38th FIDH Congress
23-27 May 2013
Istanbul (Turkey)
Presented by the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies
FIDH, meeting on the occasion of its XXXVIII Congress in Istanbul, Turkey
Considering the current security, humanitarian and political situation prevailing in Sudan ;
Concerned in particular by the armed conflicts and clashes ongoing in various states of Sudan, including South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, where civilians continue suffering from indiscriminate aerial bombardments, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, rape and other forms of sexual violence, forced displacements, looting, arbitrary arrests and detentions and acts of torture ;
Recalling that these conflicts have so far left more than 2.3 million people internally displaced and constrained more than 500,000 to seek refuge in the neighbouring countries of Ethiopia, South Sudan or Chad ;
Denouncing the persisting unwillingness of the Government of Sudan to authorise independent humanitarian agencies to assist the war-affected civilians of South Kordofan and Blue Nile (Darfur) ;
Condemning the complete impunity enjoyed by those responsible for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, and recalling that the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against those allegedly responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur remain unimplemented ;
Recalling that at least 100 people, most of them originating from South Kordofan and Blue Nile, are being detained by national security services or military authorities, with no legal protection, on the sole basis of their presumed political affiliation ;
Concerned by the increasing infringements to fundamental rights and freedoms of expression, opinion, assembly and association in Sudan and denouncing in particular the current clampdown, by the Sudanese authorities, on all dissenting voices, including human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers, youths movements representatives or political opponents ;
Bearing in mind that Sudan is currently undergoing a Constitutional review process which should lead to the organisation, in 2015, of the first national elections since the independence of South Sudan ;
FIDH, meeting on the occasion of its XXXVIII Congress in Istanbul, Turkey :
– Urges the parties to the conflicts in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur to put an immediate end to the hostilities and abide by their regional and international obligations by guaranteeing the protection of civilians from international human rights and humanitarian law violations ;
– Urges the Sudanese authorities to allow independent humanitarian agencies and human rights NGOs immediate and unconditional access to the war-affected civilians of South Kordofan and Blue Nile (Darfur) ;
– Calls on the African Union and the United Nations to set up, without further delay, an international commission of inquiry to shed light on the serious international human rights and humanitarian law violations perpetrated in South Kordofan and Blue Nile since the eruption of the conflict in June 2011 ; identify the responsibilities and bring the perpetrators to justice ;
– Urges the Sudanese authorities to take all necessary measures to fight against the impunity of those responsible for international crimes and provide victims with reparation ; further calls on the African Union and United Nations member states to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court by arresting and handing over the persons suspected of being responsible of international crimes ;
– Urges the Sudanese authorities to abide by their regional and international obligations by guaranteeing the strict respect of fundamental rights and freedoms ; putting an immediate end to the acts of harassments against human rights activists ; and by releasing all political prisoners arbitrarily detained ;
– Calls on the Sudanese authorities to guarantee an inclusive Constitutional review process in particular by creating conditions conducive to the involvement of independent civil society organisations into this process.