Excellency,
On June 16, 2009 the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Dr. Sima Samar, will present her report to the Human Rights Council following her most recent visit to Sudan from May 25 to June 5, 2009. We strongly urge the Council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur as the human rights crisis in Sudan continues and may escalate in the run-up to national elections slated for early 2010.
The Special Rapporteur's support to both the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) is urgently needed to address the multiple human rights concerns in Darfur, Southern Sudan and Khartoum. In particular, the Special Rapporteur is needed to assist with full implementation of the recommendations of the Group of Experts on Darfur, the human rights commitments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and to monitor and report on the human rights situation throughout Sudan.
In her press statement following her 2009 visit,[1] the Special Rapporteur stated that the GNU had taken some preliminary steps towards the realization of greater respect for human rights in Sudan. However she warned that these steps had yet to translate into concrete change for the people of Sudan. The Special Rapporteur also highlighted critical human rights concerns throughout Sudan that Human Rights Watch shares.
Attacks on Human Rights Defenders and the Media
Human Rights Watch has found that during the past year National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officers have harassed and arbitrarily arrested and detained human rights defenders in Sudan. For example, in November 2008 NISS officers arrested three high-profile human rights activists, detaining and severely beating two of them. Many human rights defenders have now fled Sudan out of fear of similar treatment.
The GNU has also increased restrictions on the media, censoring every edition of newspapers and harassing and arresting journalists in Khartoum. The GoSS has also been accused of harassing journalists who wrote critical articles. These restrictions are of urgent concern as Sudan moves towards national elections in February 2010. The elections provide a significant opportunity for realizing civil and political rights in Sudan, but only if both the GNU and GoSS urgently accelerate measures to protect freedom of expression and association and ensure full and free participation in the elections by political parties and voters.[2]
Continuing Impunity
Human Rights Watch is also concerned about the persistent lack of accountability for significant human rights violations. For instance, the situation in Abyei remains tense, in part because no individual has been held to account for crimes committed during clashes between the northern Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and southern Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) in May 2008 that killed scores of civilians and caused the entire town to flee. Likewise, there has been no accountability for the February 2009 fighting at Malakal in Southern Sudan between the SAF and the SPLA that resulted in the killing of more than 30 civilians.
Lack of Civilian Protection and Rule of Law
As reported by the Special Rapporteur, Human Rights Watch has also reported on the lack of civilian protection and rule of law mechanisms in Darfur and Southern Sudan[3] in the context of ongoing insecurity. More than one thousand men, women and children have already been killed in inter-ethnic fighting and military clashes in 2009.
Mandate of the Special Rapporteur Essential in the Run-Up to National Elections
The Special Rapporteur has worked productively with both the GNU and the GoSS to support them in implementing their human rights obligations, helping them to identify key challenges to human rights and the means to address those challenges. Her role has been instrumental in creating an enabling environment in which initial steps to strengthen human rights protection in Sudan have occurred and in keeping the Council informed on progress and continuing concerns.
The Special Rapporteur's role will be essential in the coming year in the face of the new and daunting challenges facing Sudan. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the 21-year civil war between the Government of Sudan and the SPLA, will expire in 2011 when Southern Sudan is scheduled to vote on self-determination. The parties have been slow to implement key elements of the agreement, including legislative reform that protect human rights and provide measures required for national elections. Without such measures, neither the elections nor the referendum are likely to be free, fair and legitimate, and could instead spark further violence. The Special Rapporteur's support to both parties is needed to implement these measures through increased technical assistance and could play a key role in mobilizing international support for these reforms.
Currently the Special Rapporteur is the only UN or other independent mechanism monitoring and publicly reporting on the situation of all human rights issues throughout Sudan. The African Union United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has human rights officers, but they cover only Darfur and their ability to fully move in Darfur and to report publicly on the situation are limited. Similarly the United Nations Mission in Sudan‘s (UNMIS) human rights officers, who focus on Khartoum, Southern Sudan and the three transitional areas, do not produce regular public reports.
Over the past months, millions of civilians in Sudan have been affected by grave human rights abuses committed by both government forces and other armed groups. Discontinuing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur at this point would demonstrate the Council's belief that the massive violations of rights in Sudan, ranging from civilians affected in fighting to the harassment of human rights defenders, are not serious enough to justify the attention and support from the main UN organ dealing with human rights. We call on you to renew without delay the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.
Yours sincerely,
Julie de Rivero
Geneva Advocacy Director
[1] "UN Expert on Human Rights Situation in the Sudan concludes visit", June 4 2009 http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/37CF9FA6BBB709C3C12575CB004AC98F?OpenDocument
[2] For more information: "It's an Everyday Battle" Censorship and Harassment of Journalists and Human Rights Defenders in Sudan, Human Rights Watch, February 18, 2009, https://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/02/18/it-s-everyday-battle-0
[3] For more information : "There is No Protection", Insecurity and Human Rights in Southern Sudan, Human Rights Watch, February 12, 2009, https://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2009/02/12/there-no-protection-0
