Several UN agents are operating in Sudan such as the World Food Program (WFP); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); the United Nations Mine Service (UNMAS), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Bank. Also present is the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Since Sudan has experienced civil war for many years, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also involved in humanitarian efforts to help internally displaced people.
International organisations in Sudan
Sudan
Sudan | International organisations in Sudan
World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) World Food Program, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and United Nations Development Programme. The World Food Program ; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ; the United Nations Development Programme; the United Nations Industrial Development Organization  and others. World Food Program (WFP); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); the United Nations Mine Service (UNMAS), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Bank.
where is chad located?
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North-central Africa.
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what kind of weather does it have?
user
Tropical
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which ethnic groups are based there?
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Sara, Arabs, Toubous
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is the first group based in any other country as well?
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Yes - Central African Republic, Sudan
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what is the status of human rights in the second place?
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Muslims who convert to Christianity can face the death penalty,  88% of women in Sudan had undergone female genital mutilation, restricting women's rights and allowing child marriage
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which international organizations are trying to help the people there?
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According to a 2013 UNICEF report, 88% of women in Sudan had undergone female genital mutilation. Sudan's Personal Status law on marriage has been criticised for restricting women's rights and allowing child marriage. Evidence suggests that support for female genital mutilation remains high, especially among rural and less well educated groups, although it has been declining in recent years. Homosexuality is illegal; as of July 2020 it was no longer a capital offense, with the highest punishment being life imprisonment.
Sudan | Human rights
Several UN agents are operating in Sudan such as the World Food Program (WFP); the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF); the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); the United Nations Mine Service (UNMAS), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Bank. Also present is the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Since Sudan has experienced civil war for many years, many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also involved in humanitarian efforts to help internally displaced people.
Sudan | International organisations in Sudan
Since 1983, a combination of civil war and famine has taken the lives of nearly two million people in Sudan. It is estimated that as many as 200,000 people had been taken into slavery during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Sudan ranks 172 of 180 countries in terms of freedom of the press according to Reporters Without Borders. More curbs of press freedom to report official corruption are planned. Muslims who convert to Christianity can face the death penalty for apostasy, see Persecution of Christians in Sudan and the death sentence against Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag (who actually was raised as Christian).
Sudan | Human rights
Sudan's stances on international human rights treaties are as follows: Hiwaar organisation
Human rights in Sudan | International treaties
In the period from 2003 to 2011, Mudawi Ibrahim Adam was repeatedly arrested for charges related to his human rights work with the group Sudan Social Development Organization. These arrests were protested by groups including Human Rights Watch, Front Line, and Amnesty International, the latter of whom named him a "prisoner of conscience." On 5 March 2009, the same day that President Omar al-Bashir was indicted by the ICC, the Sudanese government ordered the closure of SUDO, and its offices were taken over by state security forces. The "New York Times" reported that the letter closing the offices "came from the Humanitarian Affairs Commission, which is run by Ahmed Haroun, one of the people facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for mass slaughter in Darfur." The Sudanese government simultaneously expelled "the International Rescue Committee, Oxfam UK, CARE, Mercy Corps and the Dutch section of Doctors Without Borders.
Human rights in Sudan | Persecution of human rights defenders
As of 2012, women embodied 24.1% of the National Assembly of Sudan. Sudanese women account for a larger percentage of the national parliament than many Westernized nations. Notwithstanding that, gender inequalities in Sudan, particularly as they pertain to female genital mutilation and the disparity of women to men in the labor market, have received attention in the international community. Sudan signed the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) on 30 June 2008, but as of July 2020 has not ratified it yet.
Human rights in Sudan | Women's rights
Mudawi and SUDO appealed their closure in court, winning the appeal in April 2010. However, according to a 2011 SUDO press release, the organization remains effectively closed: "in Sudan you can win a case but nothing changes. SUDO’s offices remained locked, its assets remained frozen, and the organization in Sudan was not allowed to resume operations."
Human rights in Sudan | Persecution of human rights defenders
The government responded by apparently giving military support to Arab militias. There are reports of Sudanese military planes bombing villages, after which Arab militias go in and rape and kill survivors.
Human rights in Sudan | Abuses in conflict settings
A letter dated 14 August 2006, from the executive director of Human Rights Watch found that the Sudanese government is both incapable of protecting its own citizens in Darfur and unwilling to do so, and that its militias are guilty of crimes against humanity. The letter added that these human-rights abuses have existed since 2004. Some reports attribute part of the violations to the rebels as well as the government and the Janjaweed. The U.S. State Department's human-rights report issued in March 2007 claims that ""[a]"ll parties to the conflagration committed serious abuses, including widespread killing of civilians, rape as a tool of war, systematic torture, robbery and recruitment of child soldiers." Over 2.8 million civilians have been displaced and the death toll is estimated at 300,000 killed.
Sudan | Darfur
Sudan Organisation Against Torture (SOAT) is a human rights group based in London, which works to combat human rights violations in Sudan, particularly in the Dafur region.
Sudan Organisation Against Torture | Introduction
Sudan is a developing nation that faces many challenges in regard to gender inequality. Freedom House gave Sudan the lowest possible ranking among repressive regimes during 2012. South Sudan received a slightly higher rating but it was also rated as "not free". In the 2013 report of 2012 data, Sudan ranks 171st out of 186 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). Sudan also is one of very few countries that are not a signatory on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Despite all of this, there have been positive changes in regard to gender equality in Sudan.
Human rights in Sudan | Women's rights
Several hundred adults and children were imprisoned after members of the Justice and Equality Movement attacked Khartoum in May 2008, a disproportionate number from the Darfur region. Human Rights Watch criticised the Sudanese government for refusing to provide any information on their whereabouts. Evidence of widespread torture and abuse was found on released prisoners and was gathered in numerous interviews recorded by Human Rights Watch. In July 2020, flogging as a form of punishment was abolished.
