Sudan : Re-Admission Into African Union On-Hold

Efforts by the Sudanese Military Government under General Al-Burhan to get the country’s membership in the African Union reinstated have failed to gain traction at a Peace and Security Council that met on July 4, 2025. During the emergency meeting held at the AU headquarters and chaired by Algerian Ambassador Mohamed Khaled, chairman of the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council, for this month of August, it was agreed that Sudan’s suspension will not be lifted before free and fair elections are held and that the two factions should with immediate effect respect the ceasefire agreement. The AU Peace and Security Council further expressed the wish for an expanded mechanism to promote international consensus around the conflict and An ad hoc committee of the PSC to enter into contact with the belligerents in order to facilitate humanitarian access and achieve a durable ceasefire.
Presenting reasons for the council to lift the suspension, Sudan’s envoy to the AU, Al-Zain Ibrahim Hussein said, the army-aligned government’s recent appointment of Kamil Idris, a civilian Prime Minister as a key step in a roadmap towards civilian rule.  He added that, the opening of schools and universities as well as the gradual return of civilians are enough evident to lift the suspension.
Sudan was suspended from the continental body after its military, led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, seized power from a civilian government in an October 2021 coup. Two African Union sources told Sudan Tribune that Egypt lobbied to have the suspension placed on the agenda of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) meeting. The sources said Cairo’s position in the closed-door session, where it argued for recognizing the army-led government as the state’s ...