The EU and the US reiterate their support for the Framework Agreement in Sudan and speak out against “parallel transition processes”

11 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The special envoys of the US, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway, France and Germany have completed a joint visit to Sudan to assess first-hand the difficult transition process in the African country after the October 2021 military coup led by by Abdelfatá al Burhan.

Right now, in principle, there is an “official” peace agreement, known as the Framework Agreement, promoted by the Army and still under development, which has already been rejected by numerous civil society groups, who have preferred to negotiate their own sheet road trip in Cairo, one in which the military has no place.

“The Political Framework Agreement process remains, in our opinion, the best basis on which to form a civilian-led transitional government,” according to the joint statement of the international representatives, “and establish constitutional arrangements for a transition period ending in an election.”

“The Special Envoys and representatives strongly discouraged parallel processes,” adds the note, published by the EU Delegation in Sudan on its website.

The representatives call for “a concerted effort to finalize negotiations and reach a final agreement quickly to form a civilian-led transitional government to address Sudan’s pressing political, economic, humanitarian and security challenges.

Meanwhile, the so-called Sudan Quartet, represented by the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has proposed to the military a meeting with the civilian forces that reject a Framework Agreement given the possibility that it ends up exempting General Al Burhan. of the violence deployed last year against civilians who were protesting against the military coup, and which left around a hundred dead.

Among the latter are such prominent names as current Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, also a leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the leader of a splinter faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) and governor of Darfur. Minni Minawi; and Jaafar El Mirghani, deputy chairman of the main Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The three parties are members of the Forces for Freedom and Change-Democratic Bloc (FFC-DB) formed in November last year and all participants in the “Egyptian initiative”.