One year after the independence of South Sudan, the human rights and humanitarian situation in Sudan has deteriorated. Recent months have seen a widespread crackdown against dissenting voices, opposition groups and protesters. This has included mass arbitrary detentions and torture, pre and post print censorship of media outlets, and harassment of human rights defenders and journalists.
As nongovernmental organizations working to promote human rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council, we are deeply concerned by the recent decision of the African Group in New York to endorse the candidacies of Sudan and Ethiopia in the upcoming UN General Assembly elections for membership in the Human Rights Council within a closed slate that does not allow for a competitive vote.
We, the undersigned African and International Human Rights NGOs, urge members of the AU-Peace and Security Council to order and ensure prompt deployment of an AU fact-finding mission in Southern Kordofan.
In advance of the UN Security Council's trip to Africa, Human Rights Watch wrote to members of the council to highlight key human rights concerns to address while in Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Yesterday, state elections began in the critical Sudanese border state of Southern Kordofan, the final elections to be conducted under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Free, fair and peaceful elections and close attention to post-election processes will be essential for stability both in Southern Kordofan and across Sudan.
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Open Society Foundations, and World Vision write to President Obama regarding US implementation of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008, and specifically, the failure of your administration to fulfill its pledge to secure concrete progress by the governments of Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), (South) Sudan, and Yemen in ending their use of children as soldiers.
