Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Sudan (Ratification: 2021)

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

The Committee welcomes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention. It welcomes the Government’s indication that a new draft Labour Code was developed and is pending approval by the relevant authorities. The Committee trusts that the new draft Labour Code will be adopted shortly and that its provisions will be in full conformity with the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on all developments in this regard and to transmit a copy of the new Code once adopted.

The Committee also takes note of the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 17 September 2024 and on 2 September 2025, and of the Sudanese Professionals and Syndicates Coordination (SPSC), received on 17 April 2025, raising issues addressed in the comment below.

Civil liberties and trade union freedoms. The Committee notes that the ITUC expresses its serious concern at the deteriorating state of civil liberties and trade union freedoms and the shrinking democratic space in Sudan since the military coup in April 2019. The Committee notes the ITUC statement that trade unions have been dissolved by a decree of the Sovereignty Council issued on 14 December 2019, after which police, soldiers and other heavily armed security forces allegedly raided the offices of the Sudan Workers’ Trade Union Federation (SWTUF), barred leaders and its affiliates from entering their offices, and seized the unions’ properties and froze their bank accounts. The Committee notes the ITUC allegation that the General Registrar of Labour Organizations declared all trade unions formed after the 2019 Sudanese revolution illegal. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that while the 2019 Revolutionary Government suspended trade union activities and confiscated their assets and funds on 28 November 2022, measures have now been put in place to return the assets and funds of unions to implement the decision of the General Registrar.

The Committee further notes the ITUC allegation that on 22 September 2023, Sudanese military authorities arrested Sami al-Baqir, the spokesperson of the Sudanese Teachers’ Committee (STC), who was at the forefront of promoting the Sudanese teachers’ rights to strike and to organize in a context of war. The ITUC explains that Sudanese teachers have not been paid for months and took to the streets to protest in 2022 and 2023. The ITUC indicates that he was released in September 2025.

The Committee further notes the SPSC allegation that on 20 January 2025, the Sudanese authorities issued directives to suspend the salaries of all state employees based on their alleged support for the Rapid Support Forces (Sudanese paramilitary force formerly operated by the Sudanese Government), without any legal investigation or fair trial. The Committee notes the SPSC allegation that since the outbreak of the war on 15 April 2023, nine lists of worker dismissals and suspensions have been issued in South Darfur alone, that preliminary reports indicate that at least 450 employees of the Central Bank of Sudan have been suspended, and that a new list of dismissed employees in the Kordofan region has been released.

While acknowledging the complexity and the difficulty of the situation prevailing in the country due to an armed conflict, the Committee emphasizes that the rights of workers’ and employers’ organizations can only be exercised in a climate where human rights are recognized and that is free from violence, pressure or threats of any kind against the leaders and members of these organizations.The Committee calls on the Government to ensure that this principle is respected. The Committee requests the Government to respond to the above observations of the ITUC and the SPSC. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures that had been put in place to return the confiscated assets and funds.

Articles 2 and 5 of the Convention. Right to establish and join organizations without previous authorization. Trade union monopoly. The Committee notes that section 7(1)(a) of the Trade Unions Act, 2010 (hereinafter, the Act) provides for a single National Federation at the national level, defined in section 3 as a trade union organization which comprises trade unions, the Southern Sudan Union and the federations of States at the national level. It further notes that section 9 of the Act provides that workers in any of the categories of employees, professionals, technicians or manual workers shall form an electoral college and thereby elect their representatives to form one trade union organization at each enterprise. The Committee also notes that according to section 11 of the Act, federations and trade unions have the right to affiliate with any local, regional or international federation, but such affiliation needs to be approved by the National Federation. In this connection, the Committee also takes note of the observations of the ITUC alleging that, through an Announcement of the General Registrar of Labour Organizations on 11 August 2025, the Registrar declared trade union organizations that were established recently to be illegal and unlawful given that the Act clarifies that there can only be one union in any institution. In this respect, the Committee also notes that according to section 33 of the Act, the registrar has the power to refuse registration if there is an established trade union adequately serving the same objectives as those proposed to be promoted by the new trade union, and that pursuant to section 32(2), a trade union organization shall obtain legal personality if the registration is completed. The Committee recalls that the right of workers to be able to establish organizations of their own choosing, as set out in Article 2 of the Convention, implies that trade union diversity must remain possible in all cases. The Committee considers that it is important for workers to be able to change trade union or to establish a new union for any reason. Consequently, trade union unity imposed directly or indirectly by law is contrary to the Convention. In this respect, the Committee considers that a legislative provision which grants competent authorities discretionary power to refuse the registration of a trade union if another trade union already exists raise problems of compatibility with the Convention and may result in the imposition of a trade union monopoly, and that in no event must the conditions for obtaining legal personality, if any, be such as to amount to a de facto requirement of previous authorization (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paras 92, 94 and 87). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to modify the above-mentioned provisions with a view to ensuring that trade union pluralism remains possible at all levels. It requests the Government to provide information on all steps taken or envisaged in this regard.

