(October 2009) On 27 September 2009, Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir announced that the government would cease the onerous pre-publication censorship regulations which had been placed on journalists in Sudan. The president’s statement, however, was immediately followed by indications that the move was not intended to create an open environment for …

SUDAN HUMAN RIGHTS MONITOR OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2009 Overview The two months of this reporting period saw considerable movement at the political level. The release of the Mbeki Panel report can be seen as the culmination of months of AU engagement – and the findings represent a new opportunity to build international …

SUDAN HUMAN RIGHTS MONITOR AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2009 Law Reform in Sudan Overview Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the Sudanese interim constitution, law reform is seen as a critical element of the planned    political    transformation. Under the agreement, all national laws were to be reviewed and amended in such a …

SUDAN HUMAN RIGHTS MONITOR JUNE-JULY 2009 Feature The arrest of Lubna Hussein, a journalist and a public information officer at the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has thrust Sudan’s public order legislation into the spotlight Ms. Hussien was arrested on 3 July 2009 along with 12 other girls and charged …

January 2009 marked the fourth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between Khartoum’s National Congress Party (NCP) and the southern rebel Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM). That agreement set out a six year interim period during which it was envisaged that comprehensive democratic reform would be undertaken. With two thirds of the interim period passed, it had been envisaged that the package of legal reforms would have been implemented and that the country would be moving towards free and fair elections no later than July 2009.