♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact digest of this week's most-read highlights, from the heart of Sudan. Subscribe to receive this digest weekly in your inbox.

UNITAMS head warns that conflict and gender-based violence threaten Sudan’s stability

May 28 – 2021 KHARTOUM Despite Sudan's progress towards peaceful transition, the ongoing intercommunal conflict, “unanswered” violence against women, and delays in establishing key representative bodies, including the Legislative Council, threaten Sudan’s stability and its civilian population, Volker Perthes, Head of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), told the UN Security Council during a videoconference.

Perthes further stressed that UNITAMS will continue to support women’s rights groups and Sudanese authorities to “create an enabling environment” for women and girls “to live free of fear and to exercise their full rights”.

He “agreed with women’s rights activists that such crimes should be as unacceptable now as they were during the revolution”.

ICC: Amal Clooney pleads on behalf of Darfur janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb's victims

May 27 – 2021 THE HAGUE Legal Representative of Victims Amal Clooney pleaded on behalf of the surviving victims of ‘Ali Kushayb’ during the closing arguments at the hearing to confirm 31 charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes against the former Darfur janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abdelrahman (also known as Ali Kushayb), before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands.

She stated that the office of the prosecutor provided “compelling grounds to commit this case to trial” and that the evidence was “certainly sufficient for purposes for confirmation” of the charges.

“We heard his words: ‘prepare their graves, just shoot, just kill’ repeat for these people, ‘maybe there are some we have missed’, ‘don’t leave me one person alive’, ‘wipe out and sweep’. Your honour, these are merely illustrations and my submission is that the evidence is more than sufficient to meet the burden required at confirmation” Clooney stated.

ICC Prosecutor Bensouda meets with the displaced during her visit to Darfur
June 1 – 2021 NYALA The Prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, continued her two-day visit to Darfur with a meeting in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, where she met with the Wali (governor) of the state. She also met with the displaced in Kalma Camp, South Darfur, where her delegation was welcomed by a large crowd with chants calling for the hand-over of ICC suspects to the court.
 
Fatou Bensouda: ‘Ali Kushayb is the first, but not the last, to face ICC for Darfur war crimes
May 31 – 2021 EL FASHER The Prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, started a two-day visit to Darfur in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, where she met with the Wali of the state, Mohamed Arabi, as well as representatives of the displaced. Bensouda reiterated that the ICC demands that the government of Sudan hand over all those wanted by the court for crimes committed in Darfur.

Sudan govt – SPLM-N negotiations resume in Juba
May 31 – 2021 JUBA Negotiations between Sudan’s transitional government and the Sudan People’s liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu resumed in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. The government delegation delivered its response to the draft framework agreement submitted by the SPLM-N.

Angry protests follow deadly West Darfur market attack
May 30 – 2021 FORO BARANGA One person died and five others were seriously injured after a group of armed men opened fire in the market of Foro Baranga, West Darfur. In protest against the ongoing insecurity, angry residents torched shops and offices and blocked roads in the town.

Sudan govt, SPLM-N delegations adjourn to consider draft agreement
May 30 – 2021 JUBA The mediation team Juba adjourned the negotiations between Sudan’s transitional government and the SPLM-N El Hilu to provide an opportunity to study and discuss the draft framework agreement submitted by the SPLM-N.

Darfur displaced renew call to hand remaining war crimes indictees to ICC
May 30 – 2021 EL FASHER The General Coordination of the Displaced and Refugee Camps renewed their demand for the transitional government to hand over all those indicted for Darfur crimes to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

OCHA: 151.300 people around El Geneina remain displaced and do not feel safe to return
May 28 – 2021 EL GENEINA The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a report on the emergency situation in West Darfur capital El Geneina in the aftermath of the deadly violence last month. It called the security situation “calm but tense and unpredictable”.

UN mission chief calls on Juba parties to ‘grasp chance for peace’ in Sudan
May 26 – 2021 JUBA Head of UNITAMS, Volker Perthes, called on all parties at the Juba peace talks “to grasp the chance for peace and to bring a comprehensive settlement home to Sudan”. The US Envoy to Sudan, Donald Booth, has also affirmed his country’s support for the negotiations.