11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Darfur: Human rights violations in 2007: Torture, violence against women, rape, attacks on humanitarian convoys, attacks on civilians ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22726]

"In Darfur government forces, Janjaweed, Darfur rebel groups, and tribal factions committed serious abuses during the year, including the reported killing of approximately 1,600 persons.

Government, Janjaweed militias, and tribal factions razed numerous villages, committed acts of torture, and perpetrated violence against women.

Darfur rebel groups were also responsible for rape and attacks on humanitarian convoys and compounds to steal equipment and supplies, resulting in injury to humanitarian workers.

Civilians continued to suffer from the effects of genocide. [...]

According to the UN, more than 200,000 persons have died, 2.2 million civilians have been internally displaced, and an estimated 231,000 refugees have fled to neighboring Chad since the conflict began in 2003.

Despite the presence in Darfur of the African Union-led international monitoring force (African Union Mission in Sudan or AMIS), security remained a major problem throughout the year."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Government continued to violate human rights in 2007: Human rights violations included such as torture, rape, arbitrary arrest and detention, harassment of IDPs, restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, movement ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22728]

"The government's human rights record remained poor, and there were numerous serious abuses, including: abridgement of citizens' rights to change their government;

extrajudicial and other unlawful killings by government forces and other government-aligned groups throughout the country;

torture, beatings, rape, and other cruel, inhumane treatment or punishment by security forces;

harsh prison conditions;

arbitrary arrest and detention, including incommunicado detention of suspected government opponents, and prolonged pretrial detention;

executive interference with the judiciary and denial of due process;

forced military conscription of underage men;

obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian assistance;

restrictions on privacy and freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, and movement;

harassment of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and of local and international human rights and humanitarian organizations;

violence and discrimination against women, including the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM);

child abuse, including sexual violence and recruitment of child soldiers, particularly in Darfur;

trafficking in persons;

discrimination and violence against ethnic minorities;

denial of workers' rights; and forced labor, including child labor, by security forces and both aligned and non-aligned militias in Southern Sudan and Darfur"

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Darfur: Anti-government and insurgent groups continued to violate human rights in 2007 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22729]

"Antigovernment and insurgent groups also committed numerous, serious abuses in Darfur.

Factions of the SLA, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and other rebel groups in Darfur committed killings, including of AMIS peacekeeping forces, beatings, abductions, rape, robbery, destruction of property, forcible conscription, and recruitment of child soldiers.

They restricted freedom of movement of populations under their control and access of relief workers and supplies, and kidnapped nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Overview on human rights situation in 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19127]

"The government's human rights record remained poor, and there were numerous serious problems, including evidence of continuing genocide in Darfur, for which the government and janjaweed continued to bear responsibility. Abuses included: abridgement of citizens' rights to change their government; extrajudicial and other unlawful killings by government forces and other government-aligned groups throughout the country; torture, beatings, rape and other cruel, inhumane treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, including incommunicado detention of suspected government opponents, and prolonged pretrial detention; executive interference with the judiciary and denial of due process; forced military conscription of underage men; obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian assistance; infringement on citizens' right to privacy, freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, and movement; the harassment of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and of local and international human rights and humanitarian organizations; violence and discrimination against women, including the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM); child abuse, including sexual violence and recruitment as child soldiers, particularly in Darfur; trafficking in persons; discrimination and violence against ethnic minorities; denial of workers' rights; and forced labor, including child labor, by security forces and both aligned and non-aligned militias in Southern Sudan and Darfur.

Members of the SPLA committed serious abuses, particularly early in the year during forced disarmament campaigns targeting the White Army, a Nuer ethnic militia, which resulted in numerous killings and the displacement of thousands of civilians. The SPLA also continued to recruit child soldiers.

Antigovernment and insurgent groups also committed numerous, serious abuses. Factions of the SLA, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and other rebel groups in Darfur committed killings, beatings, abductions, rape, robbery, destruction of property, forcible conscription, and recruitment of child soldiers. They restricted freedom of movement of populations under their control and access of relief workers and supplies, and kidnapped and killed nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers. [...]

There were reports of politically motivated killings by the government and its agents in Darfur, especially connected to the conflict in Darfur. There also were reports of numerous extrajudicial killings. The genocide in Darfur determined to have occurred by the Department of State in September 2004 continued during the year (see section 1.g.).

The police and army killed demonstrators (see section 2.b.).

Members of the military also killed other members of the military. On October 31, at a tea shop in central Juba, a former Murle militia member recently integrated into the SPLA shot and killed with impunity a fellow Murle who had recently joined the SPLA. According to witnesses, two additional SPLA soldiers then arrived on the scene and joined the fighting; one of the two went up to the victim and shot him a second time in the head.

At least one person died from tear gas inhalation during an August 30 antigovernment protest in Khartoum.

Police in Gezira State forcibly demolished homes at a squatter camp resulting in the deaths of four persons, including children (see section 1.f.).

Large-scale violence in Darfur decreased in the first half of the year but increased significantly during the latter half of the year. General lawlessness and continued attacks by government forces, government-aligned militias and rebel and paramilitary forces on villages, humanitarian aid workers, and convoys increased the degree of insecurity (see section 1.g.).

SAF and SPLA-aligned militias, as well as non-aligned militias, continued to use violence in the south, which resulted in an unknown number of deaths during the year.

Government forces and aligned militias were responsible for attacks and killings in neighboring Chad (see section 1.g.).

Rebel groups operating throughout the country were responsible for killings, including the deaths of five humanitarian aid workers (see sections 1.g. and 4).

