41st session of the Human Rights Council : Oral statement on the Interactive Dialogue on Sudan

Oral statement delivered by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Mr. President,
OMCT and the SOS-Torture Network are concerned about the deterioration of human rights situation in Sudan over the past months. Our partners have documented hundreds targeted arrests and detention of individuals involved in peaceful protests across the country. Many protestors have been arrested and put in prolonged detention without judicial oversight and access to legal representation.
On 3rd June 2019 more than 118 peaceful protesters have been killed and 600 wounded by Sudanese security forces. There has been reports of torture and ill-treatment including sexual violence against protestors and individuals in custody and some have died as a result of torture at the hands of security agents.
The role played by the National Intel­li­gence and Security Service and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in all these human rights violations particularly the use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment against detainees, in secret detention locations, is particularly worrisome. These security units are well known for their previous participation in gross human rights violations and should not been left unpunished.
The recent agreement between the Forces for Freedom and Change and the Transitional Military Council on 5th July towards the establishment of transitional governing bodies, is not enough to ensure an impartial oversight of all the gross human rights violations that occurred since the beginning of the protests in 2018.
The government of Sudan has repeatedly failed to ensure effective investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment by security forces and has failed to ensure effective remedies or provide reparation to the victims.
We therefore call on the Human Rights Council,·

• To ensure that an international fact-finding mission is rapidly mandated to investigate into human rights violations occurred since 2018;
• To recommend that all military officers responsible for human rights violations do not take part in the transitional sovereign council and be instead judged for their crimes;
• To recommend that all victims of torture and ill treatments have access to justice, reparation and rehabilitation.