Sudanese human rights defenders prevented from travel to Geneva UPR meeting

(28 March 2016) Sudan’s security agency has prevented three members of a civil society coalition from travelling to Geneva, Switzerland, to take part in meetings in preparation for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Sudan in May. The three were stopped by plain-clothed security agents after checking in, told they were banned from travel, and their passports were confiscated.

The three are representatives of a coalition of Sudanese civil society organisations named “Our Rights Group” that submitted a report to the UN in contribution to Sudan’s UPR. Under the UPR mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council, the human rights situation of all UN member states is reviewed every four and a half years. Civil society organisations are invited to submit information in contribution to each review. The group of three had planned to travel to Geneva to take part in a preparatory meeting with diplomats from UN Member States, to provide briefings in advance of the formal review on 4 May 2016.

In the early hours of 28 March, just after 1am, Sawsan Hassan Elshowaya, Director of Asmaa Society for Development, was stopped at Khartoum International Airport together with Dr. Muawia Shaddad, President of the Human Rights and Legal Aid Network (HRLAN). They are both Committee members of the Confederation of Sudanese Civil Society Organizations (CSCSO). When they presented their passports at the immigration desk, after checking in their luggage for travel to Geneva, they were stopped by a plain-clothed officer from the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS). They were informed that they were subject to a travel ban and their passports were confiscated. The two were not given any reasons for the travel ban and were instructed to report to the Information and Inquiry section at the NISS headquarters in Khartoum later the same day.

Mr. Siddig Yousif, President of the Sudanese Solidarity Committee, a committee set up to represent the victims and families of victims killed and injured by security forces during protests in 2013, was prevented from travelling from Khartoum International Airport by the NISS at around 8pm on 23 March. He was first travelling to Egypt, on his way to Geneva. His passport was confiscated and he has since visited the Information and Inquiry section at the NISS headquarters, but was not given any reasons for the travel ban or informed when his passport will be returned. Mr. Yousif has previously been prevented by the NISS from travelling outside the country on three occasions. Two days later, in the early hours of 25 March, the NISS also prevented prominent journalist Faisal Mohamed Salih from travelling to London. Journalists for Human Rights – Sudan (JHR) reported that his passport was confiscated at the airport without any reasons being given. Faisal Mohamed Salih is well known for reporting on human rights issues but was not in fact planning on travel to Geneva for the UPR meeting.

The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) calls on the Government of Sudan to uphold its commitments to international and regional human rights standards and enable the free participation of Sudanese civil society in the UPR process.

The Government of Sudan should instruct the NISS to cease the harassment and intimidation of civil society actors, including human rights defenders and journalists, and guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. The passports of the three human rights defenders should be returned immediately and all civil society representatives planning to travel to Geneva to contribute to the UPR for Sudan should be allowed to do so freely.

Background

Over recent years Sudanese authorities, including the NISS and government regulatory bodies, such as the Ministry of Culture and the Humanitarian Affairs Commission (HAC), have imposed severe restrictions on the operation and mandates of civil society organizations and a number have been forcibly closed. Authorities have refused permission for or cancelled their activities, arrested and intimidated staff, through repeated summonses, and obstructed groups from legally registering.

Human rights groups are especially targeted and the authorities have sought to obstruct the participation of civil society groups in Sudan’s UPR before. On 21 December 2014, the NISS raided the offices of the Sudanese Human Rights Monitor (SHRM) in Khartoum whilst a workshop on the UPR was taking place, confiscated documents, and briefly detained a journalist present at the workshop.

The UPR is a mechanism whereby the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council reviews the human rights situation in every UN member state every four and a half years. During the UPR for Sudan, scheduled to take place in Geneva on 4 May 2016, representatives from the Government of Sudan will hear questions and recommendations from representatives from other UN Member States about how to improve the human rights situation in Sudan. They will also be asked about progress towards implementing recommendations made during the previous UPR for Sudan in 2011.

The review will be based on information provided by the Government of Sudan, UN bodies such as UN human rights treaty bodies and experts of the UN Human Rights Council, as well as information submitted by representatives of civil society. During the review on 4 May, only UN Member States can speak and make recommendations.

The Geneva-based organisation ‘UPR-info’ organises preparatory meetings for diplomats working at the permanent missions of UN Member states in Geneva, as well as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and civil society representatives, one month in advance of each review. The three delegates were travelling to attend a preparatory meeting on Sudan.

ACJPS made a joint submission for the UPR of Sudan together with the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI) in September 2015. The submission details human rights developments in Sudan documented by our organisations since the last UPR of Sudan in 2011. You can view it online here.

Contact:

Mossaad Mohamed Ali, Executive Director, African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), info@acjps.org, +46 674419336 (English and Arabic)

Katherine Perks, Programme Director, African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, info@acjps.org / +44 7793401509.