Sudan: IFJ welcomes restoration of rights of Sudanese Journalists’ Union

The Sudanese Journalists’ Union (SJU) officially resumed its activity on October 11, three years after the decision of the military authorities to ban it. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) join its affiliate in welcoming the court's decision to reverse the ban and call on the Sudanese government to respect union rights and media freedom in the country.

The Sudanese Journalists' Union held a press conference on September 4 in Khartoum to announce its decision to resume the union's activity. Credit: SJU

The SJU received an official notification on October 10 from the Ministry of Justice, which cancelled the decision of the Sudanese authorities to disband the union, issued in December 2019. 

The office of SJU, which was occupied by military forces, will be transferred to the Steering  Committee for the Management of the Professional Union of Sudanese Journalists Union, and its activity will be restored as of October 11. 

A statement issued by the union congratulated "all its members inside and outside the country on restoring its legal right and confirms the resumption of all activity from 11 of October

“The SJU will conduct a process to organise the General Assembly and hold elections to choose the new leadership of the union and elect the new executive office”, the statement added.  

Throughout the three years, the SJU submitted numerous requests to the authorities and filed a lawsuit calling on them to revoke the decision, hand over its office in Khartoum, and lift the ban on its activity. In addition, the IFJ and the FAJ, together with other organisations,denouncedthe decision to dissolve the union and the arrest of its leaders as a gross violation of human rights, and campaigned for its restoration.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “The restoration of the SJU is a victory. The decision to dismantle the union was an illegal act, as the Sudanese journalists are the ones who must decide their representation, not the authorities. We celebrate the decision, and call on the government to respect union rights and media freedom in the country”.

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries

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