Sudan – 1 April 2016

Silencing women rights defenders

Sudanese security forces have used sexual violence, intimidation, and other forms of abuse to silence female human rights defenders across the country, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The government should investigate all alleged abuses, hold those responsible to account, and undertake legislative reforms to protect women’s rights.

The 61-page report, “‘Good Girls Don’t Protest’: Repression and Abuse of Women Human Rights Defenders, Activists, and Protesters in Sudan,” documents efforts by Sudanese authorities to silence women who are involved in protests, rights campaigns, and other public action, and who provide social services and legal aid, as well as journalists. Women engaged in these efforts are targeted with a range of abuses, from rape and rape threats, to deliberate efforts to tar their reputations. Their male counterparts may be less likely to experience some of these abuses.

Sudan Tribune

Mbeki arrives in Sudan for peace talks

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, the head of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday for further talks with the Sudanese government and opposition parties on the peace process.

Following the signing of the Roadmap Agreement with the Sudanese government on 21 March, Mbeki said opposition groups had refused to sign it only because of the venue of the dialogue meeting, reported the Sudan Tribune.

The framework deal proposes the signing of a cessation of hostilities followed by separate talks on the Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile State) and Darfur.

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