Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union, as members of the Friends of Sudan, welcome the signature of a framework agreement by a broad representation of political forces and the military component. This framework agreement outlines the structures for a return to a civilian-led transition towards democracy and the military's commitment to withdraw from politics. The Friends of Sudan commend the signatories for the effort and compromise necessary to reach this initial agreement and urge all Sudanese stakeholders to continue their efforts to conclude a final political agreement and establish a credible civilian-led government as soon as possible. The Friends of Sudan commend the role of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union (AU), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) ("the Trilateral Mechanism") in their facilitation efforts to overcome the current political crisis in Sudan. They call on the Trilateral Mechanism to continue to support Sudanese stakeholders in the next phase of the consultations by fostering broad-based consultations and dialogue between parties to lay the groundwork for a final agreement and to address critical issues that the signatories of the political agreement agreed to further discuss: Security Sector Reform, Transitional Justice, the Juba Peace Agreement, the Dismantling Committee, the East and the economy. The Friends of Sudan recall that the success of the ongoing political dialogue lies in the creation of an enabling environment that includes the release of detainees, supports freedom of expression, respects the right of peaceful assembly free from violence as well as strengthens the participation of women and youth. The Friends of Sudan reaffirm their commitment to supporting the political transition and the realization of the aspirations of the Sudanese people for freedom, peace, justice, and prosperity. They look forward to resuming strategic cooperation and support upon the establishment of a new civilian-led government.
