Civil Society Forum ‘outraged’ by violations in Sudans
Participants of the Civil Society Forum held in in Addis Ababa from 20 to 22 January have called for an immediate end to the human rights violations and the suffering of civilians in Sudan and South Sudan. Their resolutions will be presented before the African Union’s assembly on Thursday and Friday. “Over 100 civil society activists and ambassadors from Sudan, South Sudan, and the rest of the world, attended the third session in Ethiopia”, the Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre said in a press statement last week. The three-day forum consisted of panel discussions and presentations on the various problems in Sudan and South Sudan. At the end, ten resolutions were adopted, to be presented before the African Union’s (AU) assembly of heads of governments on 30 and 31 January. The participants of the Forum made, among other, resolutions on the situations in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile and the “grave violations of human rights” in these areas. Regarding Darfur, they particularly cited “systematic attacks on civilians” and villages, “and abuses against internally displaced people”. As for South Kordofan and Blue Nile, the participants are deeply concerned about the “indiscriminate aerial bombardments in civilian areas, and massive displacement”. The Forum participants are “utterly outraged by reports of widespread rape” against women as a means of warfare in Darfur, and the fact that women in Sudan face discriminatory laws. They condemn the reports of sexual violence “committed by Border Guards and Central Reserve Police (Abu Tira)”. They are furthermore alarmed by the deteriorating situation of fundamental freedoms in both countries, in particular by “the reports of forced disappearances and ill-treatment of detained activists”. The resolutions from the Civil Society Forum participants, also on the situation of refugees and internally displaced people in both Sudans, call upon the upcoming AU assembly to put pressure on Sudan and South Sudan to halt human rights violations.File photo: Conference Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (UN)
Participants of the Civil Society Forum held in in Addis Ababa from 20 to 22 January have called for an immediate end to the human rights violations and the suffering of civilians in Sudan and South Sudan. Their resolutions will be presented before the African Union’s assembly on Thursday and Friday.
“Over 100 civil society activists and ambassadors from Sudan, South Sudan, and the rest of the world, attended the third session in Ethiopia”, the Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre said in a press statement last week. The three-day forum consisted of panel discussions and presentations on the various problems in Sudan and South Sudan.
At the end, ten resolutions were adopted, to be presented before the African Union’s (AU) assembly of heads of governments on 30 and 31 January.
The participants of the Forum made, among other, resolutions on the situations in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile and the “grave violations of human rights” in these areas. Regarding Darfur, they particularly cited “systematic attacks on civilians” and villages, “and abuses against internally displaced people”. As for South Kordofan and Blue Nile, the participants are deeply concerned about the “indiscriminate aerial bombardments in civilian areas, and massive displacement”.
The Forum participants are “utterly outraged by reports of widespread rape” against women as a means of warfare in Darfur, and the fact that women in Sudan face discriminatory laws. They condemn the reports of sexual violence “committed by Border Guards and Central Reserve Police (Abu Tira)”.
They are furthermore alarmed by the deteriorating situation of fundamental freedoms in both countries, in particular by “the reports of forced disappearances and ill-treatment of detained activists”.
The resolutions from the Civil Society Forum participants, also on the situation of refugees and internally displaced people in both Sudans, call upon the upcoming AU assembly to put pressure on Sudan and South Sudan to halt human rights violations.
File photo: Conference Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (UN)
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