Religious freedom advocacy Christian Solidarity Worldwide has joined with more than 30 other African and international NGOs in calling for the UN’s Human Rights Council to take stronger action to address human rights violations in Sudan.
The letter, dated 7th September and written ahead of the 33rd session of the council which opens this week, highlights the “Sudanese government’s continuing abuses against civilians in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, including unlawful attacks on villages and indiscriminate bombing of civilians”.
“We are also concerned about the continuing repression of civil and political rights, in particular the ongoing crackdown on protesters and abuse of independent civil society and human rights defenders,” it said.
The letter, other signatories of which include Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists, calls for the adoption of a resolution on Sudan which would mandate a a special rapporteur to “monitor and report on human rights violations and recommend concrete ways of ending the abuses”. It also calls for the Sudanese Government to implement recommendations made previously made by the council.
“Five years on, the conflicts between Sudan and armed opposition in South Kordofan and Blue Nile continue to have a devastating impact on civilians,” the letter said. “The most recent round of talks between the Government of Sudan and rebel movements ended in a standstill, with a lack of agreement on modalities for the provision of humanitarian aid and the cessation of hostilities.”
The letter said the Sudanese government forces “continue to attack villages and bomb civilian areas indiscriminately, and to block humanitarian aid groups from accessing affected areas”. It says that since 2011, at least 1.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.
CSW noted that the crackdown on civil and political rights in the nation has included the placement of increasing restrictions on religious freedom with, since December last year, an increase in “arbitrary” detentions of church leaders, several of whom have been held incommunicado. The organisation noted that the Sudanese Government has interfered in the affairs of the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church and that two senior leaders of the Sudan Church of Christ are among three men currently on trial for national security crimes.
Mervyn Thomas, CSW’s chief executive, urged “serious action” to be taken in response to the “deplorable human rights situation in Sudan”. “The reports of severe violations from every part of the country are serious enough to warrant the strengthening of the mandate and the appointing of a special rapporteur,” he said.
“The targeting of civilians in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, the restrictions on civil and political rights, including on freedom of religion or belief, and the harassment of civil society, and human rights defenders are deeply concerning. We call on the council to adopt a resolution that addresses the realities on the ground.”
To read the full text of the letter, follow this link.
