The following information was provided during a 22 March 1996 telephone interview with a representative of the London-based Sudan Human Rights Organization (SHRO). According to Human Rights Watch World Report 1996, the SHRO has a record of independent monitoring of human rights (1995, 53-54)

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was founded in October 1989 and is currently the largest Sudanese coallition of opposition groups. The NDA is made of the Umma Party (UP), the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Communist Party, various trade unions and an organization called the Legitimate Command of the Army. The secretary-general of the NDA is Mr. Mubarak al-Mahdi, one of the leaders of the Umma Party. The NDA operates from abroad, with headquarters located in Cairo and in Asmara, Eritrea, and is represented in countries with sizable Sudanese communities. The NDA is also present in Kuwait, but the SHRO has no information on its activities in that country. Opposition parties are illegal in Sudan and active members of political organizations affiliated to the NDA, as well as persons with no political affiliations who are perceived as a threat to the current government, could be at risk.

For further information on the treatment of political opponents in Sudan and on the SHRO, please consult the attached documents.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1995. Human Rights Watch World Report 1996. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Sudan Human Rights Organization (SHRO), London. 22 March 1996. Telephone interview with representative.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995. 1996. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. (Electronic version received from the Resource Information Center, US Immigration and Naturalization Service)

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1995. Human Rights Watch World Report 1996. New York: Human Rights Watch, pp. 53-54.
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