Sudan – 27 May 2016

Detained students face an ‘increased risk of torture’

Security forces in Sudan have reportedly detained and is currently holding dozens of students and activists. Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on the Sudanese government to release or charge these individuals.

In April 2016, government security forces, including national security and riot police, clamped down on student demonstrations against the sale of Khartoum University buildings, as well as the earlier detention of protesters and a range of other issues at campuses across Sudan.

According to HRW, some have been held for more than a month in unknown locations without access to lawyers or contact with their families.

DW.com

Why the EU migration deal with Sudan is so dodgy

Sudan is a lynchpin in the flow of migrants out of Africa. It is also a serial human rights abuser. For a European Union keen to throttle that flow, it’s an unfortunate combination. Sudan is already benefitting from a $45 million regional programme to “better manage migration” in the Horn of Africa, under the European Commission’s $2 billion Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

The EC has also announced a $112 million aid package “to address root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement” in Darfur, east Sudan, South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The problem is that the Sudanese military is involved in much of the instability in those regions.

“Sudan is not only important as a major transit route north to Europe, it is also a producer of migrants,” said Magnus Taylor, Horn of Africa analyst with the International Crisis Group.

Irin News