17.9.2022
We respect the period of mourning in the United Kingdom following the death of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II. Our condolences and deepest sympathy go to the Royal Family for their personal loss, as
well as to mourners throughout the nation and the globe.
It is not our intent to undermine the solemnity of the occasion, however we oppose the invitation
extended to Sudan’s General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and potentially to other Sudanese diplomats, to
enter the United Kingdom to attend the funeral on Monday 19 September in London.
General Al Burhan came to power in Sudan after leading a military coup on 25 October 2021, a coup
which derailed a democratic transition process that was underway following the peaceful people’s
revolution of 2018-2019. General Al Burhan and the rest of the coup leadership are not seen by
Sudanese citizens, civil society, and diaspora in the United Kingdom, as legitimate either as head of
state or government representatives.
General Al Burhan is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity on a systematic scale during
the Darfur genocide, and more recently on the streets of the capital Khartoum, where peaceful
protesters have been met with violence and killings under General Al Burhan’s regime.
We must not legitimise General Al Burhan, or others involved in coup leadership bodies such as
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally known as Hemedti, a leader of the notorious Janjaweed militia
and the Rapid Support Forces. To do so is to normalise tyranny.
Without accountability and justice for the ongoing atrocities perpetrated against pro-democracy and
peaceful citizens throughout Sudan, including Darfur, East Sudan, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and the
central region and streets of Khartoum, Al Burhan’s invitation and potential presence at the state
occasion is a betrayal of the values for which the British monarchy, and the United Kingdom, stand.
Those who have sought refuge in the United Kingdom from the brutality of successive Sudanese
military regimes deserve our support, our calls for justice and accountability, and a strong stance
against those, like General Al Burhan, who stole power unconstitutionally and with violence.
Signed,
1. Act for Sudan
2. CSW UK (Christian Solidarity Worldwide) (https://www.csw.org.uk/home.htm)
3. Girifna (https://girifna.com/)
4. HUDO Centre (http://www.hudocentre.org/)
5. Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (https://www.hart-uk.org/)
6. Justice Centre for Advocacy and Legal Consultations
7. Lawyers For Justice and Human Rights-Sudan
8. National Umma Party in UK and Ireland
9. Never Again Coalition (http://www.neveragaincoalition.org/)
10. Nuba Community in Cardiff & South Wales
11. Nuba Mountains Solidarity Abroad (NMSA) – UK
12. Nuba Mountains Women’s Union (NMWU) – UK
13. Revolution supports the group in Glasgow
14. Rights for Peace (https://www.rightsforpeace.org/)
15. SPLM/Revolutionary Democratic Current Italy-EU
16. SPLM/Revolutionary Democratic Current UK
17. Sudan Doctors’ Union-UK
18. Sudanese Community in Glasgow
19. Sudanese Congress Party UK
20. Sudanese Diaspora Roundtable UK
21. Sudanese Front for Change
22. Sudanese Women’s Right Action – Canada
23. Sudan Lawyers and Legal Practitioners Association UK
24. Sudan’s Doctors for Human Rights-UK
25. Sudan Unlimited (http://www.sudanunlimited.com/)
26. The Families of the Martyrs of December Revolution 2018
27. The Massaliet Community in the UK
28. The Strategic Centre for Migration Research in the Horn of Africa
29. The Sudanese Community Association in Cardiff & South Wales
30. Waging Peace (https://wagingpeace.info/)