcibly took power and dissolved the transitional
government.
African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat.
The decision announced by the African Union Peace
and Security Council (AUPSC) means that Sudan will no longer be allowed into AU
sessions or vote on crucial matters until it restores a
civilian government.
“The AUPSC decides to suspend the
participation of the Republic of Sudan in all AU activities until the effective
restoration of the civilian-led Transitional Authority,” a communique said
after the 15-member Council met virtually on Tuesday and condemned the coup.
The Council, comprising of member states of the AU
on a rotational basis, is a standing organ that works to prevent, manage
or resolve conflicts on the continent. This month, Mozambique is the chair of
the Council and was expected to send a delegation to Khartoum by the weekend to
discuss the transition with the military chiefs.
Sudan’s military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on
Monday morning took power, arrested members of the transitional government
under Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and imposed a state of emergency including
shutting down the internet.
He reappeared in public on Tuesday promising to set
a government “free of politics” and freed Dr Hamdok who had been detained with
his wife. He rejected his decision as a coup, saying he had acted to safeguard
the transition.
Suspending Sudan is routine
though. The AU’s policy requires total disregard to “unconstitutional
changes” in government and usually suspends members until they agree to return
to civilian rule.
The Council said the AU
Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat should “take necessary measures and
intensify his engagement with the leaders of the Transitional Government and
the Sovereign Council in order to facilitate the resumption of dialogue towards
a successful transition in Sudan.”
That, the Council indicated,
includes dispatching a team to Khartoum.
Crack the whip
The decision of the AU came
even as activists across the continent criticised the coup, calling on the
continental body to crack the whip.
In an open letter, more than
70 entities and individuals said Sudan’s junta had violated basic rights by
denying them a chance to take part in the transition as well as suffering a
communication blockade.
“These actions violate the AU
Shared Values and specific provisions of the African Charter on Democracy,
Elections and Governance regarding unconstitutional changes of government.
“We note that the military
takeover has negative consequences for Sudan’s transition into a democracy, a
journey that had a major turning point in 2019 when civilians got rid of
dictator Omar Hassan Al-Bashir through a peoples’ revolution,” they said in an
open letter on Wednesday.
The junta also closed down the
main airports and restricted the movement of people.
“These limitations on the
rights and freedoms of the Sudanese people as well as other nationalities
present in Sudan is in stark violation of both the Sudanese Constitution as
well as African and International Human rights norms,” they said under their
banner of ‘African citizens and its diaspora.’
They demanded that all of
Hamdok’s ministers arrested on Monday be released, people allowed to picket and
the military return power to civilians.
List
The groups included 40 civil
society groups and 38 individual rights campaigners whose list is found here
below.
A – Institutions
1. Advocacy
Network for Africa, Washington DC, USA
2. AfricanDefenders
(Pan African Human Rights Defenders Network)
3. African
Union Watch, Banjul, The Gambia
4. African
Women and Youth Initiative
5. African
Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)/ Réseau de Développement
et de Communication des Femmes Africaines
6. African
Women Leaders Forum (AWLF), Zimbabwe
7. Atrocities
Watch Africa (AWA), Kampala, Uganda
8. Chapter
One Foundation, Lusaka, Zambia
9. Coalition
for an effective African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACC), Arusha,
Tanzania
10.
Coalition Togolaise des Défenseurs des Droits
Humains (CTDDH), Lomé, Togo
11.
DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human
Rights Defenders Project)
12.
Disability Amalgamation Community Trust (DACT),
Zimbabwe
13.
DITSHWANELO - The Botswana Centre for Human
Rights, Gaborone, Botswana
14.
Eastern Africa Youth Empowerment on Peace and
Security
15.
Echoes of Women in Africa Initiatives, Nigeria
16.
HUDO Centre, Kampala, Uganda
17.
Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA)
18.
Institut des Médias pour la Démocratie et les
Droits de l'Homme (IM2DH), Lomé, Togo
19.
Institute for Young Women Development (IYWD),
Zimbabwe
20.
International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI),
Kampala, Uganda
21.