Human rights in Sudan | Prisoner abuse
Some organizations, in particular Christian Solidarity Worldwide and related organizations, argue that enslavement exists in Sudan and is encouraged by the Sudanese government. As an example of such allegations, in "The Wall Street Journal" on 12 December 2001, Michael Rubin said: ...[O]n 4 October, Sudanese Vice President Ali Uthman Taha declared, "The jihad is our way and we will not abandon it and will keep its banner high. Between 23–26 October, Sudanese government troops attacked villages near the southern town of Aweil, killing 93 men and enslaving 85 women and children. Then, on 2 November, the Sudanese military attacked villages near the town of Nyamlell, carrying off another 113 women and children.
Human rights in Sudan | Slavery
It sought support in the organization for activities such as the reconstruction of war-ravaged South Sudan. Like the Arab League, the OIC supported Khartoum’s actions in Darfur. Sudan is also a member of a number of other Arab or Islamic regional organizations, including the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Monetary Fund, and the Islamic Development Bank.
Foreign relations of Sudan | Arab and Islamic organizations
The NGOs are working in every corner of Sudan, especially in the southern part and western parts. During the civil war, international nongovernmental organisations such as the Red Cross were operating mostly in the south but based in the capital Khartoum. The attention of NGOs shifted shortly after the war broke out in the western part of Sudan known as Darfur. The most visible organisation in South Sudan is the Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) consortium. Some international trade organisations categorise Sudan as part of the Greater Horn of Africa Even though most of the international organisations are substantially concentrated in both South Sudan and the Darfur region, some of them are working in the northern part as well.
Sudan | International organisations in Sudan
Sudan's human rights record has been widely condemned. Some human rights organizations have documented a variety of abuses and atrocities carried out by the Sudanese government over the past several years under the rule of Omar al-Bashir. The 2009 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State noted serious concerns over human rights violations by the government and militia groups. Capital punishment, including crucifixion, is used for many crimes. In September, 2019, the government of Sudan signed an agreement with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to open a UN Human Rights Office in Khartoum and field offices in Darfur, Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and East Sudan.
Human rights in Sudan | Introduction
In the United Nations on 4 February 2011, International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association application for consultative status for the UN's Economic and Social Council was called for a vote. Sudan then called for a No Action Motion to prevent voting on the consultative status for the LGBT group, and their motion passed 9-7 so the issue was not voted on. Also, Sudan voted against every supportive resolution of LGBT rights at the United Nations.
LGBT rights in Sudan | Politics regarding LGBT rights
Sudan's stance indicated the lack of importance of gender equality. In November 2019, Abdalla Hamdok's government repealed all laws restricting women's freedom of dress, movement, association, work and study. On 22 April 2020, the Sovereignty Council of Sudan issued an amendment to its criminal legislation, which declares that anyone who performs Female Genital Mutilation either in a medical establishment or elsewhere will be punished by three years' imprisonment and a fine.
Gender inequality in Sudan | Legal status of gender
According to Ihsan Fagiri, leader of the No to Oppression Against Women Initiative, around 45,000 women were prosecuted under the Public Order Act in 2016 alone. In April 2020, the Criminal Code was amended to criminalise female genital mutilation (FGM), which was made punishable by a fine and 3 years imprisonment. In July 2020, the need for women to obtain permission from a male relative to travel, and flogging as a form of punishment, were abolished. Women's rights activists such as "500 Words" magazine editor Ola Diab and Redress legal advisor Charlie Loudon hailed the abolition of repressive measures and restrictions on women as 'great first steps'.
Human rights in Sudan | Democratic transition (2019–present)
The government restricts foreigners from entering the country for Christian missionary work, but it allows foreign Christian religious leaders to enter in support of their local congregations. The Humanitarian Affairs Committee expelled foreign workers of international aid organizations, although several US-based Christian aid organizations maintained operations throughout the north. The National Intelligence and Security Service monitors religious activities at mosques and churches throughout the country, often posing as members of the congregation. Christian leaders acknowledge that they usually refrain from preaching on political or other sensitive topics; some Muslim imams avoid political topics in their preaching as well. The GoSS does not appear to monitor religious activities at mosques or churches in the south.
Freedom of religion in Sudan | Restrictions
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Sudan face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity has been illegal in Sudan, with sentences including but not limited to capital punishment. However, in July 2020, the sodomy law that previously punished gay men with up to 100 lashes for the first offence, five years in jail for the second and the death penalty the third time around was abolished, with new legislation reducing the penalty to prison terms ranging from five years to life. Sudanese LGBT+ activists hailed the reform as a 'great first step', but said it was not enough yet, and the end goal should be the decriminalisation of gay sexual activity altogether.
Human rights in Sudan | LGBT rights
The Sudan Government says that the ICC had no jurisdiction to try Sudanese citizens and that it will not hand the two men over to its custody.
International response to the War in Darfur | International Criminal Court
In a 2013 study, Jennifer Scott et al. found “an overwhelming acceptance of violence against women, by both women and men,” in many communities in South Sudan. The majority of survey respondents agreed that “there are times when a woman deserves to be beaten and that a woman should tolerate violence to keep her family together”. A UN survey found that 70% of women who were sheltering in camps had been raped since the beginning of the conflict, with the vast majority of rapists being police and soldiers. The SPLA were reported to have recruited militias and young men in Unity state to take back rebel held areas.
Human rights in South Sudan | Gender-based violence
The International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur hand their report to the Secretary General on 25 January. The Commission found that the Government of the Sudan and the Janjaweed are responsible for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law amounting to crimes under international law. But the Commission stopped short of calling it genocide. The Commission identified 51 individuals responsible for the violation of human rights and recommended immediate trial at the International Criminal Court.
