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22 August 2000
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CESCR
23rd session
22 August 2000
Morning
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning continued with its examination of the initial report of Sudan on how that country is implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Committee experts asked a Government delegation about women's rights in Sudan, including using flogging as a punishment, and female genital mutilation.
The delegation of Sudan said general policies had been designed to enhance the status of women, and to protect women from violations of their economic, social and cultural rights. It was also important to combat traditions that impeded the enjoyment of human rights by women. Women had made considerable progress in getting rights equivalent to men. Women had the right to vote and to be elected. There were a number of women who had become members of the Sudanese Parliament. Sudanese women were also participating at the executive level, there were seven women in the Supreme Court; and they had played a key role in improving national security.
A law calling for flogging as a punishment, the delegation said, was put in place when Sudan was a colony of the British empire. Sudan merely inherited it. It was only allowed in one province of the country, and it was not exclusively for women -- men could be flogged as well.
Asked further about the practice of female genital mutilation, the delegation said it was a long-standing tradition, but it was exceptionally rare amongst young women today. Two efforts to make it specifically illegal, however, failed, once in 1948 and once in 1974. Still, it was quickly being eradicated.
Experts also asked the delegation about domestic violence laws, martial law, criminal laws, adult illiteracy, education for the nomadic population, teacher salaries, differences between quality of public and private schools, and the debt burden.
When the Committee returns at 3 p.m., it will conclude its consideration of the report of Sudan.
Discussion
Answering questions from the Committee experts, the delegation said general policies had been designed to enhance the status of women, and to protect women from violations of their economic, social and cultural rights. It was also important to combat traditions that impeded the enjoyment of human rights by women. Women had made considerable progress in getting rights equivalent to men. Women had the right to vote and to be elected. There were a number of women who had become members of the Sudanese Parliament. Sudanese women were also participating at the executive level, there were seven women in the Supreme Court; and they had played a key role in improving national security.
The delegation said the use of women in mine clearance did not exist, and had never existed in the country. Sudan had been around for thousands of years, and women helped rule Sudan. Women were the mothers of Sudan and the sisters of Sudan. The country had the highest respect for women. Men were prohibited from striking women in all cases. If that happened, a woman could ask for a divorce.
Asked about the tradition of flogging, the delegation said that was not true. If there had been cases, they should be addressed. There were laws enacted in the colonial period, and that sort of penalty was used under British law. Sudan merely inherited that. And these were not issues that affected Sudan only. There were excesses carried out by some members of the police force. Sudan was not an ideal or exemplary society. Some judges, based on the letter of the law, may have handed down harsh sentences.
The issue of floggings related to a law which was not issued by the central Government, but was issued for only one province. It was not just for women, but for men as well. Even if the intentions were good, implementation of it had proven to be a disaster. The president himself was reconsidering the law. There had been so many negative responses. It was hoped that flogging did not take too much of the Committee's concern. It was being dealt with, but there were more important issues to focus on.
Domestic violence was a matter of great public concern, the delegation said. Of course, there was a problem with it there, just as there was a problem with domestic violence everywhere. But in Sudan, any man who hit a woman was not respected. It was looked down upon. There was shame involved.
The delegation said that female genital mutilation dated back to 2,000 years ago. This had nothing to do with religion, but was just a long-standing tradition. The British in 1948 made a law prohibiting it, and there was a revolution, because it looked like the colonial power was trying to prevent a practice. There was another movement to make it illegal in 1974, and it failed. This practice was decreasing significantly. It was hardly prevailing in cities. There were statistics that showed a high percentage of women who had done it, but those statistics were inflated. The elderly may have had this done, but young women today were not affected by it. It was being eradicated quickly.
The delegation said there were cases of violence that did not affect just women, but men and women. Methods were in place to combat such infringements of the law.
