Sudan's national dialogue committee determines date for general assembly

Sudan's Higher Coordination Committee of the National Dialogue (7+7 mechanism) has determined August 6 as the date for convening the general assembly of the national dialogue conference to approve the final recommendations of the dialogue.

The committee on Sunday held a meeting, chaired by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

"Contacts will continue with the rejecting parties, whether inside or outside, to convince them to join the dialogue process," Ahmed Bilal Osman, Sudan's information minister and member of the mechanism, told reporters following the meeting.

"The period set until the convocation of the general assembly is enough for those willing to join to come on board," he noted.

He explained that the general assembly would approve 900 recommendations to become final outcomes to be included in the coming permanent constitution.

In October 2015, the Sudanese government launched the national dialogue conference with the participation of a number of Sudanese political parties, civil society organizations and some Darfur armed groups.

However, major political parties and armed movements have refused to participate in the conference, including the Revolutionary Front Alliance, which brings together the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/ northern sector and the major Darfur armed movements.

The conference discussed six major issues: peace, identity, rights and freedoms, economy, external relations and governance.

In January 2014, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declared an initiative calling on the opposition parties and the armed groups to join a national dialogue to end the country's crises. Endit