International response to the War in Darfur | January 2005
The violent destabilization and economic collapse caused by the immense amount of death and destruction in Sudan has forced millions of civilians to flee their homes and cities. Many refugees currently residing in Egypt escaped from the Second Sudanese Civil War, where war "pitted black African separatists" and "Christians" against an "Arab government run by Muslim, northerners who had tried to impose Islamic law on the country." 1 in 5 Sudanese were killed in the war, and over 4 million civilians in the South have been given Internally Displaced Persons status. The majority of these IDPs are attempting to resettle outside of the country, but efforts have produced minimal results.
Sudanese refugees in Egypt | Background
The Sovereignty Council announced a state of emergency in Port Sudan during tribal clashes which resulted in the death of 16 people on 26 August 2019. In November 2019, Abdalla Hamdok's government repealed all laws restricting women's freedom of dress, movement, association, work and study. On 22 April 2020, the transitional government issued an amendment to its criminal legislation which declares that anyone who performs Female Genital Mutilation either in a medical establishment or elsewhere will be punished by three years' imprisonment and a fine.
Sovereignty Council of Sudan | Actions of the Sovereignty Council
Groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed concern about the humanitarian situation. In May 2012, researchers from the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute highlighted that the situation in South Kordofan was approaching crisis levels and called for stronger leadership and engagement from humanitarian actors, as well as a redoubling of diplomatic efforts to restart political dialogue in the hope of securing a lasting and peaceful resolution.
Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile | NGOs
Because the country was engaged continuously in a civil war in the South until 2005 except for the period 1972–83, Sudan was the subject of many UN resolutions. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme created Operation Lifeline Sudan in 1989 to deal with the problems created in the South by drought and the civil war. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a series of reports critical of the human-rights situation in Sudan. The Security Council imposed sanctions on Sudan in May 1996 after Khartoum refused to extradite three Egyptians to Ethiopia for their alleged involvement in the attempted assassination of President Mubarak in Addis Ababa in 1995.
Foreign relations of Sudan | United Nations
In November 2019, the government of Sudan repealed all laws restricting women's freedom of dress, movement, association, work and study. Hamdok praised women in a message published on social media, saying that the laws were "an instrument of exploitation, humiliation, violation, aggression on the rights of citizens." In 2020, Hamdok passed a law to prohibit female genital mutilation. The change is an amendment to Sudan's Criminal Law Article 141. The act is defined as removing or mutilating "the female genitalia by cutting, mutilating or modifying any natural part of it leading to the full or partial loss of its functions."
Abdalla Hamdok | Women's rights
These treaties are the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman of Degrading Treatment of Punishment and its Optional Protocol, and Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Human rights in South Sudan | International law framework
Phase II of OLS to cover 1990 was approved by both the government and the SPLA Sudan faced a 2-year drought and food shortage across the entire country. The US, UN, and other donors attempted to mount a coordinated international relief effort in both north and south Sudan to prevent a catastrophe. However, due to Sudan's human rights abuses and its pro-Iraqi stance during the Gulf War, many donors cut much of their aid to the Sudan. In a similar drought in 2000–01, the international community again responded to avert mass starvation in the Sudan. International donors continue to provide large amounts of humanitarian aid to all parts of the Sudan.
Second Sudanese Civil War | Foreign interventions
In March 2009, Sudan expelled several major foreign aid agencies including Oxfam and Save the Children from Darfur in response to the extradition request of Omar al-Bashir to answer ICC charges. President al-Bashir accused foreign aid workers of being "spies" and "thieves". Penny Lawrence, Oxfam's international director, said of the ban "It will affect more than 600,000 Sudanese people whom we provide with vital humanitarian and development aid, including clean water and sanitation on a daily basis." Gordon Brown said in response "The humanitarian agencies that are working in Sudan should be allowed to stay there and continue their work." In April 2009, Oxfam and other aid agencies appealed their ban saying that "The expulsion is already affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of the very poorest and most vulnerable Sudanese people".
Sudan–United Kingdom relations | Expulsion of aid staff in 2009
In the government's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)'s anti-insurgency campaign to disarm rebellions among the Shilluk and Murle, they burned scores of villages, raped hundreds of women and girls and killed an untold number of civilians. Civilians alleging torture by the SPLA claim fingernails being torn out, burning plastic bags dripped on children to make their parents hand over weapons and villagers burned alive in their huts if rebels were suspected of spending the night there. The United Nations Human Rights Council reported many of these violations, and the frustrated director of one Juba-based international aid agency called them "human rights abuses off the Richter scale".
Human rights in South Sudan | Shilluk disarmament campaign
For example, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization is successfully operating in Khartoum, the capital. It is mainly funded by the European Union and recently opened more vocational training. The Canadian International Development Agency is operating largely in northern Sudan.
Sudan | International organisations in Sudan
The peace process was backed by the UN, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as well as IGAD-Partners, a consortium of donor countries. Comprehensive Peace Agreement was meant to end the Second Sudanese Civil War, develop democratic governance countrywide, and share oil revenues. But because of the radical Islamic policies adopted by the government of Sudan, other four bloody wars erupted in Darfur, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Eastern regions. Since 2003, the African Darfurians who were killed in the fighting with government forces and its allied Arab Janjaweed militias were estimated as 300,000 and more than two million have lost their homes and properties and now live in camps established by international aid and relief agencies and organizations.
U.Sudan Peace &amp; Development Foundation | Peace in Sudan
Some 185,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) have sought refuge in UN Protection of Civilians (PoC) sites, while around 90 percent of IDPs are on the run or sheltering outside PoC sites. Consequently, UNHCR is stepping up its response through an inter-agency collaborative approach under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator, and working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). In early February 2013, UNHCR started distributing relief items outside the UN base in Malakal, South Sudan, which was expected to reach 10,000 people.
South Sudan | Refugees
The following chart shows Sudan's ratings since 1972 in the Freedom in the World reports, published annually by Freedom House. A rating of 1 is "free"; 7, "not free".