Concerning labour laws, the delegation said workers, employers and the Government met every six months to determine a minimum wage. More than 60 per cent of the workforce worked in agriculture, and that was seasonal work, so the contracts were individual. There had been 20 instances of strikes in the last year, and they were settled after meetings between the employers and the unions. Sudan was not a rich company, and it was in a state of war that was costing a lot, in terms of money and labour force. But at the same time, the Government was trying to provide basic needs for its residents.
Asked about martial law, the delegation said it was put in place in 1989, and was lifted in 1993. It no longer existed.
The delegation said inflation dropped from 179 per cent to 2.5 per cent in a period of 18 months, which impressed the International Monetary Fund enough to invite Sudan for a full membership. That was a good sign for all least development countries.
On criminal justice, the criminal law of 1991 was not applicable to people in southern Sudan, the delegation said. They were free to implement whatever criminal law they wanted to.
With respect to homeless children, it was a phenomenon that occurred only in the 1980s because of the drought and the situation in the South. These children were cared for in centres run by the Government, and reintegration was attempted whenever possible. There were also follow-up programmes to ensure that children did not become homeless yet again.
Asked about Sudan's debt burden, the delegation said from 1958 to 1998, Sudan received a number of grants and loans from international financial institutions, and from various United Nations agencies. The volume of loans during those 40 years totalled $3.7 billion -- they covered 222 development projects. The agricultural sector received most of those loans, with transport and communication and mining getting most of the rest. Often projects ground to a halt because a machine was ineffective, and there was no training to fix the machine. There were also problems with misallocation and misuse of the funds. The consequences of all of this were the debts were ever increasing, and the burden of debt has far exceeded Sudan's ability to repay it. In February 1986, the IMF declared Sudan uncreditworthy. It finally retrieved its full membership last July. In 1999, the total indebtedness reached $20.5 billion. That represented 249 per cent of the gross domestic product, and 1,400 per cent of the exports of Sudan last year. Sudan had been unable to honour its commitments in debt repayments.
The delegation continued that the debt burden could not be used as an excuse to not respect the guarantees spelled out in the International Covenant. But that did not make the situation any less difficult.
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23rd session
22 August 2000
Morning
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights this morning continued with its examination of the initial report of Sudan on how that country is implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Committee experts asked a Government delegation about women's rights in Sudan, including using flogging as a punishment, and female genital mutilation.
The delegation of Sudan said general policies had been designed to enhance the status of women, and to protect women from violations of their economic, social and cultural rights. It was also important to combat traditions that impeded the enjoyment of human rights by women. Women had made considerable progress in getting rights equivalent to men. Women had the right to vote and to be elected. There were a number of women who had become members of the Sudanese Parliament. Sudanese women were also participating at the executive level, there were seven women in the Supreme Court; and they had played a key role in improving national security.
A law calling for flogging as a punishment, the delegation said, was put in place when Sudan was a colony of the British empire. Sudan merely inherited it. It was only allowed in one province of the country, and it was not exclusively for women -- men could be flogged as well.
Asked further about the practice of female genital mutilation, the delegation said it was a long-standing tradition, but it was exceptionally rare amongst young women today. Two efforts to make it specifically illegal, however, failed, once in 1948 and once in 1974. Still, it was quickly being eradicated.
Experts also asked the delegation about domestic violence laws, martial law, criminal laws, adult illiteracy, education for the nomadic population, teacher salaries, differences between quality of public and private schools, and the debt burden.
When the Committee returns at 3 p.m., it will conclude its consideration of the report of Sudan.
Discussion
Answering questions from the Committee experts, the delegation said general policies had been designed to enhance the status of women, and to protect women from violations of their economic, social and cultural rights. It was also important to combat traditions that impeded the enjoyment of human rights by women. Women had made considerable progress in getting rights equivalent to men. Women had the right to vote and to be elected. There were a number of women who had become members of the Sudanese Parliament. Sudanese women were also participating at the executive level, there were seven women in the Supreme Court; and they had played a key role in improving national security.
