Sudan – 15 April 2016

Sudan summons U.S. diplomat over Darfur referendum

Sudanese foreign ministry on Tuesday summoned the U.S. acting Chargé d’affaires in Khartoum after the State Department said publicly Saturday it doesn’t consider credible the administrative referendum in Darfur. The vote over Darfur permanent administrative status started on 11 April and will terminate on Wednesday 13 April. The government reported that over 900,000 voters casted their ballots during the first day.

In a statement released on Tuesday the foreign ministry said the American diplomat, Benjamin Moeling, was received by the Undersecretary Abdel Gani al-Naeim who pointed to “the contradiction in the statements that the State Department issued Saturday with the ongoing peace process and with Washington’s position that welcomed the signing by the Sudanese government of the Roadmap Agreement”.

Sudan Tribune

Sudan rhetoric can’t hide atrocious human rights record ahead of UPR

The United Nations Human Rights Council will review the human rights situation in Sudan on May 5, 2016 during the 25th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the human rights review which each UN member state is required to undergo every four years. Sudan has been condemned for widespread and systematic human rights violations by many human rights organizations, as well as the International Criminal Court.

In its national report — one of three documents that forms the basis for the review — Sudan made efforts to attenuate the significance of its dismal human rights record. Listed below are a few of the most glaringly obvious deceptions.

Sudan’s claim: “The State takes steps to protect and safeguard women, and grants them rights equal to those of men in many areas of life, without discrimination, particularly as regards civil, political and cultural freedoms and rights, the right to education, health care, property and freedom of expression, and the right to form public interest groups. These rights are put into effect on the ground by various State institutions.” (Para. 45, National Report)

UN Watch