Human rights in Sudan | Historical situation
During the period, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration commissions were established in the northern cities of Nyala, Geneina, and El Fasher, and provided with staff. However, while the training of staff in child protection and the demobilization and reintegration of children began, the work of these commissions cannot commence in the absence of a clear agreement between the GNU and armed groups as to how to proceed. In 2007, the NSDDRC demobilized 283 children serving with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in South Kordofan.
Human trafficking in Sudan | Protection
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Sudan face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. In July 2020, Sudan removed the death penalty, which had never been enforced, as well as corporal punishment as a punishment for anal sex (male or female), leaving imprisonment as the penalty for a male perpetrator. The penalty for a third offense remains life in prison, but there are no documented cases of this being applied.
LGBT rights in Sudan | Introduction
Sudan joined the United Nations in 1956, and its various institutions began almost immediately to assist Sudan. UN refugee assistance during Sudan’s first civil war began in the early 1960s. In 1965 one of the South Sudanese exile organizations unsuccessfully demanded the intervention of the United Nations to end atrocities. Sudan experienced frequent criticism in UN bodies throughout the first civil war that ended in 1972. Khartoum showed great skill in using the United Nations in pursuit of its own interests. One example occurred in 1976, when Sudan accused Libya at the United Nations of supporting a failed coup attempt.
Foreign relations of Sudan | United Nations
Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) is the regulating body working under the Sudanese law. Laws organizing the humatiraian organization then developed HAC organize the International Organization work in Sudan by the Technical agreements and Country Agreements. HAC also monitor and insure the enforcing of laws concerning the composition and operation of local and international NGOs, as well as UN agents and other multilateral aid agencies.
Sudan Humanitarian Aid Commission | Laws and agreements
Middle Eastern and Asian Countries: Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Philippines, China, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. African Countries: Uganda, Chad, Tanzania, Comoros, South Africa, Lesotho, South Sudan, Mozambique, Niger, Benin, Djibouti, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Cameroon, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Togo, Gambia, Ghana Kenya, Mali, Egypt, Mauritania and Nigeria. European Countries: Germany, Switzerland, Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosova and Macedonia. South American Countries: Brazil.
International Islamic Relief Organization | Countries of activities
Sudan has had a troubled relationship with many of its neighbours and much of the international community, owing to what is viewed as its radical Islamic stance. For much of the 1990s, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia formed an ad hoc alliance called the "Front Line States" with support from the United States to check the influence of the National Islamic Front government. The Sudanese Government supported anti-Ugandan rebel groups such as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). As the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum gradually emerged as a real threat to the region and the world, the U.S. began to list Sudan on its list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
Sudan | Foreign relations
In West Kurdufan a partnership with Concern Worldwide with aid from the French embassy aims to reduce conflicts over water and to promote human rights.
Sudan Social Development Organization | West Kurdufan
South Sudan is one of the few countries where dracunculiasis still occurs. At the time of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, humanitarian needs in Southern Sudan were massive. However, humanitarian organizations under the leadership of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) managed to ensure sufficient funding to bring relief to the local populations. Along with recovery and development aid, humanitarian projects were included in the 2007 Work Plan of the United Nations and partners. More than 90% of the population of South Sudan live on less than $1 a day, despite the GDP per capita of the entirety of Sudan being $1200 ($3.29/day).
South Sudan | Humanitarian situation
The organisation informs that in 13 countries worldwide (Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates) the human right to freedom of religion and belief is punishable by death on charges of apostasy or blasphemy. Moreover, prison sentences can be imposed in more than 40 countries and in many countries important aspects of human rights, such as the right to self-determination, are violated.
Atheist Refugee Relief | Information about countries of origin
December 10, 2006 raised the issue of rape and sexual violence in Darfur and called on world leaders to work with the African Union and its member states to make protecting women from rape a priority for AMIS, including an increase in the number of female AMIS police officers and translators in Darfur and extension of firewood patrols around all internally displaced people (IDP) camps. Further calls were made towards the Government of Sudan, to allow humanitarian organisations to have free and unfettered access to help victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence and to hold perpetrators of rape and sexual assault accountable for their crimes.
Day for Darfur | Second Day for Darfur
The conclusions of the Commission are based on the evaluation of the facts gathered or verified through its investigations. Based on a thorough analysis of the information gathered in the course of its investigations, the Commission established that the Government of the Sudan and the Janjaweed are responsible for serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law amounting to crimes under international law. In particular, the Commission found that Government forces and militias conducted indiscriminate attacks, including killing of civilians, torture, enforced disappearances, destruction of villages, rape and other forms of sexual violence, pillaging and forced displacement, throughout Darfur.
International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur | Violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law
South Sudanese civil society groups called on Kenya to investigate the disappearance of South Sudanese activists in Nairobi. Many point to the presence of South Sudanese security in Kenya and the alleged complicity of some Kenyan authorities.
Human rights in South Sudan | Civil society
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has existed since March 2018 or earlier. Hurriya Ismail (also: "Hurria") was appointed as its head by former president Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity carried out during the War in Darfur.
National Human Rights Commission (Sudan) | Creation
The Sudan Social Development Organization, better known by the acronym SUDO, is a Sudanese non-profit organisation working in Sudan, with offices located around the country, aiding civilians affected by conflicts and internally displaced persons. The organisation describes itself as being dedicated to the promotion of human rights and international development.
Sudan Social Development Organization | Introduction
Both government forces and militias allied with the government are known to attack not only civilians in Darfur, but also humanitarian workers. Sympathisers of rebel groups are arbitrarily detained, as are foreign journalists, human-rights defenders, student activists and displaced people in and around Khartoum, some of whom face torture. The rebel groups have also been accused in a report issued by the U.S. government of attacking humanitarian workers and of killing innocent civilians. According to UNICEF, in 2008, there were as many as 6,000 child soldiers in Darfur.