Approximately 51 civilians reportedly died due to landmines in the south between January and September, although some observers believed the number to be much higher since only a small percentage of deaths were actually reported to the UN (see section 1.g.). The government cooperated with the UN Mine Action Group to remove landmines in the south.

Unknown assailants kidnapped and killed a prominent newspaper editor during the year (see section 2.a.).

Interethnic conflict resulted in deaths during the year (see section 5).

AMIS monitoring forces in Darfur were responsible for the deaths of IDPs (see section 1.g.).

"

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Advisory Council for Human Rights is government's major institution for promotion and protection of human rights ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19835]

"The Advisory Council for Human Rights, with representatives of human rights offices in 22 ministries and agencies, is the government's major focal point for the promotion and protection of human rights. The council provided lists of detained individuals to the international community."

Document(s): Open document

01.2007 - Source: Human Rights Watch

No improvement of human rights situation in 2006 ("World Report 2007") [ID 19062]

"Sudan’s human rights record remained abysmal in 2006. A May 2006 peace accord aimed at ending the three-year conflict in Darfur exacerbated divisions among the rebel movements in Darfur when it was signed by the Sudanese government and only one rebel faction in Darfur. Dissent over the mediation process and terms of the peace accord generated further conflict and serious abuses of civilians, including forced displacement, rape, killings, and increasing attacks on humanitarian aid workers. The establishment in 2005 of a national tribunal to respond to the crimes in Darfur had no effect on the continuing impunity of militia leaders and government officials responsible for crimes against humanity. [...]
At the end of 2006, emergency laws remain in place in Darfur, but have been lifted throughout the rest of Sudan. Patterns of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and other abuses by Sudanese military and security forces remain widespread in Darfur and other areas of the country. Freedom of expression continues to be restricted, and there was a sharp rise in arbitrary arrests, harassment, pre-print censorship, and bureaucratic restrictions of Sudanese and international media in late 2006."

Document(s): Open document

09.2006 - Source: Freedom House

Overview on human rights situation in 2005 ("Freedom in the World 2006") [ID 20057]

Document(s): Open document

20.04.2006 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Overview on human rights situation ("10th European Country of Origin Infomation Seminar Budapest, 1 - 2 December 2005: Final Report on Sudan") [#49770],  [ID 18914]

"The human rights situation in Sudan is catastrophic, despite the fact that Sudan is a member of various international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Sudan has not yet ratified the Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), because sharia law, which includes cruel and inhuman punishments such as amputation and cross amputation, is still applied.

Sudan has not yet ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), because the Sudanese government considers the convention totally in contradiction with Islamic and Sudanese traditional values. Even though Sudan has ratified the above mentioned conventions, a broad range of violations of human rights including arbitrary arrests, disappearance cases, executions, and torture occur in Sudan.

In 2000, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) signed an agreement with the Sudanese Government on providing technical assistance programmes in the field of human rights by sending an expert to Sudan whose task was to build up structures for the promotion and protection of human rights in cooperation with governmental and nongovernmental institutions. The Sudanese government was, however, very critical of the UN presence in Sudan and human rights were taboo at that time. While some elements within the government applied for a policy of opening the door for human rights issues, others considered human rights a Western concept and totally in contradiction with the Islamic, Sudanese traditional and social doctrine.

Therefore it was very difficult for OHCHR-Khartoum, which did not have any monitoring or protection mandate, to start with human rights promotion activities. In 2002, however, over 10 human rights training programmes for various target groups, including security, military and police officers, parliamentarians, journalists, prison staff, social workers working in prison, Islamic organisations, and members of national NGOs working in the human rights, peace-building and reconciliation and humanitarian field, were organised.
Regarding the establishment of a national human rights institution, there is no progress. We are far from the implementation of the peace agreement and the harmonisation of national domestic laws with the international human rights instruments. There will be an election within the next two or three years, but the extent to which these elections will be free can be doubted. While the precondition for free elections is a free press, the censorship of the press has increased since the signing of the peace agreement.

Censorship existed within the last 15 years, from 1989 up until now. The number of arbitrary arrests and people tried for political reasons has doubled from January 2004 to January 2005.

HS: Notwithstanding the political developments, the peace agreement, the swearing in of Vice President Dr. Garang, the formation of the Government of National Unity and some improvements in other areas, there are still widespread and systematic violations of human rights - not only in Darfur, but throughout the country.

The Sudanese who are critical of the regime emphasise that many of the new provisions in the new interim constitution that would require big changes in legislation, are not being implemented. So far, the National Congress and the SPLM focused on the formation of a Government of National Unity and a power struggle over key portfolios like the Ministry of Energy. It is unclear, whether and when more liberal provisions of the constitution will be translated into national legislation. Critics would say that the government is deliberately reluctant to disseminate information about the contents of the CPA or of the interim constitution, to prevent citizens from understanding the rights they might gain if and when the new interim constitution would be implemented. The National Security Act of 1999, however, remains in effect, even though the president announced twice (in January 2005 and again in June 2005) that it would be lifted.

In Khartoum, the curfew has been lifted. Road blocks and ID checks, which were still common half a year ago, have ceased. Body and house searches occur less frequently. But in the provinces, these practices are still common. Governors of provinces can impose the emergency state. Of course, in Darfur, it remains in force, and also in other areas of the country."

Document(s): Open document

12.04.2006 - Source: Sudan Organisation Against Torture

Overview on human rights situation (March 2005 - March 2006) ("Annual Report on the Human Rights Situation in Sudan March 2005 - March 2006") [ID 20058]

Document(s): Open document

01.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Annual report on human rights situation in 2005 ("World Report 2006") [#42306],  [ID 12198]

Document(s): Open document