Secretary-General of the League of Arab States welcomes Sudanese initiative to advance national dialogue and Sovereignty Council decisions to safeguard freedom of dialogue

His Excellency ​Mr. Nabil Fahmy, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, welcomed an initiative by a group of Sudanese national figures to lay the groundwork for the launch of an intra-Sudanese dialogue through preliminary consultations with Sudanese political, civil and community forces.

The consultations aim to build a minimum level of trust conducive to convening an inclusive dialogue in Sudan, without imposing a predetermined process or agenda, or claiming any representation or mandate beyond what is agreed upon by the Sudanese themselves.

The Secretary-General also welcomed the decision issued by the Sudanese Sovereignty Council on 1 September to drop the reports and charges brought against Sudanese citizens in connection with their political activities and views, and to grant participants in the dialogue procedural immunity, thereby precluding the initiation of criminal proceedings against them on the basis of their political views.

This would enable them to engage freely and responsibly in dialogue in their country, while limiting the role of the state to creating the conditions necessary for the dialogue to take place. 

His Excellency Mr. Fahmy encouraged Sudanese political, civil, and community forces from across the country to engage in these peaceful consultations and to put forward all their aspirations and concerns, as well as peaceful alternatives capable of achieving a minimum level of understanding and guarantees.

This would help pave the way, at the earliest opportunity, for a serious and credible dialogue allowing for the broadest possible participation of Sudanese forces, within a timeframe shaped by the imperatives of dialogue and national priorities that encompass the aspirations of the Sudanese people across their political, civil, and community constituencies.

His Excellency Mr. Fahmy emphasised the importance of this national initiative at the present juncture, following the interruption of direct political dialogue among Sudan's principal forces and the deepening of political divisions in the wake of the war.

He noted that differing positions and perspectives on the causes of the crisis, ways of bringing it to an end, and the future of the Sudanese state are, at their core, among the reasons why creating an enabling environment for a Sudanese national dialogue has become an imperative for which there is no substitute.

The Secretary-General reaffirmed the League's firm conviction that peaceful political dialogue on Sudan's future must be Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led, stressing that sustainable solutions cannot be devised on behalf of the Sudanese people or imposed upon them from outside.

He asserted that the good offices undertaken by the League to bridge differences among Sudanese political forces will remain supportive of, and complementary to, this objective, rather than a substitute for it.