To
Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations
Human Rights Council, Geneva, Switzerland
2
September 2019
Sudan:
Ensuring a credible response by the UN Human Rights Council at its 42nd session.
Excellencies,
Ahead
of the 42nd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council (“HRC” or “the
Council”), we, the undersigned civil society organisations, urge you to ensure
the Council takes action to address serious human rights violations and abuses
that have been and continue to be committed in Sudan, and to support systemic
reforms in the country. As detailed below, the Council should formulate a
holistic response to the situation in the country, including by ensuring an
investigation of violations committed since December 2018, renewing the mandate
of the Independent Expert on Sudan, and strengthening monitoring and reporting
by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
On
17 August, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), opposition umbrella groups,
as well as the Transitional Military Council (TMC), which took power upon the
ouster of former president Omar al-Bashir, signed an agreement on transitional
governance arrangements for the next three years, followed by elections.
However, the human rights situation in Sudan continues to be of grave concern,
including with violence against protesters and ongoing lack of accountability
for violations and abuses since December, and poses major risks to long-term
stability in the country, as well as in the East African, Horn of Africa and
Middle East regions.[1]
Yet, since peaceful protests calling for civilian rule started, in December 2018, the Council has missed several opportunities to contribute to the formulation of a meaningful international response to the Sudanese crisis. It remained silent ahead of its 40th session (February-March 2019); after the 3 June 2019 massacre; and during its 41st session (June-July 2019), failing to convene a special session, or an urgent debate, or even to adopt a resolution on the country’s extraordinary human rights situation.
Silence
is no longer an option. The transitional agreement is no guarantee of improved
respect for human rights. As the UN’s top human rights body, the Council should
fulfill its responsibilities towards the Sudanese people and contribute to
ensuring that human rights compliance and systemic reforms are central parts of
a sustainable political solution to the crisis and that peaceful transitional
arrangements are respected, in line with its mandate to promote and protect
human rights.
As
the Council’s 42nd session approaches, Member and Observer States should
actively work towards the adoption of a resolution using the range of tools
available to address Sudan’s short-, mid-, and long-term human rights
challenges. The Council should act in accordance with its mandate to address
human rights violations, and be guided by the overarching need to protect the
rights and freedoms of the Sudanese people.
Major
human rights developments in Sudan since December 2018 are detailed in the annex to this letter.
With
the above considerations and the human rights situation in Sudan in mind, at
its 42nd session, the Council should:
Establish
an independent investigation, in the form of a fact-finding mission or similar,
into all human rights violations and abuses, including sexual and gender-based
violence, committed in the context of peaceful protests since December 2018.
The
investigation should:
Be
independent, impartial, transparent, thorough, and effective. It should address
patterns of violations and the chain of command of all relevant State organs;
examine the role of all such organs, including the Transitional Military
Council (TMC), Rapid Support Forces (RSF), National Intelligence and Security
Service (NISS), and associated elements; and seek to identify those most
responsible for the violations, irrespective of their rank or social standing;
Rely
on a standard of proof that enables the identification of individual
perpetrators and future criminal prosecutions, and recommend ways of holding
perpetrators accountable;
Address
the gaps in the national investigation[2] by covering all violations and abuses
committed in relation to peaceful protests since December 2018, including after
the 3 June 2019 massacre;
Address
patterns of violations, including the legal, institutional, and policy
framework that enable violations associated with State responses to peaceful
protests and citizens’ exercise of their human rights and fundamental freedoms;
and
Cover
violations and abuses committed in Khartoum and the rest of the country,
including conflict areas of Darfur, South Kordofan, and Blue Nile.
The
Council should request the investigative mechanism to share its report and
recommendations with the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD), and all relevant organs of the UN.
Renew
and strengthen the mandate of the independent expert (IE) and ensure robust
monitoring and public reporting mandate for the OHCHR throughout 2020 and
beyond by:
Renew
and strengthen the mandate of the Independent Expert until a fully mandated
OHCHR country office is declared operational by the OHCHR and the government of
the Sudan;
Continue
to extend technical assistance and capacity-building to Sudan, including in the
form of training on human rights compliance for security and law enforcement
bodies and technical advice on bringing legislation, policies, and practices in
line with international standards and Sudan’s obligations, including by
amending or repealing laws and regulations and reforming State organs;
As
technical cooperation relies on, and goes hand in hand with, a thorough and
ongoing assessment of the human rights situation, issues, and challenges, the
Council needs to ensure that the OHCHR enjoys a robust monitoring and reporting
capacity. Such reporting should include recommendations for systemic (including
legislative, institutional, and policy) reforms needed to improve Sudan’s human
rights situation and to bring about transformational change for the benefit of
the Sudanese people, including women and girls, marginalised and at-risk groups;
Ensure
public discussion of the human rights situation in Sudan and systemic reforms
needed to improve it through an Enhanced Interactive Dialogues once a year,
bringing together the Independent Expert, the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, the Government of Sudan, relevant UN actors, and civil society
representatives, in addition to the regular Interactive Dialogues at the
Council’s September sessions;
The
Council should further make clear that UN and independent actors must have
access to all places and persons of interest throughout the country, including
the conflict areas of Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile and that the
Sudanese Government has an obligation to create and maintain a safe and
enabling environment in which civil society, human rights defenders, the media
and other independent actors can operate free from hindrance, insecurity, and
reprisals.
The
Council should encourage, as a matter of urgency, the signing of a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Sudan and OHCHR, regarding the
opening and operationalization of a fully mandated OHCHR country office to
monitor the full range of human rights including the domestic investigation
into abuses against protesters on June 3, as envisioned in the constitutional
charter.
Yet
again, we urge you to take immediate and long-overdue action to ensure the
Council provides a credible response to the human rights situation in Sudan,
and stand ready to provide your Delegation with any further information.
With
assurances of our highest consideration,
African
Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)
Amnesty
International
Cairo
Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
CSW
DefendDefenders
(the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
Global
Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
Human
Rights Watch
International
Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International
Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI)
International
Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
MagkaSama
Project
MENA
Rights Group
Physicians
for Human Rights
REDRESS
Strategic
Initiative for women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network)
Sudanese
Human Rights Initiative (SHRI)
Sudanese
Human Rights Monitor