Enough warns against dual-use of EU support to Sudan’s RSF militia
April 6, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Enough Project, a human rights advocacy group, has warned against the dual-use of European support to the Sudanese security agencies to stop the flow of migrants by the brutal militia of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a report authored by Suliman Baldo a Senior Adviser Enough Project and prominent human rights defender released Thursday, the group details how the new European Union migration management partnership with the Sudanese government is supporting the SRF militia which is accused of committing atrocities and war crimes in Sudan.
“The EU’s ‘Better Migration Management’ program in current form will subsidise one of Sudan’s most dreaded militias, one with a trail of atrocity crimes spanning the country,” says the 27-page report titled “Border Control from Hell”.
The EU plans to build the capacities of the Sudanese security and law enforcement agencies, including the notorious RSF militia, which has been branded as Sudan’s primary “border force”.
The EU will assist the RSF and other security agencies with the construction of two camps with detention facilities for migrants and will equip these Sudanese forces with cameras, scanners, and electronic servers for registering refugees, the report says.
“There are legitimate concerns with these plans. Much of the EU-funded training and equipment is dual-use. The equipment that enables identification and registration of migrants will also reinforce the surveillance capabilities of a Sudanese government that has violently suppressed Sudanese citizens for the past 28 years,” it stressed.
The EU countries cannot stop irregular migration from Sudan and neighbouring countries by funding a militia group that stokes violent conflict, commits atrocities, and creates massive displacement of populations within Sudan; said the group.
“In doing so, the EU risks its treaty commitments to support good governance and democracy, undermines its intention for positive re-engagement in the region, and tarnishes the EU’s role as a champion of human rights and basic dignity,” he stressed.
(ST)