The delegation said the use of women in mine clearance did not exist, and had never existed in the country. Sudan had been around for thousands of years, and women helped rule Sudan. Women were the mothers of Sudan and the sisters of Sudan. The country had the highest respect for women. Men were prohibited from striking women in all cases. If that happened, a woman could ask for a divorce.
Asked about the tradition of flogging, the delegation said that was not true. If there had been cases, they should be addressed. There were laws enacted in the colonial period, and that sort of penalty was used under British law. Sudan merely inherited that. And these were not issues that affected Sudan only. There were excesses carried out by some members of the police force. Sudan was not an ideal or exemplary society. Some judges, based on the letter of the law, may have handed down harsh sentences.
The issue of floggings related to a law which was not issued by the central Government, but was issued for only one province. It was not just for women, but for men as well. Even if the intentions were good, implementation of it had proven to be a disaster. The president himself was reconsidering the law. There had been so many negative responses. It was hoped that flogging did not take too much of the Committee's concern. It was being dealt with, but there were more important issues to focus on.
Domestic violence was a matter of great public concern, the delegation said. Of course, there was a problem with it there, just as there was a problem with domestic violence everywhere. But in Sudan, any man who hit a woman was not respected. It was looked down upon. There was shame involved.
The delegation said that female genital mutilation dated back to 2,000 years ago. This had nothing to do with religion, but was just a long-standing tradition. The British in 1948 made a law prohibiting it, and there was a revolution, because it looked like the colonial power was trying to prevent a practice. There was another movement to make it illegal in 1974, and it failed. This practice was decreasing significantly. It was hardly prevailing in cities. There were statistics that showed a high percentage of women who had done it, but those statistics were inflated. The elderly may have had this done, but young women today were not affected by it. It was being eradicated quickly.
The delegation said there were cases of violence that did not affect just women, but men and women. Methods were in place to combat such infringements of the law.
Concerning labour laws, the delegation said workers, employers and the Government met every six months to determine a minimum wage. More than 60 per cent of the workforce worked in agriculture, and that was seasonal work, so the contracts were individual. There had been 20 instances of strikes in the last year, and they were settled after meetings between the employers and the unions. Sudan was not a rich company, and it was in a state of war that was costing a lot, in terms of money and labour force. But at the same time, the Government was trying to provide basic needs for its residents.
Asked about martial law, the delegation said it was put in place in 1989, and was lifted in 1993. It no longer existed.
The delegation said inflation dropped from 179 per cent to 2.5 per cent in a period of 18 months, which impressed the International Monetary Fund enough to invite Sudan for a full membership. That was a good sign for all least development countries.
On criminal justice, the criminal law of 1991 was not applicable to people in southern Sudan, the delegation said. They were free to implement whatever criminal law they wanted to.
With respect to homeless children, it was a phenomenon that occurred only in the 1980s because of the drought and the situation in the South. These children were cared for in centres run by the Government, and reintegration was attempted whenever possible. There were also follow-up programmes to ensure that children did not become homeless yet again.
Asked about Sudan's debt burden, the delegation said from 1958 to 1998, Sudan received a number of grants and loans from international financial institutions, and from various United Nations agencies. The volume of loans during those 40 years totalled $3.7 billion -- they covered 222 development projects. The agricultural sector received most of those loans, with transport and communication and mining getting most of the rest. Often projects ground to a halt because a machine was ineffective, and there was no training to fix the machine. There were also problems with misallocation and misuse of the funds. The consequences of all of this were the debts were ever increasing, and the burden of debt has far exceeded Sudan's ability to repay it. In February 1986, the IMF declared Sudan uncreditworthy. It finally retrieved its full membership last July. In 1999, the total indebtedness reached $20.5 billion. That represented 249 per cent of the gross domestic product, and 1,400 per cent of the exports of Sudan last year. Sudan had been unable to honour its commitments in debt repayments.
The delegation continued that the debt burden could not be used as an excuse to not respect the guarantees spelled out in the International Covenant. But that did not make the situation any less difficult.
* *** *