Structure and composition of workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that, according to section 7(1) of the Act, the trade union structure shall be composed of the National Federation and the Southern Sudan General Federation, as well as the federations of the states and counties/districts, and their affiliated trade union organizations. The Committee understands that this provision provides for the general trade union structure in the country. The Committee notes that section 33 of the Act allows the Public Registrar to refuse registration of an organization if the composition of a trade union is contrary to the Act, while the Act does not set out any specific requirement in this regard. It would therefore appear that the Act grants discretionary powers to the Registrar, contrary to Article 2 of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee recalls that under Article 2 of the Convention, workers have the right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing, without previous authorization subject only to the rules of the organization concerned. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend or repeal the above-mentioned provisions with a view to ensuring that the right of workers to establish and join organizations of their own choosing is not hindered. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Right to join several organizations. The Committee notes that section 10 of the Act prohibits workers from being members of more than one trade union organization. In this regard, the Committee recalls that obliging workers to join only one trade union could unduly prejudice their right to establish and join organizations of their own choosing, especially in cases they are engaged in more than one job in different occupations or sectors (2012 General Survey, para. 91). The Committee requests the Government to take necessary measures to amend section 10 of the Act so as to ensure that workers are allowed to join more than one organization of their choosing, and to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 3. Right of workers to elect their representatives in full freedom. Election procedures. The Committee notes that section 34(1) of the Act provides that on the basis of an appeal submitted by a union member alleging improper conduct of the elections, the Public Registrar may issue a decision cancelling elections held in any trade union organization if he is convinced that they were not properly conducted, and order the holding of new elections. It further notes that section 34(2) allows the Public Registrar to suspend the election procedures conducted in any trade union organization if he receives a request to that effect or if he considers that the elections are not conducted in accordance with sound principles and standards. The Committee considers that the wording of this provision is too broad and may give rise to interference with election of trade union officers. In this regard, the Committee recalls that provisions which allow control over the electoral procedure by the administrative authorities are incompatible with Article 3(1) of the Convention (2012 General Survey, para. 101). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to modify section 34(2) of the Act so as to remove any control by the Registrar over trade union election procedures. It also requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of section 34(1) of the Act.

Right to strike. Compulsory arbitration. The Committee notes that section 112 of the Labour Code of 1997 provides that if a labour dispute is not settled through negotiations and conciliation, it shall then be referred to an arbitration body for a decision without requesting the permission of the two parties to the dispute. It further notes that section 124 of the Labour Code prohibits workers from partially or totally stopping work immediately after the decision of the Governor to refer the dispute to arbitration, during arbitration or after the issuance of arbitral decisions. In this regard, the Committee recalls that strikes are essential means available to workers and their organizations to protect and defend their interests, and that recourse to compulsory arbitration to bring an end to a collective labour dispute and a strike is only acceptable under certain circumstances, namely: (i) when the two parties to the dispute so agree; or (ii) when the strike in question may be restricted, or even prohibited, that is: (a) in the case of disputes concerning public servants exercising authority in the name of the State; (b) in conflicts in essential services in the strict sense of the term; or (c) in situations of acute national or local crisis, but only for a limited period of time and to the extent necessary to meet the requirements of the situation (2012 General Survey, paras 117 and 153). The Committee requests the Government, in the context of the reform of the Labour Code, to take the necessary measuresto amend the legislation with a view to ensuring that compulsory arbitration is only possible in the situations referred to above, and to provide information on the progress achieved in this regard.

Article 4. Dissolution procedures. The Committee notes that section 35 of the Act allows the Public Registrar to issue a decision dissolving a trade union organization if: (a) the organization is constituted in a manner contrary to the provisions of the Act or the regulations issued by virtue of the Act; (b) the organization was established by means of fraud or false pretences; (c) the organization does not, in fact, exist; (d) a committee of the organization was established in a manner contrary to the provisions of the Act, the regulations issued by virtue of the Act or the statutes of the organization; (e) a committee of the organization failed to implement the obligations for which the organization was established; or (f) a committee of the organization has violated the provisions of the Act or those of any other act concerning labour relations. In this respect, the Committee recalls that the dissolution and suspension of trade union organizations constitute extreme forms of interference by the authorities in the activities of organizations and should therefore be accompanied by all the necessary guarantees, and that this can only be ensured through a normal judicial procedure, which should also have the effect of a stay of execution (2012 General Survey, para. 162). The Committee notes, moreover, that there are no provisions in the Act which detail the requirements an organization needs to fulfil in order not to be dissolved in the above-mentioned situations (a), (d) and (f). In these circumstances, the Committee considers a decision of the Registrar risks to be discretionary. The Committee further considers that if an administrative authority has a discretionary right to dissolve an organization, the existence of a procedure of appeal to the courts does not appear to be a sufficient guarantee; the judges hearing such an appeal could only ensure that the legislation had been correctly applied. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to modify section 35 of the Act so as to remove the Public Registrar’s discretionary powers with regard to the dissolution of trade union organizations. It further requests to ensure that in case of a judicial appeal against a decision to dissolve an organization, such decision does not take effect before the end of the appeal procedure. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on all measures taken to that end.