January 21,
2002
The Khartoum Office
of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and the Government
of Sudan Advisory Council for Human Rights completed a training seminar
for senior security officers and police officials to strengthen governmental
institutions in the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy,
and the concept of human rights in Islamic and in international law,
in addition to arrest and detention procedures – a joint press
release indicated.
The Sudan Human
Rights Cairo Branch (SHRO-Cairo) highly commends the UNHCHR effort to
increase the government’s concern with international human rights
norms and the urgent need for the Government of Sudan to adopt and to
apply a principled commitment to the freedoms and human rights of our
people, not only the government image or any ad hoc needs of senior
security and police officials.
The seminar was
scheduled at a time the country still suffers a permanent state of emergency
law, absolute powers of head of state and his security forces (including
the police) to violate the fundamental right and freedoms of citizens
for political reason, and a continuous absence of the independent judiciary
from the Sudanese arena.
Under these non-democratic
conditions, the concern for human rights must not be a propaganda function
for the government’s advisory council to beautify the horrific
record and performance of the government against the Sudanese civil
society.
Most recently,
the government closed down all civil society institutions, including
culture centers and human rights associations, without charge. The climate
of violence and the notorious existence of the Public Order Law and
other NIF persecution laws, especially the Penal Code, leaves no place
for a possible commitment by the government to respect the human rights
of the Sudanese in a truthful sense or honest application.
The most recent
extra-judicial killing of many prison inmates at the Kober Prison by
police forces testified to the determination of the government to maintain
narrow-focused security concerns rather than satisfying the legal needs
of our citizens whether in the broad society or in jail.
Although an agreement
has been finalized to help process humanitarian aid to the Nuba Mountains
between the SPLM and the Government of Sudan, it remains to be seen
whether the government’s agenda of wasting the oil wealth of Sudan,
terrorizing the innocent population in the war-affected areas, re-arresting
NDA leadership, and obstructing the ongoing effort by national, regional,
and international powers to solve the escalating crisis of governance
by a peaceful, permanent, and fair political solution: the separation
of state and religion and the application of the right of self-determination
as fundamental issues for the democratization process of the nation.
SHRO-Cairo urges
the UNHCHR to carry out more human rights seminars and other activities
in the country, not only with the governmental advisory council; but,
most important, with the active and full participation of the Sudanese
Civil Society organizations, trades unions, professional associations,
culture centers, and human rights associations in and outside Sudan.
The organization
calls on the government to show a true commitment to Sudan obligation
as a State Party to the international human rights law by:
(1) Abrogating
the Public Order Act
(2) Abrogating the Turabi’s Penal Code and Law of Criminal Procedure
1991
(3) Legislate a new Criminal Law without any physical punishment, arbitrary
arrest or detention
(4) Abrogate the Personal Status Law
(5) Legislate Personal Status Law on the basis of the International
Agreement on the Eradication of All Forms of Discrimination against
the Women
These among many
other important measures will render a truthful stand to the so-called
government’s concern with the promotion of human rights and democratization
process as the government claims.
