Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir. A UN watchdog has called for
prosecution of security forces for attacks in Darfur from 2014-2016.
PHOTO |ASHRAF SHAZLY | AFP
A UN watchdog told Sudan on Thursday to prosecute security
forces for attacks in Darfur from 2014-2016 and cooperate with the
International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for
President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes.
Executions
by crucifixion and stoning should be stricken from its statute books,
and authorities should halt prosecutions and intimidation of
journalists, critics and activists, it said.
Thousands
of people have been killed in Sudan’s civil wars, including the western
Darfur region where rebels have been fighting against Bashir’s
government since 2003.
In July, the government extended
until year-end a three-year-old unilateral ceasefire with rebels in
Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
The United
Nations Human Rights Committee, whose independent experts uphold a
landmark treaty on civil and political rights, reviewed Sudan’s record
and issued its findings on Thursday.
“The Committee is
concerned that not only has (Sudan) failed to hold to account
perpetrators under domestic law, but it has also refused to cooperate
with the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants
against Sudanese nationals and officials on charges of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes,” the panel said.
The Hague-based ICC issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009
and 2010 over his alleged role in war crimes including genocide in
Darfur province, which he denies.
“We expressed
concerns regarding the fact that large-scale attacks against civilians,
including in operations in Darfur between 2014 and 2016, remained
unpunished,” Sarah Cleveland, panel vice chair, told a news briefing.
Sudan
should “ensure that all persons involved in serious human rights
violations are excluded from positions of power”, she said.
Yuval
Shany, panel chair, said: “We did not receive from the state a very
specific answer to the question as to whether they are planning to
implement the ICC arrest warrant on President al-Bashir. And we draw our
conclusions from this lack of information.”
Journalists
have been arrested or banned from travel, and newspapers confiscated,
including the entire print runs of eight Sudanese newspapers in January,
Cleveland said.
“So this was a primary concern with
respect to Sudan and one which we asked them to report to the Committee
on within two years,” she said.
Journalists from
Reuters and Agence France-Presse were detained in January while covering
protests and clashes with security forces which broke out across Sudan
after Khartoum imposed tough economic measures in line with
recommendations by the International Monetary Fund.
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