Report on the implementation of the Dialogue Forum of the African Organization for Rights and Development (AFROD) and its hosting of the Coordination of Democratic and Civil Forces (TAGADOM) on Friday, June 21
The African Organization for Rights and Development (AFROD) Dialogue Forum was organized on Friday, June 21, and was attended by more than 140 participants and 3 main speakers on the platform. Several topics were discussed and important dialogues were presented at the forum’s speakers’ table, Professor Buthaina Dinar, member of the leadership body and the conference’s preparatory committee. Dr. Bakri Al-Jak, the official spokesman for the Coordination of Democratic and Civil Forces (TAGADOM ), and Professor Musa Idris Amer, a young man and political activist interested in issues of transitional justice and public freedoms.
The speakers spoke in general about the agenda of women and youth and the importance of bringing it into all events concerned with discussing Sudanese issues. The focus was on the problems that faced the participation of youth and women and the inclusion of their agenda in the Conference of Democratic and Civil Forces (TAGADOM), which is related to the challenges facing these two groups in societies and political parties.
Professor Buthaina Dinar explained that the agenda was included and focused on in all the recommendations and outcomes that were reached, but the challenges that faced actual participation related to the difficulties of reaching remote areas and internal localities, in addition to security issues, poor roads, and other obstacles that hindered the representation of women, especially from the Kordofan region, and she stated A similar incident occurred, while the participation of the women and youth agenda in the conference was mentioned and included in the recommendations. She indicated that representation was present in the agenda and was addressed in all the recommendations, while actual participation faced major imbalances and challenges, especially for women. She pointed out that 9 issues for women were identified in the pre-conference workshops, and 4 of them were worked on. Noting that the reports of the workshops confirmed the representation of women in them, but it was not in the required form because the progress experiment was recent and short-lived, so it was unable to work on the standards of inclusion in the required manner. She indicated that the membership of the coordination agreed to address the problems and administrative and executive defects in the coordination to ensure the success of the bloc and strive to stop the war and establish a transformation. The state of citizenship must resolve the roots of the national crisis and the participation of all segments of Sudanese society in dialogues and discussions until they come up with a national project that unites them.
For his part, Dr. Bakri Al-Jak, the official spokesman for the Civil and Democratic Front, gave an introduction to the Civil and Democratic Front as a civil constituent structure that supports democracy and human rights and opposes war. He stressed that the conference responded to the importance of the issue of stopping the war in Sudan, and the Front presented a call to the warring parties to stop the deterioration taking place in the country. The Rapid Support party agreed to participate, while the other party, the army, did not come. This stopped the dialogue between Taqadum and expressed the readiness of the democratic and civil forces, Taqadum, to work and strive to achieve peace in Sudan .They reiterated their commitment to addressing the issues and administrative and executive flaws in (TAGADOM) to ensure the success of the coordination and strive to stop the war. They aim to resolve the roots of the national crisis and establish a democratic and civil state based on citizenship, with the participation of all segments of Sudanese society in dialogues and discussions, in order to develop a national project that unites them.
While Musa Adebayor discussed many issues related to human rights and democracy in Sudan, he stressed the importance of strengthening the role of women and youth in these issues and highlighted the need to empower women and enhance their participation in political life and decision-making, in addition to promoting the rights of youth within the work of the Democratic and Civil Forces Initiative (TAGADOM )
While he stressed that dialogue and cooperation between civil and democratic forces is the basis for achieving positive change in Sudan. He pointed out the importance of building confidence, enhancing cooperation between civil society and other political institutions, and encouraging effective and inclusive participation of all in policy formulation and decision-making
Some participants criticized the representatives of the Coordination of Democratic and Civil Forces claiming that the conference did not meet the required standards of inclusivity. They also pointed out during the discussions that there were mistakes and shortcomings in the selection of representatives.
The forum concluded with important recommendations, including supporting the empowerment of women, enhancing their role in political and economic life, promoting the rights of youth, promoting basic freedoms and human rights in Sudan, and enhancing dialogue and cooperation between all parties concerned.
The most important recommendations and outputs came
1. Providing educational opportunities for young people in areas of asylum and displacement
2. Promoting awareness and education on human rights issues
3. Promoting the political participation of youth and women
4. Enhancing transparency and accountability of civil society organizations and community and civil political initiatives
5. Encouraging youth and women to participate in dialogues and forums
6. Cooperating with women’s and youth organizations in including the agenda and issues related to them
7. Providing a supportive and safe environment for youth and women in the coordination of democratic and civil forces
8. Providing platforms for communication and interaction among the target audience by the Coordination of Democratic and Civil Forces
promote legal awareness among Sudanese individuals.
On May 24, 2024, the AFORD computer laboratory was opened at the headquarters of the African Organization for Rights and Development, in the presence of a number of guests and interested parties, and the Director General of the organization, Mr. Abdul Majeed Saleh, gave speeches about the projects presented the AFORD laboratory, the training courses to be provided, and their importance for the Sudanese to enable them to enter the Ugandan labor market.
