Sudan: Information regarding the treatment of the Nuba tribe by the government and society

The Nuba tribe, which formed 5.5% of the population in the 1955-56 census, are sedentary people living mainly in scattered communities in the southern Kordofan Province. [

FootnoteS:

George Thomas Kurian, Encyclopedia of the Third world, Third Edition, vol.III, (New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1987), p.1835.]

Up to 56% of the Kordofan Province is made up of Arabs, a term used loosely to include Arabized inhabitants who may only speak Arabic. [ibid.] It is important not to confuse the Nuba with the Nubians, who inhabit the area of the Red Sea Hills in Kassala Province. [ibid.]

The ethnic origin of the people of the Sudan is mixed; the Arab Islamic culture and language being predominant in the populous north, while the mainly Christian Nilotic people inhabit the arid south. [Africa South of the Sahara 1989, (London: Europa Publications Ltd., 1989), p.972.] The cultural and ethnic differences and the remoteness of the south, expressed in economic backwardness and the tendency towards political distinctiveness, have reportedly been the main causes for frequent disturbances in Southern Sudan. [ibid. p.973.] The war between 1955 and 1972 attests to the state of affairs in the south which finally led to the formation of Anya-Nya. This group was reportedly established to resist oppression from the Sudanese state security forces and to counter Islamic pressure intended to turn the Christians into second class citizens. [John Laffin, The World in Conflict 1989 War Annual 3, (Toronto: Brassey's Defence Publishers, 1989), p.215.]

According to Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush, a Scholar of Sudanese Affairs currently residing in Calgary, the non-Arab Nuba people of the Nuba Hills are ethnically different from the people to the north and south of them and mainly Christians. [ As stated by Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush during a telephone conversation with the IRBDC on 2 April 1990.] Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush, corroborates the above information and further asserts that there has been a long history of raids and fights between the Nuba and their Muslim neighbours to the north. According to Mr. Shoush the Nuba Mountains in a way form a border between the Christian south and the Muslim north, and the Nuba people are subjected to much of the conflict between the major warring parties.

According to Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush, the central government of Sudan is not strong enough to control the entire country. He states that although the government has not claimed responsibility for the Arab militias who have reportedly killed many non Arab Christians, it has nonetheless been accused of supporting the militias.

As was stated above, the reported near-collapse of the economy has contributed to the northern movement of Nuba people in search of work and shelter from the fighting. [ Southern Sudan, Report No. 78., (London: Minority Rights Group, 1988), p.4. and Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush.] Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush further states that members of the Nuba tribe work almost exclusively in menial jobs, in the northern urban areas, especially in Khartoum. Although not frequent, at times when the government feels that there is a breakdown in security and an increase in crime, unemployed members of the Nuba and\or Fur tribes transport them back to their provinces. Africa Watch suggests that massacres have taken place in the Nuba Mountains, although the article does not specifically address the situation of members of the Nuba tribe. [ "Sudan: The Massacre at el Jebelein", News from Africa Watch, (Washington: News From Africa Watch, 23 January 1990),

pp. 1-5.] Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush reports that because they are reportedly blamed for the crime rate, the Christian Nuba are subjected to the full rigors of the Sharia or Islamic Law.

Mohamed Ibrahim Shoush states that in the early years of southern Sudan liberation struggles, some members of the Juba tribe had aligned themselves with the liberation movement. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and its armed wing, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) emerged as part of the Anya-Nya II southern secessionist movement in November 1983. By 1984, the SPLM was established as the principal opponent to the government in the south. Among the demands of the SPLM-SPLA is the reversal of the September 1983 decision to impose Islamic (Sharia) law throughout Sudan. [Henry W. Degenhardt, ed., Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, (London: Longman, 1988), pp.352-353.] In October 1985 Col. John Garang, leader of the SPLM declared the basic ideology of his movement as "Sudanism and nationalism" committed to national unity based on cultural diversity and consensus. [Ibid. p.353.] According to the Minority Rights Group Report of 1988, the sixth year of the current Sudanese civil war had spread into the northern provinces, including Southern Kordofan. [ The Southern Sudan, Report No.78., (London: Minority Rights Group, 1988), p.4.]

The following information on the religious situation in Sudan, particularly regarding the Christian\Sharia relationship, may prove helpful. A 15 October 1989 memorandum sent by leaders of Christian Churches to the Chairman of the National Dialogue Conference on Peace Issues, discusses current restrictions on Christian Churches and their followers in Sudan. [BBC Summary of World Broadcasts from SPLA Radio, 1 December 1989.] Since the introduction of Sharia Islamic Laws in 1983, governments in power have reportedly used state organs to facilitate activities of Islamic organizations and consequently, while the latter are permitted to utilize the state media apparatus, Christian Churches are denied access. [ibid.]

Christian Churches report that the introduction of Sharia has resulted in the imposition of Islamic customs and traditions on Moslems and non-Moslems alike. [ibid.] To that end, immigration authorities have reportedly prohibited Christian women from travelling abroad without the written permission of a "Muharram", a male guardian. [ Ibid.]

Meanwhile, the Missionary Societies Act of 1962 has been utilized by the regime to limit activities associated with Christian Churches in Sudan. [ibid. BBC 1 December 1989.] Under this act, churches are closed down and obliged to acquire a reportedly "unattainable" licence from a government agency to establish worship facilities. The attached excerpt from Encyclopedia of the Third World (1987) also reports on church closures. The memorandum further alleges that an organized campaign against Christians was underway in Western Sudan, where priests were imprisoned, churches closed and many Christians detained.

In the legal field, Christian churches are reportedly permitted to administer their own personal laws and customs pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance and the like, while in all other areas of civil and criminal law Christians are subjected to Sharia Islamic Laws. [ibid., Keesing's Record of World Events 1989, (London: Longman vol.35 No.1), p.36417.]

For further information regarding Christians, please refer to the attached excerpts from the following documents:

"Sudan: The Massacre at el Jebelein", News From Africa Watch, New York: Africa Watch, 23 January 1990.

U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1989, Washington: U.S. Government Printers, 1990, pp.355-372.