Sudan | Darfur
Without urgent action, many thousands more may follow. The genocidal terror campaign perpetrated by (ISIL) known as Daesh, has had a particular impact on regions with large minority populations, resulting in communities, many thousands being killed or held captive, including women and children held in sexual slavery. Many remain captive and many fleeing their homes or death. Allegations of genocide against the Yazidi must be fully investigated. The Government and the international community must also act decisively under international law to protect civilians and to prosecute those suspected of such crimes.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues | HRC 34th session - 2017
The national army, called the Sudan People's Liberation Army, is often accused of attacking civilians on suspicion of aiding rebels.
Human rights in South Sudan | Civilian collective punishment
The legal system of Sudan is pluralistic: Sharia (Islamic religious law), civil, and customary law have coexisted for nearly a century. As of 2013, Sudan was one of only six countries in the world that had not signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The other countries that have not signed CEDAW are the Holy See, Iran, Somalia, South Sudan and Tonga. The United States and Palau have signed, but not yet ratified the treaty. CEDAW is an international convention adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. This international bill of rights for women sets basic standards that must be implemented to promote gender equality.
Gender inequality in Sudan | Legal status of gender
Conditions for NGOs in Sudan, according to Freedom House, have worsened significantly due to antagonism towards government critics. In 2009, when an arrest warrant was issued for Omar al-Bashir, Sudan responded by expelling several international humanitarian aid organizations, revoking permits for thirteen foreign NGOs and permanently shutting down three domestic NGOs.
Corruption in Sudan | Treatment of NGOs
Same-sex sexual relations have divided some religious communities. In 2006, Abraham Mayom Athiaan, a bishop in South Sudan, led a split from the Episcopal Church of Sudan for what he regarded as a failure by the church leadership to condemn homosexuality sufficiently strongly. The U.S. Department of State's 2011 human rights report found that, The law prohibits sodomy ...; however, there were no reports of antisodomy laws being applied. There were no known lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) organizations. Official discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity occurred. Societal discrimination against LGBT persons was widespread. Vigilantes targeted suspected gay men and lesbians for violent abuse, and there were public demonstrations against homosexuality.
LGBT rights in Sudan | Social attitudes
The Republic of South Sudan voluntary pledged in October 2013 for candidature to the Human Rights Council. It stated that its interest in joining the Human Rights Council stemmed from “its desire both to contribute to the promotion of human rights, based on the principles that inspired its liberation struggle, and to take advantage of its membership to enhance its knowledge of international human rights and build its capacity to promote and protect those rights”. In 2013, South Sudan acceded to several treaties and submitted them to the Legislative Assembly for adoption. These treaties include: In 2015, South Sudan ratified five international human rights treaties.
Human rights in South Sudan | International law framework
Conflicts between the government and rebel groups—the civil war involving north-south tensions, the Darfur conflict involving Arab-tribespeople tensions in the Darfur region in the west—have resulted in rape, torture, killings, and massive population displacements (estimated at over 2 million in 2007), earning Sudan comparison to Rwanda in the press. There have also been several reported cases of crucifixions carried out in Sudan. According to "The Christian Science Monitor" on 25 March 2004: The Darfur region war boils down to this: African tribes have long been at odds with Arab groups in the region over access to good land. Then, last year, two armed African groups began a rebellion against the Khartoum regime.
Human rights in Sudan | Abuses in conflict settings
Human Rights Watch addressed this balancing act, referring to the CIA in the balancing act with Salah Gosh: "The January 9, 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ending the twenty-one-year civil war between the Sudanese government and southern rebels has brought little significant improvement to Sudan in the area of human rights. Implementation of the agreement was delayed by several factors, including the sudden death of southern rebel leader Dr. John Garang. As part of the agreement, the Sudanese government lifted the state of emergency throughout Sudan (with the exception of Darfur and the east) but attacks on villages in Darfur continued, and killings, rape, torture, looting of civilian livestock and other property took place on a regular basis.
CIA activities in Sudan | 2006
Haj-Omar wrote in June 2009 that "Iran's Green Revolution shows that freedom and citizenship rights are universal and that even an Islamic regime that came through legitimate elections can be questioned and rejected by those who put it in power." Nonetheless, "Sudan is very far from Iran's political context and from having political institutions that function." In a March 2010 article, Haj-Omar lamented that Sudan did "not look like a country preparing for its first national elections in 24 years," given the continued censorship of newspapers and the "complete absence of public campaigning by political parties." Noting that the political environment was "highly restrictive," she maintained that "the ruling party must open up the political space to all key participants," or else "the election will suffer a severe lack of credibility even before it takes place." She cited critical statements by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) about foreign assistance from the U.S.
Dalia Haj-Omar | Activism and writing
Oxfam have denied working for the ICC saying that "We don't have an agreement with the ICC, we are a humanitarian organisation and we are impartial," and "We don't have anything to do with the ICC and we don't have a position on its decision."
Sudan–United Kingdom relations | Expulsion of aid staff in 2009
The U.S. Department of State's "2011 Human Rights Report" found "widespread" societal discrimination against gay men and lesbians, and stated that there were no known LGBT organisations.
LGBT rights in South Sudan | Public attitudes
In 2010, the CIA issued a warning that "over the next five years...a new mass killing or genocide is most likely to occur in southern Sudan." The Nuer White Army has stated it wished to "wipe out the entire Murle tribe on the face of the earth as the only solution to guarantee long-term security of Nuer’s cattle" and activists, including Minority Rights Group International, warned of genocide in Jonglei. At the beginning of 2017, genocide was imminent again. Peter Abdul Rahaman Sule, the leader of the key opposition group United Democratic Forum, has been under arrest since 3 November 2011 over allegations linking him to the formation of a new rebel group fighting against the government.
