Significant Meeting Between the Sudanese Bar Association and the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Port Sudan – Sudanhorizon

A delegation from the Sudanese Bar Association presented a comprehensive briefing to Foreign Minister Dr. Ali Yusuf on the association’s international activities over the past period, especially regarding the Arab world. Notably, the Arab Lawyers Union’s strong stance in forming an investigation team into the crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces militia was highlighted, along with the firm commitment to preserving Sudan’s sovereignty, security, and stability under the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and its allied forces.

The minister, who received the delegation in his office in Port Sudan on Sunday, praised the association’s significant and tangible efforts, recognizing them as a reflection of the long history of struggle by Sudanese lawyers both domestically and internationally.

In a notable gesture, the minister issued an immediate directive to form a joint committee between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Sudanese Bar Association. This committee will transform their cooperation into executive action in the areas of human rights protection, specifically for the victims of the Sudanese war. It will pursue the criminals of the Rapid Support Forces militia and ensure they are brought to justice at both the national and international levels, in compliance with national law and international agreements and conventions.

The minister expressed his happiness with the meeting, considering the Bar Association to be the country’s foremost non-governmental human rights organisation, an unofficial legal department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a repository of national legal opinions.
Additionally, the minister instructed the relevant department within his ministry to prioritise lawyers’ requests for documentation, providing a dedicated service window for them, taking into account their valuable time as representatives for others.

The meeting also concluded with an agreement to hold regular meetings between the two institutions to keep pace with the swift legal developments required by the ongoing struggle for dignity.

From the Sudanese Bar Association, the meeting was attended by Emad El-Din Al-Fadani, Secretary-General of the Association; Tarek Abdel Fattah, Assistant to the President of the Association and Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab Lawyers Union, Secretary of External Relations; Dr Salah Al-Mubarak, Expert in International Law; Taj Khidr, National Coordinator of the Investigation Team; Hajo Ahmed, Representative of the Youth Lawyers; and Madani Ali, Rapporteur of the Bar Council.