NAIROBI, April 4, 2003 (IRIN) -- Sudan's human rights status should not be "upgraded" by the United Nations Human Rights Commission, said the Cairo-based Sudan Human Rights Organisation (SHRO).

SHRO said it was "deeply stressed" that the commission might "upgrade" Sudan's status from an item 9, which mandates a special rapporteur to the country, to an item 19, which provides UN technical assistance, such as human rights training. The commission is due to take a vote on the matter on 16 April.

For the last 10 years, Sudan has been categorised as an item 9, which mandates a rapporteur - currently Gerhart Baum - to monitor and investigate human rights abuses.

A change of status would "free the regime from useful scrutiny at a time the rapporteur confirms that there has not been any improvement in the human rights situation in Sudan", the SHRO said.

Jemera Rone of Human Rights Watch told IRIN on Friday that human rights groups were actively lobbying the commission members to uphold Sudan's current status. "We've been working hard to get the commission to agree to extend the mandate of the rapporteur," she said. "I think it's very close right now. We need to watch very closely and keep the pressure up."

On 28 March, Special Rapporteur Baum told a briefing at the UN Human Rights Commission that he had seen "no fundamental change" since his last visit to the country, in spite of further commitments by the government. "The country remains under the iron-tight grip of the omnipresent security apparatus, which continues to enjoy virtual impunity," he added.