Excellency President Ismail Oumar Guelleh, President of the Republic of Djibouti,
Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Excellency Executive Secretary of IGAD,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
May I express to you and through you to the people of Djibouti, my sincere gratitude for the welcome and the excellent conditions in which this Summit has been organised.
Excellencies,
The extreme seriousness of the violent crisis that is engulfing brotherly Sudan and the dangerous threats it poses to the existence of this country and the entire Region, are obvious.
All analysts agree that if this war does not stop immediately, civil war will set in, chaos will prevail and The Sudanese State will totally collapse.
Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Since the outbreak of violence on 15 April 2023, I have heard some people spreading untruths about the position of the AU. As my temperament and my philosophy of life dictate AND n the interests of transparency and clarity, please allow me to take a few minutes of your precious time.
Just 10 days after the overthrow of President Al Bashir in April 2019, I arrived in Khartoum, as the first non-Sudanese official. I met all the political, social and military leaders, without exception. From the leaders of the party and political coalitions that had just been overthrown to the multiple political coalitions that emerged as revolutionary forces. Five days after my visit, I deployed a Special Envoy. He very quickly won the support of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, my friend and Brother Abiy Ahmed who was also IGAD Chair at the time. Everyone knows the remarkable result we achieved: laying the foundations for a Democratic and Consensual Transition.
As expected, the Juba Peace Agreement, under the auspices of another big brother, President Salva Kiir, supplemented this action.
The senseless Coup d'état of 25 October 2021 threw into chaos this hard-built architecture.
We once again, together with IGAD and the United Nations, recommitted ourselves, through a Trilateral mechanism to mend the torn fabric. Negative forces of all kind, both internal and external, were bent on stirring up contradictions. This whole cocktail eventually exploded and led to the current operation of mass destruction of The Sudanese State and Nation.
On 16 April 2023, less than 24 hours, after the outbreak of violence, the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) held an emergency session on Sudan.
Four dade, on 20 April 2023, I convened a major international meeting, at Ministerial level, and later in my Report on the Situation, I shall talk about the participation and conclusions of this Meeting.
This Coalition resolutely committed itself to providing all possible support to Sudan in order to stop the war, to provide humanitarian aid to the people in need and to encourage The Sudanese, to initiate a fully inclusive National Dialogue, designed, planned and led by The Sudanese themselves, far from any external dictate.
Our mobilisation in solidarity with them will be set in motion, at their request and according to the modalities they will freely choose for their own destiny.
This is the essence of the Roadmap, adopted by the PSC on 27 May 2023 under the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni and in the presence of President Ismail Omar Guelleh, nd approved by the international mechanisms that we set up together with our partners.
Why are some people saying that Sudan is not included in these mechanisms?
The answer is very simple and often those who ask know the answer as well as we do. The Sudan is suspended by the only competent Continental body in the matter, the AU PSC, two of whose members are present here today. This is the case of other Member States, where Coups d'état have taken place. The same rule was applied to Sudan by the PSC, following the Coup d'état that the two current military belligerents carried out on 25 October 2021 against the Transitional Civilian Government.
It should be recalled that this suspension prohibits the suspended country from participating in any AU activities until Constitutional Order is restored. This suspension is neither within the ambit of the responsibility nor the competence of the AU Commission, let alone its Chairperson.
Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
The Sudanese crisis is on such a scale that it does not allow for any division of ranks or procrastination. It calls for swift action. It calls for united action and strong solidarity on our part.
I, therefore, call for total unity between the Regional and Continental Organisations, IGAD and AU. This is the sine qua non condition for the effectiveness of our solidarity with Sudan. It is the imperative for mitigating foreign interference. It is the sine qua non condition for mobilising our partners and getting them to adhere to this fundamental principle of African solutions to African problems, of which The Sudanese crisis is the prototype.
Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
The AU, your Union, has never, as far as I can remember, worked so energetically for a solution to an African crisis as it has done for Sudan.
Our commitment to Sudan remains the same today and in future.
I thank you for your high attention.
