More than 1,790 Sudanese nationals living in the United States lost their formal deportation protections on Monday, as the African Union’s top peace and security official wrapped up a U.S. visit focused on the war that drove many of them from home.
The Department of Homeland Security told CNN that Temporary Protected Status for Sudanese citizens was scheduled to end that day. The department said an announcement about their status “will be made at the appropriate time.” For now, Sudanese immigrants are expected to keep living and working in the country. Nobody knows for how long. Families who’ve built lives here face pressure from that uncertainty.
Diplomacy on a Crowded Map of Crises
African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Bankole Adeoye was scheduled to finish his visit the week of October 19, with stops in Atlanta and New York, after visiting Washington late the previous week. His delegation met State Department members on Friday, October 16, after a background briefing at the National Endowment for Democracy.
The agenda covered a lot. Conflicts in Sudan, Ethiopia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Engagement with juntas and the return to civilian rule in the Sahel. Upcoming elections in Nigeria, Kenya and Angola. Each item carries real consequences for civilians and democratic institutions across the continent.
In Atlanta, Adeoye was expected to meet African communities under the theme “Diaspora for Peace.” On Wednesday, October 21, the delegation was due in New York for a consultative meeting with the African Group at the United Nations, the A3 African Security Council members Liberia, Somalia and the DRC, and the 9th Annual Joint Consultative Meeting with the UN Peacebuilding Commission.
Multilateral Machinery at Work
Thursday brings the 11th Informal Joint Seminar between the AU Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council. The five topics include a review of AU Peace Support Operations and UN Peace Operations; youth, peace and security; AU/UN joint efforts to counter terrorism in Africa; children and armed conflicts; and natural resources management.
On Friday, the two councils were scheduled to hold their annual Joint Consultative Meeting. They’ll focus on identifying and optimising future resources and support mechanisms for AUSSOM, alongside the situations in Sudan, South Sudan and eastern DRC. Funding for peace operations remains the hard part of these talks.
On Tuesday, the UN Security Council was set to hold a briefing and consultations on the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). Special Representative Valentine Rugwabiza was expected to brief.
Biodiversity Talks Without a Full US Seat
Armenia was hosting the year’s most significant biodiversity conference in Yerevan, beginning October 19, as the United States continued its retreat from global forums. COP17, the 17th meeting of the parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, was to include the first global review of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Adopted in 2022, the framework aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
At least 28 African countries had released new National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans in the previous year. South Africa and the African Wildlife Foundation were pressing developed nations to help close the international biodiversity finance gap. The annual goal of $20 billion was falling short.
The United States wasn’t participating as a full voting party. It’s the only member state that has not ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Business Meets Diplomacy
The week isn’t only about conflict and conservation. On Tuesday, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency was due to host gas-sector decision-makers from Angola and Mozambique in Houston, Texas. The agency said: “Rapid growth in the gas sector is accelerating demand for midstream gas infrastructure, creating opportunities for trusted US technologies, engineering expertise and high-quality equipment to advance energy security and economic growth.”
On Thursday, Tech Safari’s Big Move was holding its first gathering in the U.S. capital for “high-impact professionals and diaspora seriously thinking about how to contribute to the continent – through careers, capital or ventures.” George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs was hosting Mozambique opposition leader Venncio António Bila Mondlane of the National Alliance for a Free and Autonomous Mozambique (ANAMOLA) for a virtual discussion on Security and Intelligence in Africa. The Chicago Council on Global Affairs was also hosting a panel titled “America’s Place in the World: Global Volatility and Authoritarianism.”
Why This Matters:
The week’s calendar shows how much of Africa’s stability depends on shared institutions: the AU, the UN Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. These bodies need money and political backing to protect civilians in Sudan, South Sudan and eastern Congo, while AUSSOM funding sits at the center of Friday’s talks. The biodiversity finance gap also hits hardest in countries least responsible for ecological loss, with the $20 billion annual goal falling short. Back home, more than 1,790 Sudanese nationals face an open-ended wait over their legal status as the war they fled continues. Whether wealthy nations and the United States show up with resources, not just meetings, will shape outcomes for millions.
- african union
- bankole adeoye
- peace and security
- un security council
- sudan
- biodiversity
- temporary protected status
- africa