South Sudan | Human rights
Her office defined six conditions to determine the case: Yazidi women's rights activist Ameena Saeed Hasan said that IS had abducted and sold more than 6,000 Yazidi women and children at slave markets, under the motto that the virginity of the girls had become the "gateway to paradise" (for IS fighters). She complained about that Islamic leaders’ silence and wondered why no military action was taken against the group. The goodwill ambassador for the dignity of survivors of human trafficking Nadia Murad Base Taha, has declared that more than 3,000 Yazidi were still being held in the custody of IS.She asked why there was no investigation and there was no court to prosecute perpetrators.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2331 | Background
Due to the shortages in UNHCR assistance to Sudanese refugees, some Church groups have opened learning centers for refugee children. Furthermore, churches also offer training programs for adult refugees, provide food rations to families, in addition to financial assistance, health services, and job placement. With respect to those Sudanese living in shantytowns in Greater Khartoum or in other urban areas of Africa and the Middle East, remittances provided by kin resettledin Western countries have become an essential part of the overall income needed to meet daily subsistence and other critical needs. Urban refugees’ reliance on cash assistance from abroad is seen as a unique situation since there are few NGOs and humanitarian-based support mechanisms available to adequately meet the needs of refugees in Cairo, Beirut, Damascus, and elsewhere on Sudan’s periphery.
Refugees of Sudan | Issues
Many women in South Sudan are living “without basic forms of human security, health care or economic stability”. According to the United Nations, 33 percent of South Sudanese women are moderately or severely food insecure.
Human rights in South Sudan | Women's rights
CSI is known for its campaign to liberate Sudanese slaves seized during Sudan’s second civil war. They have also been active in Egypt, Iraq, the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, Latin America, and other countries and regions.
Christian Solidarity International | Introduction
On November 9 the government of Sudan and the two leading rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), signed two short term peace agreements aimed toward progress in ending the conflict. The first treaty established a no-fly zone over rebel-controlled areas of Darfur, a measure designed to end the Sudanese military's bombing of rebel villages in the region. The second accord granted international humanitarian aid agencies unrestricted access to the Darfur region. The accords were the product of African Union sponsored peace talks in Abuja that began October 25, 2004. To support the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement on January 9, 2005, to perform certain functions relating to humanitarian assistance, protection, promotion of human rights, and to support AMIS, the UN Security Council established the United Nations Mission In Sudan (UNMIS) under Resolution 1590 on March 24, 2005 because the Security Council deemed the situation in Darfur to be a "threat to peace and international security." July 2005 saw that there had been no major conflicts since January, and the numbers of attacks on villages was dropping.
African Union Mission in Sudan | Attempted reconciliation (2005)
Others join armed groups out of desperation or after being subjected to lies and brainwash. Many children are promised that they are going to attend school, which are actually military training facilities disguised as school. The facilities, despite being under the direction of the United Nations and international organizations, are where children were brainwashed to become ruthless killers. Improvements in technology have provided weapons which weigh less, cost less, and can be assembled, loaded, and fired by an illiterate child, adding additional appeal to child soldiers.
Human rights in Sudan | Child soldiers
In a 25 July 2007 interview with the Saudi Arabian newspaper "Okaz" the Minister of Defense, Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein, claimed that "24 Jewish organizations" were fueling the conflict in Darfur. Anti-Semitic rhetoric is common in both official media and statements by NCP officials.
Freedom of religion in Sudan | Restrictions
After the US listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, the NIF decided to develop relations with Iraq, and later Iran, the two most controversial countries in the region. From the mid-1990s, Sudan gradually began to moderate its positions as a result of increased U.S. pressure following the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, in Tanzania and Kenya, and the new development of oil fields previously in rebel hands. Sudan also has a territorial dispute with Egypt over the Hala'ib Triangle. Since 2003, the foreign relations of Sudan had centered on the support for ending the Second Sudanese Civil War and condemnation of government support for militias in the war in Darfur.
Sudan | Foreign relations
Amnesty International has recorded a series of attack on SUDO by the Sudanese government and by armed militias operating within Sudan. Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, the organisation's director, was arrested at his home in December 2003 after a visit to Darfur. He was charged with crimes against the state, which carried the possibility of being sentenced to death, but charges were dropped in August 2004. In September 2004 Adeeb Yousif, director the SUDO's Zalengei branch, was arrested and held, first at an unofficial detention centre near Kober prison in Khartoum and then at Debek prison North of Khartoum, until 19 April 2005.
Sudan Social Development Organization | Sudanese government actions
Efforts to "redeem" or to buy the freedom of slaves in Sudan are controversial. Beginning in 1995, Christian Solidarity International began "redeeming" slaves through an underground network of traders set up through local peace agreements between Arab and southern chiefs. The group claims to have freed over 80,000 people in this manner since that time. Several other charities eventually followed suit. In 1999 UNICEF called the practice of redeeming slaves 'intolerable', arguing that these charities are implicitly accepting that human beings can be bought and sold. UNICEF also said that buying slaves from slave-traders gives them cash to purchase arms and ammunition.
Slavery in Sudan | Christian Solidarity International slave redemption efforts
In July 2012, it was reported that Sudan and Ethiopia were nominated for a UNHRC seat, despite being accused by human rights organizations of grave human rights violations. UN Watch condemned the move to nominate Sudan, pointing out that Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir was indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court. According to UN Watch, Sudan was virtually assured of securing a seat. A joint letter of 18 African and international civil society organizations urged foreign ministers of the African Union to reverse its endorsement of Ethiopia and Sudan for a seat, accusing them of serious human rights violations and listing examples of such violations, and stating that they should not be rewarded with a seat.
United Nations Human Rights Council | Sudan and Ethiopia
Crucifixion was also a legal punishment. In 2002, 88 people were sentenced to death for crimes relating to murder, armed robbery, and participating in ethnic clashes, Amnesty International wrote that they could be executed by either hanging or crucifixion.
