Human Rights Day amplifies calls for justice in Sudan
Artwork by Galal Yousef depicting the mass displacement of Sudanese people (Image: social media / @galalgoly)
As the world marks Human Rights Day today, Sudan faces a humanitarian crisis of devastating proportions. Since the civil war erupted in mid-April of last year, widespread human rights violations by all parties have compounded the suffering of millions of Sudanese.
In an editorial today, Kamal El Sadig, editor-in-chief of Dabanga – Radio TV Online, lamented that, against the backdrop of Human Rights Day, “we are, tragically, still reporting daily on widespread human rights violations by all warring parties across Sudan, in the midst of what has become the most dire humanitarian catastrophe in the world, and maybe in modern history.”
Observed annually on December 10, Human Rights Day commemorates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on this day in 1948, as a framework for protecting universal freedoms and fundamental rights.
“Access to news is a basic human right, and a matter of survival in Sudan.”
Kamal El Sadig, Dabanga
Since the outbreak of the current civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15, 2023, “all parties to the conflict have weaponised information, spread disinformation, muddied the waters with conflicting propaganda, and curtailed public access to news via internet and telecommunications blackouts”, El Sadig says.
“As the world marks Human Rights Day, Dabanga joins our colleagues in the Sudanese and world media in the hope for an end to the current hostilities in Sudan, and the incalculable human suffering that are left in their wake. “Access to news is a basic human right, and a matter of survival in Sudan.”
#OurRightsOurFuture
This year’s Human Rights Day theme, ‘Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now’, underscores the urgent need to address human rights abuses worldwide. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called the theme a “call to acknowledge the importance and relevance of human rights in our everyday lives”.
“This Human Rights Day we focus on how human rights are a pathway to solutions, playing a critical role as a preventative, protective and transformative force for good”, OHCHR said in a statement.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged “everyone, everywhere to stand up for their human rights and those of future generations”, in a video posted today.
António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, noted in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that “this #HumanRightsDay, we face a harsh truth: human rights are under assault. Whether economic, social, civic, cultural, or political, when one right is undermined, all rights are undermined. We must stand up for all rights – always.”
UNICEF Sudan focused on children’s rights, stating, “Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, peaceful world, free from violence. This #HumanRightsDay, let’s unite to uphold children’s rights and ensure they have the freedom to live, learn, and thrive in safety.” The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reminded the world that “the right to food is a basic human right.”
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) stressed the foundational role of human rights: “Human rights are not a luxury; they are the foundation for peace, justice, and equality.”
UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, marked Human Rights Day by voicing her solidarity with Sudanese women and girls, emphasising that “their rights to safety, dignity, and equality must be upheld”, in a post on X today.
It is worth noting that this year’s Human Rights Day marks the conclusion of the UN-led campaign 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. The campaign, which ran from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10, focused on raising awareness and combating violence against women and girls.
Human rights violations
A group of UN Special Rapporteurs lamented that the ongoing conflict has displaced over 11 million people, over half of them children, in a situation marked by severe violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws, in a statement on November 5.
The SAF has been guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity since the war began on April 15, 2023, as well as the RSF. Both the RSF and the SAF deny accusations of war crimes and point accusing fingers at their rivals.
Consistent testimony from victims on the ground paints an entirely different picture.
As reported by Radio Dabanga in September, UN human rights experts expressed “their grave concern for the many documented cases of sexual abuse, rape (including gang rape), enforced prostitution, sexual slavery, kidnapping, enforced disappearances, and unlawful killings by the RSF and other armed groups”.
A recent report by the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies amply corroborates “a pattern of harmful actions targeting Sudanese people based on gender, with women’s organisations documenting over 120 verified cases of rape as of October 2023, and fears that the actual number may be higher.”
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