UN special envoy for human rights in Sudan Aristide Nononsi has urged the government to lift the emergency laws in Darfur.
Addressing
a press conference in Khartoum on Monday at the end of his visit to the
country, Mr Nononsi also called on Khartoum to stop the impending
execution of 55 people following a court sentence.
Mr Nononsi disclosed that 117 people were being held in Shallah prison in Darfur due to the emergency laws.
“I
call upon the Sudanese authorities to repeal Emergency Laws in Darfur
and to review all cases of 117 men and women currently detained in the
Shallah Federal Prison in relation to Emergency Laws, with the aim of
ensuring compliance with due process and fair trial standards. Should it
be found that these cases were not compliant, I appeal for the
immediate release of these individuals,” he said.
Detention and intimidation
“I
would encourage the Government to halt the execution of these
individuals, and to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to
abolishing the death penalty.”
The UN envoy further
expressed concern over the continuous use of detention and intimidation
of the political activists, but welcomed the recent release of most of
the political detainees.
“I welcome the decision of
their release and encourage the authorities to ensure that all those
still arbitrarily detained are released, and no such detentions should
happen in the future. I have received assurances from the relevant
Sudanese authorities that those who have been released would not be
rearrested, charged or prosecuted further,” he pointed out.
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Mr
Nononsi also called on the government to lift the restrictions on the
media and stop any kind of systematic “violence against women".
"I
have received information that security forces use violence,
intimidation and other forms of abuses to silence women across the
country. These abuses are made worse by the wider context of gender
inequality in the Sudanese society and the legal framework that
institutionalises it,” he added.
Sudan has
persistently come under the criticism of the international human rights
organisations for violations across the country, especially in the
troubled Darfur.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted Sudanese President Omer Bashir for alleged crimes in Darfur.
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