UN envoy says disturbed by human rights situation in Sudan
March 17, 2008 (GENEVA) — The UN Human rights envoy to Sudan expressed concern over the situation of the human rights in the war-torn Darfur region, northern part of the country as well as in southern Sudan.
Presenting her report to the Council, Sima Samar, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, said she was disturbed by the critical human rights situation in the region and particularly the ongoing major military offensive in West Darfur.
Samar stressed that the government and the rebel groups had failed in their responsibility to provide protection to the civilians in areas under their control and were violating international human rights and international humanitarian law. Reports were received on killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention and impunity for such crimes.
It was noted that on 8 and 9 February, Sudanese ground forces and militiamen supported by Government planes and helicopters raided the towns of Sirba, Silea and Abu Suruj in the northern corridor of West Darfur. The attacks were marked by indiscriminate killings, destruction of property and looting and plundering.
More than 100 people were reported killed while many others were displaced to nearby villages and towns. An estimated 12,000 of the displaced crossed over the border to neighboring Chad.
Samar also noted that she had visited Abu Suruj, a village west of Geneina, where, following an attack on the village on 8 February 2008, the majority of the population fled to Chad and Jebel Moon. During the armed attack serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law were committed, notable attacks on civilians, forced displacement and extensive destruction of civilian property.
The federal government had provided some information on steps taken in the area of combating violence against women in Darfur, the special envoy noted.
Sima, a former Afghan deputy prime minister, has served as the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan since 2005. She has reported war crimes by Sudanese forces and their allied militia in the troubled Darfur region.
SOUTHERN SUDAN
Other concerns are the repression of fundamental rights and freedoms, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrest and detention and torture and ill-treatment of human rights defenders and political opponents, Samar said
Further she added that measures taken by the Government of Southern Sudan to strengthen the administration of justice remain inadequate in light of the thousands of cases of people under pre-trial detention and considerable numbers of detainees held in detention and prison facilities for extensive periods without their cases being reviewed and without receiving any kind of legal assistance.
The UN rights envoy to Sudan, inter alia, calls on the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan to investigate all reports of human rights violations with transparency, to bring perpetrators to justice, to provide reparations to victims and to promote the rule of law.
NORTHERN EASTERN SUDAN
During the visit, the Special Rapporteur met with a wide variety of interlocutors, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister of Justice, and the inter-ministerial committee appointed as focal point for her visit, among others.
Although her trip to the Northern State was cancelled by the State security committee, she had also met with representatives from the affected communities in the Nile valley area where two hydropower dams were being constructed in Khartoum and urged the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and adequate housing of persons living in the area.
The UN envoy was particularly concerned about the lack of accountability for the killings of protesters in Amri and Kajbar in 2006 and 2007 and urged the Government to make the findings of its investigation committee public and to prosecute those who were responsible without further delay.
Samar also urged the Government to investigate and address allegations of torture and ill-treatment in detention by the National Security and the police.
She also enquired about the 29 January 2005 killing in Port Sudan and called on the Government to make the findings of the investigative committee public and to bring those responsible to justice.
WOMEN AND DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION
The Government had provided some information on steps taken in the area of combating violence against women in Darfur, the Special Rapporteur noted.
The Committee on Combating Gender-Based Violence was seeking to raise awareness in the community and as a result some police officers and armed forces had been convicted and punished for committing sexual violence in all three Darfur States.
Samar said that the establishment of a unit for women and children in the police station in Khartoum was an important step by the Government and the special envoy called on the government to continue establishing such units all over Sudan and especially in three Darfur States.
She underlined that the slow deployment of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) troops in Darfur had disappointed the community, the IDPs and especially the women in the IDP camps.
The international community was called upon to fulfill its pledges to UNAMID so that it could have the necessary resources available to provide protection to the people in Darfur.
Samar urged the government of national unity to accelerate law reform related to the democratic transition and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement especially regarding the reform of important laws, including the National Security Act and the National Human Rights Commission bill.
(ST)