of State. Dignitaries Non–attendance Exclusions – interim President Catherine Samba-Panza was not invited as her country was at the time suspended from the African Union (AU) following the 2013 coup d'état. An election was held in December 2015 and February 2016. – President Isaias Afwerki was excluded and the White House cited the UN sanction on the country and its refusal to accept full diplomatic relations with the U.S. (Western Sahara) – President Mohamed Abdelaziz was omitted as the U.S. does not recognize his country. – President Omar al-Bashir was excluded as he is indicted at the International Criminal Court, which also issued an arrest warrant for him. The Department of State lists Sudan as one of the state sponsors of terrorism. The Sudanese government criticized its exclusion. The Deputy Speaker disagreed with the U.S. stance on her country. – A U.S. official was reported to have said that President Robert Mugabe was not invited because he is currently on the list of the Specially Designated Nationals. Information Minister Jonathan Moyo dismissed the summit as a "non-event" saying that the U.S. was afraid of China. Mugabe's spokesman, George Charamba, was quoted to have said that they were not bothered as the "world is larger than America." Temporary At the time of the announcement of the summit in January 2014, the following three states were suspended from the African Union due to their political situation. They have since been re-admitted following the restoration of democracy and rule of law: – was suspended from the AU following the 2013 coup d'état. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that this decision was "wrong and short-sighted". Following the successful presidential election in May 2014, the US extended a late invite. – was suspended following the 2012 coup d'état Election was held in April 2014. – at the time the invitations were sent out, the country was suspended because of the 2009 coup d'état. On 28 January 2014, the AU lifted its sanctions following the successful election Controversies The list of invited leaders included the following long serving African strongmen: Human Rights Watch and EG Justice called upon the US to denounce Equatoguinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo's human rights abuses in his country. The Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African opposition party, objected to the exclusion of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe; it also disagreed with Morocco's inclusion as it continues to "illegally" occupy Western