AU appoints former VP Wandira-Kazibwe to Sudan peace panel

ADDIS ABABA | Xinhua | The African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki on Wednesday announced that he has appointed three prominent African personalities as members of the AU High-level panel on Sudan.

In a press statement, Faki said he has appointed Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe and Francisco Madeira as members of the AU High Level panel on Sudan.

Ibn Chambas is a Ghanaian diplomat with several decades of experience particularly in the United Nations, while Wandira-Kazibwe is a former vice president of Uganda.

Madeira is a Mozambican diplomat who has previously served in various national and AU roles.

“The appointment, which takes effect immediately, is in line with the conclusion of the AU Peace and Security Council and in furtherance of the AU’s mandate and determination to entrench peace and stability on the Continent,” Faki said in a statement.

The members of the AU High-Level Panel will work with all the Sudanese stakeholders: all civilian forces, military belligerents and regional and global actors including IGAD, the UN, the League of Arab States, to ensure an all-inclusive process towards the swift restoration of peace, constitutional order and stability in Sudan, the statement said. Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since April 15, 2023.

More than 12,000 people have been killed, and over 7.4 million have been displaced inside and outside Sudan since the fighting broke out, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. ■