Written statement presented by the ADH at the 49th session of the Human Rights Council-Sudan
The Sudanese military is responsible for several violations of international law
Sudan had been ruled by a transitional civilian government since 2019, when dictator Omar al-Bashir’s long rule was toppled by a popular uprising, the Sudanese army seized power on October 25 seeking to reverse commitments the government of transition had previously taken in particular transitional justice, institutional reforms, the fight against corruption and the guarantee of the non-recurrence of past abuses.
We call on Sudanese military leaders and those who support them to step down in order to allow the country to return to the path of institutional and legal reforms.
It is regrettable that since the military coup of October 25, 2021, at least 13 people have been killed and several hundred injured.Scores of people, including government ministers, political party members, human rights defenders, civil society activists, journalists, lawyers and protest leaders, have been arrested and detained. For this reason, the military coup also sparked opposition and protests in the country. Thousands of people joined the demonstrations which were met with violence.
We believe that the October 25 military coup is deeply disturbing and that the military is now responsible for several violations of international law.
We believe that the Sudanese coup has caused instability everywhere, which threatens human rights, peace, freedom and security, requiring the restoration and release of elected members of the government, among others people who had been arbitrarily detained.
The human rights agency deeply concerned about the crisis in Sudan supports the Sudanese people’s aspiration for democracy and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and calls urgently for the release of the arrested civilian leaders as well as investigations into violations against peaceful protests.