Inuka Kenya Ni Sisi!, Nairobi, Kenya
22.
Kamma Organization for Development Initiatives
(KODI), Sudan
23.
Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Nairobi,
Kenya
24.
Nawi – Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective,
Nairobi, Kenya
25.
Network of Independent Commissions for Human
Rights in North Africa
26.
Nubsud Human Rights Monitors Organization
(NHRMO), Sudan
27.
OnetoAll Foundation, Meru, Kenya
28.
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa
(OSISA), Johannesburg, South Africa
29.
Oromo Legacy Leadership and Advocacy
Association
30.
Oromo Professionals Group (OPG), Washington DC
31.
Rape Hurts Foundation, Uganda
32.
Pan African Citizens Network (PACIN)
33.
Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), Arusha,
Tanzania
34.
Pan African Law and Justice Initiative, Kenya
35.
Panos Institute Southern Africa
36.
Plateforme de la Diaspora Tchadienne en
Amerique
37.
Southern Defenders (Southern African Human
Rights Defenders Network)
38.
Wakiso District Human Rights Committee, Uganda
39.
Yearning Voices Foundation (YVF)
40.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Harare,
Zimbabwe
B – Individuals
1. Abel
K. Walendom, Co-Facilitator, Plateforme de la Diaspora Tchadienne en Amerique
2. Abdalla
Komi Kodi, Executive Director, Kamma Organization for Development Initiatives
(KODI), Sudan
3. Achieng’
Akena, PanAfricanist, Uganda
4. Adaobi
Egboka, Human Rights Lawyer, Nigeria
5. Arnold
Tsunga, Human Rights Lawyer, Zimbabwe
6. Brian
Tamuka Kagoro, Uhai Africa Ltd, Harare, Zimbabwe
7. Bridget
Musungu, Panafrican, Nairobi Kenya
8. Bushra
Gamar Hussein, Executive Director, HUDO Centre, Kampala, Uganda
9. Bonaventure
N’Coué MAWUVI, Journaliste et Défenseurs des Droits Humains, Lomé,Togo
10.
Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
11.
Chris Kwaja
12.
Danford M. Chirwa, Dean, UCT Law
13.
Donald Deya, Pan Africanist, Nairobi, Kenya
14.
Dzimbabwe Chimbga, Human Rights Lawyer,
Zimbabwe
15.
Edigah Kavuravu, Human Rights Lawyer, Kenya
16.
Femi Falana SAN, Human Rights Lawyer, Nigeria
17.
Feyi Ogunade, Human Rights Lawyer
18.
George Kegoro, Lawyer, Nairobi, Kenya
19.
Gitahi Githuku, Human Rights Defender, Nairobi,
Kenya
20.
Golda Keng, Advocacy and Campaigns Consultant,
Yaoundé, Cameroon
21.
Hakima Haithar, International Development
Consultant, Johannesburg, South Africa
22.
Ibrahima Kane: Ibrahima Kane, lawyer Senegal
23.
Irene Mwendwa, Lawyer, Policy Uganda
24.
Jok Madut Jok, Professor of Anthropology,
Syracuse University and Director of The Sudd Institute
25.
Khabele Matlosa
26.
Martin Masiga, Africa Judges and Jurists Forum
(AJJF)
27.
Martin Mavenjina, Constitutional and Human
Rights Lawyer, Nairobi, Kenya
28.
Musa Mwenye, SC, Former Attorney General of the
Republic of Zambia
29.
Nikiwe Kaunda, Mzuzu, Malawi
30.
Otto Saki, Zimbabwe
31.
Roland Ebole, Human Rights Lawyer, Nairobi,
Kenya
32.
Roselyn Hanzi, Human Rights Lawyer, Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights
33.
Sarah Mukasa
34.
Sharon Nakandha, Lawyer, Uganda
35.
Siphosami Malunga, Executive Director, Open
Society Initiative for Southern Africa
36.
Tiseke Kasambala, Chief of Party, Freedom
House, Johannesburg, South Africa
37.
Vusumuzi Sifile, Lusaka, Zambia
- Washington Katema
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