Thematic Reports

(May 2011) Since the successful youth protests in Tunisia and Egypt and demonstrations throughout Sudan organised by the Youth for Change in late January till present, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and police have increasingly targeted students, likely over fears of their potential organising power. Demonstrations organised by …

(April 2011) Throughout Sudan’s interim period, a marginal amount of space for freedom of expression and association was allowed by the National Congress Party (NCP) in conformance with the democratic transformation platform set forth by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).  Significant measures were taken in the drafting of the …

Concurrent to the Southern Sudan referendum for self-determination and negotiations between the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) on implementation of outstanding Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) elements, intense fighting occurred in Darfur amidst a deteriorating environment for humanitarian aid. Throughout December alone, over 32,000 were displaced from the Khor Abeche region, which extends from South of El Fashir in North Darfur to outside Nyala in South Darfur. The devastation has largely been rendered invisible: despite the magnitude of devastation and suffering in Darfur, international attention has largely shifted to North/South issues, with the crisis in Darfur “de-coupled” by the international community to encourage the referendum process. Indeed, the referendum has, in many ways, exacerbated the situation in Darfur as it offered a cover for Khartoum to withdraw from Doha while simultaneously urgently pressing for a solution and refusing the mediations’ proposal, resume fighting with their Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) partner the Sudan Liberation Army/Mini Minawi (SLA/MM), and continue implementation of the “peace from within” strategy.

In October 2010, a group of nine individuals, alleged to be affiliated with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels in Darfur were sentenced to death by a judge in Nyala, South Darfur. They were found guilty of at least four charges (armed robbery, criminal damage, fomenting war against the state and offences against the state) in relation to a carjacking which had occurred in Khour Baskawit the previous May. The group included four minors: Ibrahim Shrief Yousef (17 years old, Birged Tribe), Altyeb Mohamed Yagoup, (16 years old, Zagawa Tribe), Abdalla Abdalla Doud, (16 years old, Gimr Tribe), and Abdarazig Daoud Abdelseed (15 years, Birged Tribe). The four minors sentenced to death had given their actual ages to the registry, but the court tried them as adults pursuant to medical examinations while they were in custody that determined they were over 18. There are no standardised procedures for determining age, and assessment is based on physical appearance. A fifth minor, Idriss Adam Abaker, was confirmed as a child on a second examination and his sentence commuted, but the court did not allow Ibrahim Shrief Yousef and Abdarazig Daoud Abdelseed to undergo the same examination. The group was tried by a Special Court established in 2 1997 to prosecute cases of hijacking and robbery; notably, the Court has significantly less judicial monitoring and oversight than other courts in Nyala.

The clock is ticking fast towards what might be the most important date in modern sudanese history – two referenda in sudan that are likely to result in the breakup of africa’s largest state. With six months remaining until 9 January 2011, the scheduled date of the referenda, the run-up to, and outcome of, the vote must be managed with extreme care. the Guarantors to the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), who invested considerable effort in obtaining the CPA on 9 January 2005, have both a responsibility and an ability to help sudan implement the CPA and prevent further conflict. It is imperative that the Guarantors urgently redouble their efforts to ensure adequate preparations for the referenda, and help secure agreements on sensitive issues such as border demarcation and oil sharing.

From 11 – 15 April, Sudan held its first multiparty elections in 24 years. Elections were an essential benchmark of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which brought the 22-year civil war to a close, and was signed by the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM). The CPA provides a framework for legal and constitutional changes to take place over a six year interim period, ending with the 2011 referenda for self determination in the South of Sudan and Abyei, and popular consultations in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile. Elections had been included in the CPA as a mechanism for both addressing the key cause of the conflict – namely the exclusion of Sudanese citizens from political participation – and also to lend popular support to the 2011 referenda and to ensure that the process of separation would be overseen by a democratically elected government. Elections provided a critical opportunity to address both the challenges of the CPA and to advance political openness in Sudan. In some respects, the elections represented a significant step forward. A generation of Sudanese who had never before exercised their right to vote had the opportunity to do so. Political campaigning offered a unique opportunity to engage in political issues critical to the nation.

On 1 November 2009, registration for national elections slated to be held in April 2010 began throughout Sudan. Originally intended to end on 30 November, the process was extended one week until 7 December as many election stakeholders requested the National Elections Commission (NEC) to extend the registration period. The registration – a critical first step in the electoral process – occurred against the backdrop of a contentious political environment marked by political obstruction of peaceful political activities and human rights abuses, and an overall tightening of restrictions on civil and political freedoms. According to the NEC, at least 75.8% of eligible Sudanese were registered, which was quite close to the national target of 80%. This aggregate figure represents a 71% rate of registration of the eligible electorate in the North, and 98% in the South, respectively.1 The accuracy of these statistics, however, is thrown into doubt by dispute over the results of the 2008 census, which forms the basis of the estimation of potential voters. In South Sudan, there was particular pressure to register as a means of compensating for, or disputing, census figures which were felt to grossly underestimate the population of the South. Some of the states in the South have exceeded in registering over 100 % of eligible voters, according to the census.

(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 …