Arbitrary arrest and detention rife in various parts of Sudan, says UN report

28 November 2008
GENEVA – Arbitrary arrest and detention are widespread in many parts of Sudan, and are often linked to further serious human rights violations, including torture and other forms of ill-treatment, according to a report issued on Friday by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The 51-page report covers the capital Khartoum and other parts of Northern Sudan, Southern Sudan, and the three central areas of Abeyi, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile State (but not Darfur, which has been the focus of previous OHCHR reports).

The report concludes that intelligence and security services, police, and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), as well as the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the South, have all committed violations of Sudanese and international law in the form of arbitrary arrests of civilians, in the length and manner of their detention, and in the physical treatment of detainees.

“In Khartoum and other parts of Northern Sudan, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) systematically use arbitrary arrest and detention against political dissidents,” the OHCHR report says. Human rights defenders and Darfurians living in the Khartoum area are also subjected to heightened risks of detention. “NISS detention can typically be accompanied by additional serious human rights violations such as incommunicado detention, ill-treatment, torture or detention in unofficial places.”

The NISS has reportedly been responsible for a large number of cases involving ill-treatment and torture, the report says. “Ill-treatment and torture are reportedly used to intimidate detainees, to punish them, to extract information or to force them to incriminate themselves or others. In some cases death threats are made against detainees prior to their release to prevent them from speaking out about the abuses they suffered in detention.” The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) explicitly limits the National Security Service’s mandate to an advisory role, focusing on information and analysis.

The Sudan has suffered from decades of armed conflict, creating particular challenges for the government authorities, in particular in Southern Sudan and other areas affected by the armed conflict. Arbitrary detention of civilians by the military (SAF and SPLA) in violation of international and Sudanese law is a serious concern. According to the report, UN human rights officers have encountered many cases in Southern Sudan and the Three Areas, in which SPLA soldiers illegally arrested and detained civilians. Some prisoners have been detained for prolonged periods without charge, denied family visits or legal help, and kept in very poor living conditions, with insufficient or inadequate supplies of food, water and medical supplies.

The OHCHR report found disturbing patterns of arbitrary arrest and detention by police forces in the South including arrests of family members of suspects in order to pressure fugitives to turn themselves in. The report also cites cases of women and children detained as a means of forcing their families to pay compensation in civil disputes, or in relation to dowry payments – especially in Southern Sudan, and cites examples of a 17-year old girl sentenced to one year in jail in Yei for leaving her husband, and a 16-year old Dinka girl jailed for two months in Bor for running away from a forced marriage.

While a number of establishments catering specifically for child offenders have been established, in many areas children are arrested and detained on criminal charges by the police. In April 2008 alone, UN police officers found 33 children aged twelve years or younger detained in police jails across Southern Sudan and the Three Areas. Seven of them were aged eight or younger. On one occasion, UN human rights officers witnessed three children being beaten with a horse whip in a police station.

In all of the areas covered by the report impunity is a concern. “Even blatantly unlawful arrests rarely result in criminal or disciplinary actions against the officials involved.” However, it also says the problems “are not necessarily intractable,” adding that “reforming institutions is as important as changing individual attitudes.”

The report also notes there have been “positive examples of judges, prosecutors, parliamentarians and police officers who have taken effective action against arbitrary arrest and detention.” For example the report cites cases where judges disregarded written confession statements that had allegedly been obtained under torture and acquitted defendants who had retracted their confessions in court. A proactive approach by some judges and prosecutors who have visited places of detention and reviewed individual cases has proved to be an effective way to reduce arbitrary arrest and detention.

The Government of National Unity (GoNU) and Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) have taken some positive steps to address the human rights concerns in the report. At the time the report went to press, the GoNU had announced its intention to table legislation to establish an independent human rights commission. In Southern Sudan, the GoSS has established a human rights commission and is in the process of enacting legislation linked to its proposed functions. Senior OHCHR officials in Geneva said they applauded these “encouraging and necessary” steps to address the concerns in the report.

The report has been shared with both governments, and senior officials said the organization is looking forward to a constructive engagement on the OHCHR findings. The report concludes with a list of 28 specific short, medium and long-term recommendations designed to assist the authorities in their efforts to address the concerns identified in the report.

ENDS

The full text of the Tenth periodic report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Sudan can be viewed here ...