Sudan | Under al-Bashir
When the democratic transition was initiated in 2019 after large-scale protests led by Sudanese women, gradual legal reform has improved the status of women's rights in the country. In late 2019, the Public Order Act was repealed; it was controversial for various reasons, such as Article 152 of the Act, which stipulated that women who wore trousers in public should be lashed 40 times. Other restrictions targeting women that were repealed included the lack of freedom of dress (by the mandatory hijab and other measures), movement, association, work and study. Alleged violations (many of whom were considered 'arbitrary' by activists) were punished with arrest, beatings and deprivation of civil rights such as freedom of association and expression.
Human rights in Sudan | Democratic transition (2019–present)
HHRO joined Christian Solidarity International (CSI) in efforts to visit and organize the distribution of relief aid to internally displaced people (IDPs) in the region of Mosul and Baghdad. The relief aid consisted of essential goods for the population like food, milk and more. HHRO sees the opportunity to work with other NGOs in the region as a way to demonstrate that they are committed to help prevent and bring relief to all ethnic groups in the country. HHRO has also played a role with CSI in helping and providing aid to Christian minority group fleeing the terror group IS in Iraq.
Hammurabi Human Rights Organization | Christian Solidarity
In the 2017 South Sudan famine, the government is accused by the US and aid groups among others of using starvation as a tactic of collection punishment for populations that support rebels by intentionally blocking aid. Amnesty international claimed the army suffocated to death in a shipping container more than 60 people accused of supporting the opposition.
Human rights in South Sudan | South Sudanese Civil War
The precarious situation of these children makes them particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses, rendering their protection critical, given the high risks to which they are exposed. Most of these children are boys aged 14 years and over, with diverse ethnic, cultural, religious and social backgrounds mainly originating from Afghanistan, Somalia, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea and Iraq.
Missing person | International statistics and efforts
Beginning in March 2012, security forces executed a disarmament campaign called "Operation Restore Peace" among the Murle people in Jonglei state. Amnesty International researchers claim these security forces committed widespread torture against civilians, including children as young as 18 months. A Human Rights Watch report describes how the SPLA allegedly burned and looted homes, destroyed schools, churches, and the compounds of aid agencies providing life-saving assistance. The disarmament exercise initiated ended with little success.
Human rights in South Sudan | Operation Restore Peace
In South Darfur and West Darfur, a partnership with Norwegian Church Aid to provide basic health services, sanitation, and safe drinking water. A partnership with Trócaire helps to provide shelter to people in the Mershing IDP camp by constructing huts from locally-sourced materials. Another partnership with Norwegian Church Aid, along with Caritas, Sudanaid and the Sudan Council of Churches, helps residents of the towns of Nyala and Zalingei who have been affected my militia attacks.
Sudan Social Development Organization | South and West Darfur
In July 2010 Salva Kiir Mayardit, now President of South Sudan, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that homosexuality is not in the "character" of Southern Sudanese people. "It is not even something that anybody can talk about here in southern Sudan in particular. It is not there and if anybody wants to import or to export it to Sudan, it will not get the support and it will always be condemned by everybody," he said. In 2006, Abraham Mayom Athiaan, a bishop in South Sudan, led a split from the Episcopal Church of Sudan for what he regarded as a failure by the church leadership to condemn homosexuality sufficiently strongly.
LGBT rights in South Sudan | Public attitudes
The government made limited efforts to prevent future incidences of trafficking during the reporting period. The National Council on Child Welfare collaborated with UNICEF to launch a comprehensive child protection awareness campaign in North Kordofan as part of the celebration of the June 2007 Day of the African Child. Aiming to create a much greater community response to grave child rights violations, the campaign was also launched in Darfur, Eastern Sudan, Khartoum, and the three areas, and consists of messages on a number of child protection issues, including unlawful child recruitment and sexual and gender-based violence. Sudan has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
Human trafficking in Sudan | Prevention
Sudan's Government of National Unity (GNU) made only minimal efforts to protect victims of trafficking and focused primarily on the demobilization of child soldiers during the last year. The government continued to have funding and capacity gaps in its own entities involved in combating trafficking, and the GNU continued to demonstrate extremely low levels of cooperation with humanitarian workers in the Darfur region on a broad spectrum of issues, including human trafficking. In 2006, the GNU and the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) passed legislation formally establishing the National Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) Commission, and its Northern and Southern components—the Northern Sudan DDR Commission (NSDDRC), and the Southern Sudan DDR Commission (SSDDRC), respectively.
Human trafficking in Sudan | Protection
Estimates of the number of human casualties range up to several hundred thousand dead, from either combat or starvation and disease. Mass displacements and coercive migrations forced millions into refugee camps or across the border, creating a humanitarian crisis. Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell described the situation as a genocide or acts of genocide. The Sudanese government and the JEM signed a ceasefire agreement in February 2010, with a tentative agreement to pursue peace. The JEM has the most to gain from the talks and could see semi-autonomy much like South Sudan. However, talks were disrupted by accusations that the Sudanese army launched raids and air strikes against a village, violating the Tolu agreement.
War in Darfur | Introduction
The first LGBT association of the country is Freedom Sudan, founded in December 2006. However, no internet presence is seen from the group after 2013 on Facebook page. Another group Rainbow Sudan, was founded on 9 February 2012. Its founder, known as Mohammed, said,
LGBT rights in Sudan | Social attitudes
Arbitrary arrests and detentions, executions without fair trials, and harassment of human rights defenders and other activists remained a feature of Sudanese policy in both Darfur and other areas of Sudan. For the first time, however, the U.N. Security Council made use of its power to refer the situation of Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2005. "Throughout 2005, international policy towards Sudan vacillated between condemnation and appeasement. This reflected the varying interests at stake, such as the implementation of the north-southern peace agreement, ending the atrocities in Darfur, and even regional counterterrorism efforts. The U.S. government was a prime example of this policy schizophrenia.
