♦ Sudan: This week’s news in brief ♦

A compact weekly digest of Dabanga Sudan's news highlights from Darfur and Sudan

♦  Sudan criminalises female genital mutilation

April 29 – 2020 KHARTOUM The Sudanese government has decided to criminalise female genital mutilation (FGM). A special article will be added to the country’s Criminal Law.

The decision represents “an important positive development”, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented in a statement on Tuesday.

The ministry considers the step as an implementation of Chapter 14 on Rights and Freedoms of the Constitutional Charter signed in August 2019 by the then ruling Transitional Military Council and the opposition Forces for Freedom and Change.

The Ministry said that full enforcement of the new article requires concerted efforts and tight coordination with all partners, especially community groups and civil society organisations. Sudan will also seek international partners for help on this topic.

According to the 2010 Sudan Household Survey, 88 per cent of all Sudanese women between 15 and 49 years old are subjected to FGM, traditionally called ‘female circumcision’. A reported trend in this survey was that the number of younger Sudanese women, between 15-19 years old, that have undergone FGM is growing less.

The practice of FGM in the country was one of the reasons for researchers of the Thomas Reuters Foundation to rank Sudan as one of the worst countries for women’s rights.

♦  Coronavirus in Sudan: Stricter measures to enforce social distancing

May 3 – 2020 KHARTOUM According to Member of the Sovereign Council and Deputy Chairman of the High Committee for Health Emergencies, Prof Siddig Tawir, the ignoring of the instructions of the Ministry of Health and human trafficking are the primary causes of the recent rapid increase of coronavirus cases in the country.

In a press conference on Thursday, Tawir, said that “We expect the worst in the coming days”.

Members of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militia were deployed in the streets in Khartoum on Thursday to enforce the measures taken by the government to ward off the spread of the infectious disease.

Last week, the price of locally manufactured medicines increased by 100 per cent in the country.

Minister of Health Akram El Tom announced in the press conference that he annulled the decision of the National Council for Medicines and Toxins regarding medicines pricing for these medicines. “People cannot afford such high prices in these difficult circumstances.”

The current medicine production is insufficient and some medicines, including life-saving, have started to run out completely from the stores in Khartoum and other states, he stated. Personal Protective Equipment in the country is insufficient as well. “What we have can only cover the coming two weeks.”

More news from Radio Dabanga:

Four wounded in new Abyei attack

May 4 – 2020 WAD KURA (ABYEI) Four people including a woman were wounded yesterday in an attack by armed men on a commercial vehicle in Abyei, the disputed area* on the border between Sudan and South …

Rape, gender violence still rife in Darfur

May 3 – 2020 SHANGIL TOBAYA / NIERTETI On Thursday, unidentified gunmen raped a 12-year-old girl in Shangil Tobaya in North Darfur. In Nierteti in Central Darfur, militiamen abducted a 16-year-old. In a statement …

Sudan govt, SPLM-N Agar agree to integrate rebel forces

May 3 – 2020 KHARTOUM / JUBA The Sudanese government delegation for peace negotiation and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, headed by Malik Agar (SPLM-N Agar) have agreed to reintegrate …

Sudan: Water shortages in Khartoum, cooking gas scarce in Atbara

May 1 – 2020 KHARTOUM / ATBARA People in large parts of the Sudanese capital are suffering from a severe lack of drinking water. Atbara in northern Sudan is witnessing a major cooking gas crisis. The shortage …

Covid-19 in Sudan: 57 new cases recorded, food prices soar

April 30 – 2020 KHARTOUM On Wednesday, the Federal Ministry of Health reported 57 new coronavirus patients. Various states take extra measures to combat the spread of the infectious disease. The prices of …

Sudan peace deal: International community recommends transitional legislative council

April 28 – 2020 KHARTOUM An international delegation has proposed the formation of a transitional legislative council in cooperation with the armed movements to iron-out outstanding issues regarding the peace …

UN human rights commissioner: ‘Untold suffering awaits Sudan unless it receives help’

April 29 – 2020 GENEVA The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday expressed serious concerns about the crisis facing Sudan’s transition in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. …

Sudan govt: UN mission in Darfur must change

April 29 – 2020 KHARTOUM The Sudanese government does not seek to continue the current United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan. It would prefer that the nature of the hybrid United Nations-African Union …

This digest is an excerpt from the weekly Sudan News Update. Subscribe here to receive the newsletter directly in your inbox.

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