29 May 2024
Ending the War, addressing its Consequences, and Establishing Peace
Based on the historical national role that trade union movements have been playing throughout Sudan’s history, we in the Trade Union Front commit to working with civil, rights-based, political forces and all segments of the Sudanese people who believe in the goals of the glorious December Revolution to achieve the following objectives:
First:
Work to end the ongoing war and to establish a just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace throughout a unified Sudan.
Second:
Work to open humanitarian assistance channels for all those affected by the war, and support all efforts aimed at halting crimes and violations against civilians and unarmed citizens—and to condemn such acts unequivocally.
Third:
Rebuild and rehabilitate infrastructure, service institutions (education and health), state institutions, and productive projects.
Fourth:
Within the framework of building a just and comprehensive peace and ensuring sustainable community reconciliation, it is essential to initiate processes for justice, transitional justice, reparation, and addressing grievances and comprehensive community reconciliation.
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Completing the Path of the Glorious December Revolution
First:
Continue the course of the revolution to bring about change and achieve its goals and slogans—calling for peace, freedom, and justice.
Second:
Dismantle the June 30 regime from all branches of the civil, military, and security state apparatuses, and hold accountable all officials of the defunct regime for crimes committed from the June 1989 coup until the downfall of its leadership.
Third:
Work toward establishing a unified, national, professional army, founded on the armed forces after purging it of all politically affiliated or partisan elements without exception—particularly those linked to the Islamic Movement. The army must be governed by professional standards first, and demographic representation second. All militias, including the Islamic Movement Brigades and the Rapid Support Forces, must be dissolved. Their members should be demobilized, rehabilitated, and reintegrated into society after fair trials.
Members of other armed liberation movements must also be disarmed, demobilized, and reintegrated according to DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration) principles following grassroots dialogues and peace agreements addressing the roots of conflict. All military camps must be located outside cities and villages, tasked solely with protecting citizens, land, and national borders—by land, sea, and air.
Fourth:
All military and security forces must withdraw from political and economic activities, except for defense- and security-related industries.
Fifth:
Exclude all current military leaders from both warring parties from any future political or military roles, and prosecute them for crimes committed by the regular forces after the fall of the former regime—beginning with the crime of dispersing the sit-in, through the killings of peaceful protesters before and after the 25 October 2021 coup, the coup itself against the revolutionary government, and all crimes committed by military formations and militias during the April 2023 war.
Sixth:
Dissolve the security apparatus of the defunct regime and establish a new one. Restructure and reform the police force, purging it of those appointed through political patronage.
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Building the state and Consolidating Democratic Civil Governance
First:
Encourage and support strategic alliances between trade union, civil, and rights-based forces to entrench the authority of the people and lead the transition toward democratic civilian rule, ensuring its stability—guided by the December Revolution’s slogan:
“A revolution of the people, by the people; power belongs to the people.”
Second:
Participate in the establishment of a democratic civil state and a state built on law and institutions, grounded in a consensual legal social contract agreed upon among Sudanese from the grassroots. Insist on forming legislative, oversight, and supervisory councils as the first and foundational bodies of the transitional period—preceding all other authorities—and on restructuring and reforming the judiciary, civil service, and state institutions.
Third:
Build local governance structures reflecting the nature of union organization—based on collective benefit, rights-based principles, and democratic values. Such structures should strengthen and stabilize the authority of the people and decentralize governance to prevent the repetition of limited past democratic experiences. This would ensure the unity of social forces on a firm foundation of shared interest in the democratic civil system, embodying the slogan of the glorious December Revolution:
“The revolution is a union and a neighborhood committee.”
Fourth:
Adopt an urgent economic rescue plan focused on mobilizing domestic resources first, and engagement with international institutions without compromising national sovereignty. The plan should aim to alleviate the suffering of citizens and adopt wise foreign policies based on mutual respect between states and peoples—maximizing shared interests while upholding national sovereignty, good neighborliness, and regional and global peace.
Fifth:
Consolidate the concept of a democratic civil state grounded in real separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial) and the supremacy of the rule of law—beginning with the head of state and applying equally to all without exception.
Sixth:
Affirm that general elections are the only legitimate means of peacefully transferring power in a democratic, pluralistic civilian state.
Seventh:
Reject and resist any political authority that relies on the use of force or arms to attain power.
Eighth:
Uphold the foundations and principles of good governance—participation, transparency, accountability, and rule of law.
