Protests in Sudan continue, and the crackdown raises serious concerns
Photo: Salah Naser Protests took place in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and elsewhere.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights continued to express today its grave concern about the human rights situation in the Sudan. According to OHCHR, peaceful protesters are killed or injured by security forces on an almost daily basis, and critics of the authorities and independent journalists continue to be suppressed.
Reliable statistics from the Sudanese Central Committee of Doctors show that since the October 25, 2021 coup, the crackdown by state security forces has killed 71 people and injured more than 2,200 in protests. Of those, 17 people were killed at the beginning of this year alone. As recently as January 17, security forces brutally dispersed demonstrators in Khartoum, killing seven people and wounding dozens of protesters with live ammunition.
Sudan's last coup was in April 2019, when former President Omar Al-Bashir, who ruled sudan for 30 years, was ousted. After consultations, the army and civilian leaders reached a power-sharing agreement to lead the Sudan's transition to democracy. However, on December 25, 2021, the military staged another coup d'état, and former Prime Minister Hamduke was detained by the military along with a number of senior officials and political activists. Although Hamduk was later reinstated under pressure from a power-sharing agreement, he resigned on January 3 of this year.
Illegal use of tear gas and live ammunition
THE OHCHR Sudanese Joint Human Rights Office noted a pattern of security forces controlling the protests: more than 25 percent of the injured were directly hit by tear gas. This has raised concerns that security forces are firing tear gas canisters at individuals at a horizontal angle in violation of international standards.
OHCHR spokesman Sham Dasani reiterated his call on the Sudanese authorities to immediately cease the use of unnecessary and excessive force, including live ammunition, against peaceful protesters.
"Live ammunition can only be allowed to be used as a last resort in strict cases of imminent threat of life or serious injury," she said. Thorough, prompt and independent investigations are needed, and it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that the perpetrators of human rights violations are brought to justice. ”
Medical staff were attacked
Arbitrary arrests and detentions of protesters, journalists and media workers continued during the state of emergency, with security forces breaking into the homes of activists and even entering hospitals to arrest injured protesters and prevent them from accessing emergency care. There are also disturbing reports of attacks on health workers and facilities.
Suppress speech
The repression of freedom of opinion and expression also appears to be intensifying through the arrest of journalists, the search of their homes and offices, the mistreatment of journalists and the revocation of media licences. At least eight journalists were abused by security forces while covering the protests.
On Saturday, January 15, Al Jazeera Live's broadcasting license was revoked. On January 13, the Sudanese Armed Forces reportedly entered the office of Allabi Television in Khartoum and arbitrarily arrested four staff members who reported protests on the roof of the building. Police and joint security forces, including the Rapid Support Force, stormed the offices of two television stations in Khartoum on December 30 while they were covering the protest march. In the raid, they beat and harassed staff with batons and damaged office property.
Sham Dasani called on the Sudanese authorities to stop targeting journalists, to ensure that the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is fully respected, and to facilitate peaceful protests rather than responding with unnecessary and disproportionate force. "Journalists and media organizations should be able to carry out their important work freely and free from any harassment and intimidation."
"As the High Commissioner for Human Rights has emphasized, there is an urgent need for a meaningful, inclusive and participatory dialogue to ensure a speedy return to civilian rule in Sudan," she said. The people of the Sudan must be able to participate in shaping the future of the country. ”
Condemn attacks on United Nations aid agencies
On the other hand, officials from UNICEF, WFP, UNHCR and OCHA visited El Fasher, the capital of Northern Darfur, from 16 to 17 January. In the meantime, they condemned the attacks on local United Nations operations over the past few weeks.
The four agencies said the violence constituted a direct attack on Sudan's most vulnerable people, who were unjustly deprived of much-needed food aid. The looting forced the World Food Programme to suspend its operations in Northern Darfur late last year.
After assessing the damage to WFP warehouses, the heads of four United Nations agencies met with the authorities, including the heads of state and district administrations, commanders of the Sudanese police and armed forces, and the state humanitarian aid commissioners. The UN representative was relieved that looted food and assets were being recovered, and the authorities pledged to "conduct a conclusive investigation, identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice in order to demonstrate the full force of the law".
Since November, insecurity has increased significantly across Northern Darfur, posing a threat to aid operations and putting already vulnerable communities at risk of not being able to access the support they need. Four U.N. agencies say it is difficult for humanitarian agencies to perform their critical functions of providing food, sanitation, education and other humanitarian assistance without the rule of law, basic government control and reliable security forces.
One quarter of the country's population is food insecure
By 2022, an estimated 14.3 million people across Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance, and almost one in four Sudanese is in food insecurity. This year's moratorium on WFP operations in Northern Darfur could affect as many as 2 million people.
In 2021, aid workers provided some form of assistance to more than 8.1 million people in Sudan. The United Nations has launched its Humanitarian Response Plan 2022, which aims to provide humanitarian assistance to 10.9 million vulnerable groups at a cost of $1.9 billion.
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