Once the removal of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir—overthrown by the military on Thursday 11 April—was confirmed, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, emphasised the same day that a military council was not meeting the Sudanese people's expectations for change.
“For months, the people of Sudan have peacefully and with determination called for change. As underlined by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission in his statement, a military council does not provide the answers and breaches the principles of the African Union Charter”, the High Representative said on the evening of Thursday 11th.
On behalf of the EU, she reiterated that “only a credible and inclusive political process can meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people and lead to the political and economic reforms the country needs” (see EUROPE 12234/33). Calling on all parties to exercise restraint, she added that this can only be achieved through “a swift handover to a civilian transitional government”.
The Transitional Military Council, in place for 2 years, announced on Friday 12 April that the next government would be civilian and that it did not intend to hand over Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court.
Invited to comment, the EEAS spokesperson simply stated that “the EU supports the ICC”. The United States and five EU countries (France, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Poland) have requested an emergency meeting of the Security Council. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)