Sudan’s FFC: New Govt to Be Formed During Ramadan

Sudanese people take to the streets of Khartoum to demand change. (Reuters file photo)
Sudanese people take to the streets of Khartoum to demand change. (Reuters file photo)
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Sudan’s FFC: New Govt to Be Formed During Ramadan

Sudanese people take to the streets of Khartoum to demand change. (Reuters file photo)
Sudanese people take to the streets of Khartoum to demand change. (Reuters file photo)

Civilian and military signatories of the Political Framework Agreement in Sudan agreed to speed up steps for finding a political settlement and finalizing outstanding issues in the coming week.

The Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) also predicted that the formation of a civilian Sudanese government will be concluded before the end of Islam’s holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Ramadan is expected to begin next week.

FFC leader Taha Osman revealed that the most vital “foundations and principles” have been agreed upon with military leaders regarding the file of security and military reform.

Addressing a press conference in Khartoum on Thursday, Osman told reporters that the principles endorsed by the agreement include “a total exit of military leaders from power and economic activities save for those related to defense industries.”

Moreover, military leaders approved integrating the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the army according to agreed stages and deadlines.

Fighters from armed factions would also join the army in accordance with the security arrangements stipulated in the Juba Peace Agreement.

The agreement with military leaders additionally stipulated removing and barring personnel linked to the ousted regime from military and security apparatuses.

“We agreed with Abdelfattah al-Burhan, commander of the Sudan Armed Forces and Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, and Lt Gen Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo, Commander of the RSF and Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, to form a technical committee,” revealed Osman.

The committee will tackle technical issues regarding the unity of command and at the level of staff, regions, and divisions.

Osman pointed out that a security and military reform workshop will kick off on Monday.

The workshop will work on developing a roadmap for security reform. This includes the army, RSF, police and other security bodies.

Osman anticipated that Sudan would reach “a final political agreement during Ramadan, followed directly by the formation of transitional civil power structures.”

Yasir Arman, a leading figure in the FFC, said the signatories are heading towards the finishing of the political process and called for popular support to protect it from the counter-revolutionary forces.

“In a short time, democratic civil rule will be restored in the country,” said Arman, adding that the latest meeting between civilian and military forces was “conducted with a high patriotic spirit.”

He stressed that the next civilian government “will have sufficient consensus to avoid mistakes made previously.”



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.