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Call for international solidarity with human rights in Sudan online and offline

On Wednesday 4 May 2016, Sudan will undergo a
formal review by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.

During the review, representatives of the government of Sudan will
present a national
report of efforts made to implement human rights commitments
and recommendations received during Sudan's first Universal Periodic
Review (UPR)
in 2011. Representatives of UN member governments will then have the
opportunity to ask questions and make recommendations to the
government of Sudan. Governments ask questions and make
recommendations based on many factors, including their political
priorities, and the information available from their embassy in the
country, reports from civil society, treaty bodies and special
procedures, and UN agencies.

Repression of Sudanese civil society ahead of the
UN review

In anticipation of criticism of its human rights record, on
31 March Sudan's National Information and Security Service (NISS) blocked four human rights defenders from traveling to Geneva for a pre-session, hosted by the
Geneva-based NGO, UPR-Info. The
pre-session is an opportunity for representatives of civil society to
speak directly to UN Member State delegations in Geneva in order to
share information about the human rights situation in Sudan, and
suggest specific recommendations to be made during the review.

The four defenders were stopped at the airport and their passports were
confiscated. Since the pre-sessions were established in 2012, this is
the first time that civil society have been prevented to from participation.
APC joined a
civil society letter condemning the efforts of the government of
Sudan to obstruct civil
society
engagement
in the review.

Civil society in Sudan have experienced ongoing restrictions and
suppression of their engagement in the UPR process. In December 2014,
the NISS National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) raided
the offices of The Sudanese Human Rights Monitor while
local civil society and journalist associations were conducting a
workshop for journalists on the UPR process and civil society
engagement, seizing computer and documents.

Despite the current situation, civil society in Sudan continue to
work to raise awareness about the review, and to suggest
recommendations to be made at the review on 4 May.

Joining forces to push for human rights in Sudan
online and offline

In September 2015, APC supported a coalition of ten Sudanese civil
society organisations to prepare a
report on specific
human rights violations in Sudan,
which was submitted for official consideration by the HRC1.
The submission, which was also endorsed by APC's member Alternatives
International, provides a detailed report on freedom of
expression in Sudan, focusing on media freedom and violations of
human rights online. Online
surveillance and internet blackouts are
well documented.

The submission also documents human rights violations in relation
to limitations on access to information, censorship, protection of
journalists, violence against women journalists, religious
freedom, and freedom of association and assembly. The submission
expresses concern over certain aspects of the legal framework,
including a constitutional amendment, Article
151 of the consitution of Sudan, that transformed the National
Intelligence and Security Service into a military force responsible
for combating all political, military, economic and social dangers.

In January 2015 the editor-in-chief of the Sudanese newspaper
Al-Midan, Madeeha
Abdalla, was charged by NISS
with crimes against the state. The charges, which include acts of
criminal conspiracy and undermining the constitutional system, appear
to be the result of Al-Midan's rejection of pre-publication
censorship, and its coverage of banned political movements in Sudan.
As of April 2016 the four cases against Abdalla continue in the
courts.

Suppression of dissenting voices in Sudan has escalated in the
past weeks and months. Demonstrations at local universities in Khartoum,
Kordofan, Red Sea and in Darfur have led to violent clashes between
government and opposition supporters, which led to the
deaths of two students on 19
and 27
April.
NISS directed newspapers not cover the student protests.

The upcoming review of Sudan has also sparked a
new campaign by religious leaders against the ratification of the UN
Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW), which Sudan agreed to ratify at its first review
in 2011. Women and girls in Sudan experience systematic
discrimination and violence. Women
human rights defenders in the country experience intense abuse and
repression, and the majority of the rights protected under CEDAW
are violated on a daily basis.

There have also been several reports of amendments made to draft
laws, including the Press and Publications Act, and Cyber Crime Law.
No new drafts of these laws have been released. On Saturday 30 April,
the NISS prevented the Sudanese Journalists Network from holding a
symposium to discuss government plans aimed at integrating daily
newspapers into a limited number of press institutions.

Leading up to the review, civil society are continuing to engage
in direct advocacy to hold the government of Sudan accountable for
its human rights violations.

Until 4 May, the African Centre
for Justice and Peace Studies is hosting a
Twitter
campaign to raise awareness about the human rights situation in
Sudan, including among UN Member states attending Sudan's review.

Recommendations, how to get involved

Below are a list of suggested questions and recommendations to the
government of Sudan, submitted by a coalition of Sudanese civil
society and APC. Join the #UPR25
conversation on Twitter to get informed and share.

Suggested Questions:

  1. What steps have the government of Sudan taken to ensure the
    safe participation of Sudanese civil society in the Universal
    Periodic Review?

  2. What steps have the government of Sudan taken towards
    developing fair media polices and legislation, in order for the
    Sudanese people to exercise their right to freedom of expression?

  3. What measures have the government taken to stop sexual
    harassment of female journalists and to secure safe working
    environment?

  4. What steps are the government taking to protect freedom of
    expression, association and assembly online and offline?

Suggested Recommendations:

  1. Release and drop charges against all journalists and media
    workers arrested in the context of performing their duties.

  2. Ensure that human rights defenders can exercise their
    legitimate activities, including participation in international
    mechanisms, without being subjected to reprisals.

  3. Take immediate steps to ensure a climate in which all
    citizens are able to freely express their opinions and beliefs,
    without fear of reprisal or retribution.

  4. Amend, without delay, the Press and Publications Act, to
    bring it in line with international standards and best practices on
    freedom of expression, including online expression, and allow
    journalists and civil society to fully participate in the process of
    media law reform.

  5. End impunity for all those who threaten the safety of
    journalists, and ensure that all attacks are investigated by an
    independent body.

  6. Sign and ratify CEDAW, and develop a mechanism to ensure the
    implementation of the Convention.

More information:

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