CIA activities in Sudan | 2006
The charity's current emergency appeals include supporting 2.5 million people at risk of famine and disease in Yemen, assisting vulnerable communities affected by the ongoing violence in Myanmar, and delivering aid to 1.4 million people in war-torn Syria, including in Idlib where it is one of the few aid agencies still operating directly.
Islamic Relief | Humanitarian programmes
Despite the progress, Kurdish and international women's rights organizations still report problems related to gender equality, forced marriages, honor killings and female genital mutilation (FGM) in Iraqi Kurdistan. Different organizations have described the situation differently, sometimes giving conflicting statements.
Human rights in Kurdistan Region | Women's rights
A priority was placed on civilian protection first and foremost. As a result, the United States will focus on “effective efforts to support the full and complete deployment of UNAMID so that there is the capacity on the ground to begin to effect that civilian protection.” Several weeks later, Ambassador Rice expressed the United States’ support of the International Criminal Court when they issued a warrant for Sudanese President Bashir's arrest and also of UN Security Council Resolution 1593, which “requires the Government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict to cooperate fully with the ICC and its prosecutor.” Rice also stated that “no one should use the ICC’s decision as a pretext to incite or launch violence against civilians or international personnel.” After Bashir expelled humanitarian aid groups, the U.S.
Bureau of International Organization Affairs | Darfur
A 19 October 2004 "UN News Centre" article titled "UNICEF adviser says rape in Darfur, Sudan continues with impunity" reported: Armed militias in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region are continuing to rape women and girls with impunity, an expert from the United Nations children’s agency said today on her return from a mission to the region. Pamela Shifman, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) adviser on violence and sexual exploitation, said she heard dozens of harrowing accounts of sexual assaults – including numerous reports of gang-rapes – when she visited internally displaced persons (IDPs) at one camp and another settlement in North Darfur last week.
Wartime sexual violence | Darfur region in Sudan
In 2007, Greek law enforcement authorities identified a female sex trafficking victim from Sudan. The terrorist rebel organization, Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), continues to harbor small numbers of Sudanese and Ugandan children in the southern part of the country for use as cooks, porters, and combatants; some of these children are also trafficked across borders into Uganda or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In March 2007, six Sudanese girls were abducted by the LRA near Maridi, Western Equatoria. Sudanese children are unlawfully conscripted, at times through abduction, and utilized by armed rebel groups—including all SLA factions, the Popular Defense Forces, Janjaweed militia, and Chadian opposition forces—in Sudan's ongoing conflict in Darfur; the Sudanese Armed Forces and associated militias also continue to exploit young children in this region.
Human trafficking in Sudan | History
The UN's 30-day deadline expired on 29 August, after which the Secretary General reported on the state of the conflict. According to him, the situation "has resulted in some improvements on the ground but remains limited overall". In particular, he notes that the Janjaweed militias remain armed and continue to attack civilians (contrary to Resolution 1556), and militia disarmament has been limited to a "planned" 30% reduction in one particular militia, the Popular Defense Forces. He also notes that the Sudanese government's commitments regarding their own armed forces have been only partially implemented, with refugees reporting several attacks involving government forces.
International response to the War in Darfur | August 2004
More than a million people, as of 24 May 2018, signed a petition "Justice for Noura" against her execution. Amnesty International issued a statement, according to which Noura is a victim and the sentence "an intolerable act of cruelty". The death penalty highlights the failure of the Sudanese authorities to tackle child marriage, forced marriage and marital rape, AI said. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Women, the United Nations Population Fund and the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa have all called for clemency while Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres voiced his opposition to the sentence through a spokesman.
Noura Hussein | Protests against her sentence
The mild sanctions reduced the number and level of Sudanese diplomats stationed abroad. The Security Council, with the United States abstaining, removed these sanctions in August 2001. In 2005, the UN Security Council agreed to a travel ban and asset freeze on persons suspected of committing human-rights abuses in Darfur and in 2006 imposed sanctions against four Sudanese involved in Darfur atrocities. Much to the consternation of the United States, Sudan in 2004 filled an African regional seat on the United Nations Human Rights Commission. A UN commission investigating atrocities in Darfur concluded in 2005 that genocide had not occurred.
Foreign relations of Sudan | United Nations
They already enjoy more human rights than do their northern fellow citizens, in that the presence of security forces in the southern garrison towns is lessened and there has been more free speech, free press and free assembly in the south than for decades. The national army, however, has not withdrawn from the south but under the peace agreement it has about two years to complete this process.
CIA activities in Sudan | 2006
The South Sudanese Civil War has killed up to 300,000 civilians, including notable atrocities such as the 2014 Bentiu massacre. There are ethnic undertones between the Dinka and Nuer in the fighting. The United Nations rights office has described the situation in the country as "one of the most horrendous human rights situations in the world." It accused the army and allied militias as allowing fighters to rape women as form of payment, as well as raid cattle in an agreement of "do what you can, take what you can." A 2015 United Nations report accused the army of gang raping and burning alive of girls and women.
Human rights in South Sudan | Ethnic violence
Muslims in the north who express an interest in Christianity or convert to Christianity faced severe social pressure to recant. Some universities continued to pressure women to wear headscarves to classes, although social pressure for women to wear headscarves in public in the north decreased overall. The government arrested, detained, and charged 16 people in connection with the September 2006 killing of Mohamed Taha, the Shi'a editor-in-chief of the "al-Wafaq" daily newspaper, who published a controversial article about the origins of Muhammad.
Freedom of religion in Sudan | Social attitudes
Repatriation of Sudanese refugees remains difficult given the ongoing conflict and tensions in Darfur and South Sudan. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement is viewed as the principal determinant of peace and stability in Sudan. This pact paved the way for the return of thousands of Sudanese refugees from neighboring countries. In South Sudan, armed groups like Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and intertribal clashes have produced increased levels of violence. The patterns of violence point to a clear targeting of women and children. This presents a definite obstacle to repatriation.
Refugees of Sudan | Repatriation