Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Sudan

There was little overall improvement in the human rights situation in Sudan during 2017. While the government demonstrated an increased willingness to engage with the international community on human rights issues, the state continued to restrict freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, and to carry out the arbitrary detention of political and human rights activists. Although the impact of conflict on civilians continued to diminish, government and government-affiliated forces continued to violate and abuse human rights with impunity in conflict-affected areas. Sudan's 2.7 million internally displaced persons remained particularly vulnerable to violations of their rights. 18%[49] of girls are not in primary school and around 42% of girls over 15 are illiterate.

The international community continued to focus on the humanitarian situation, with 4.8 million people in need of assistance. The implementation of government directives improved humanitarian access, and we continued to encourage the government to ensure full access for humanitarian actors, as well as for the UN/African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Following a marked decrease in the seizure of newspapers by the security services in the first half of the year (confiscation of three print-runs), more than 30 print-runs were confiscated in the second half of 2017, the majority in December. Sudan continues to be ranked 174th out of 180 countries cited in the World Press Freedom Index. We worked with the international community to identify the implications of the draft media law on the plurality of media ownership and on Sudan's vibrant media scene, as well as on freedom of expression on the internet.

Arbitrary arrests and the summoning of political activists and journalists continued throughout the year, with multiple reports of torture and ill-treatment by the Sudanese authorities of these detainees. We continued to urge Sudan to implement its Universal Periodic Review and National Dialogue recommendations regarding reform of the National Security Act, to ensure that the national intelligence and security services conform to international human rights standards. We urged full accountability for all human rights violations.

While there is freedom to worship, broader restrictions on religious freedom in Sudan continued. Arbitrary rules on acceptable clothing and restrictions in Khartoum State on opening days for Christian schools remained a concern. The Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to Sudan in July was a focal point in efforts to encourage the government to ensure that citizens enjoyed the right to freedom of religion or belief.

We continued to work with the Government of Sudan to tackle forced labour and people trafficking. Throughout the year, there were a number of reports of sexual and gender-based violence by state and non-state actors on the borders and in conflict areas, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported the forced deportation of 66 Eritrean trafficking victims. We will continue to provide support to victims of trafficking, including through supporting safe houses and judicial procedures relating to trafficking cases.

The UK government engaged extensively on human rights with the Government of Sudan and with human rights activists throughout 2017. We continued to press for progress on a range of issues, including the peace process, freedom of association and expression, freedom of religion or belief, and gender equality. We expressed concern about the proposed new laws on freedom of the media and NGOs. Our staff attended several trials of human rights defenders, and we raised individual cases, in public and in private. We worked constructively with the Government of Sudan to make progress in a number of these cases.

Our project work promoted human rights in a number of respects, including on rule of law in conflict areas, promoting women's and marginalised groups' voices in the peace and other processes and parliamentary strengthening and capacity building for political parties. We worked with international partners to secure a mandate renewal for the Independent Expert on Sudan, Aristide Nononsi, at the UN Human Rights Council in September, and urged the Government of Sudan to address the recommendations in his report, as well as encouraging Sudan's future engagement with the UN system and international community on human rights issues. We are working with partners to strengthen the legal framework at national and state level for the prevention of female genital mutilation and cutting, although progress at the national level has been delayed.

In 2018, we will continue to push for systemic change to improve the human rights situation in Sudan. This will focus on freedom of expression and association and greater political inclusion, particularly the freedom for political parties to organise ahead of the elections scheduled for 2020. We will maintain pressure on the Government of Sudan to recognise the constitutional rights granted to all Sudanese citizens, to reform its intelligence and security service, to maintain progress on conflict resolution, and to improve humanitarian access. We will support Sudan in its accession to international human rights treaties, particularly the Convention against Torture.

[49] https://www.education-inequalities.org/countries/sudan#?dimension=sex&group=|Female&year=latest