voices for sudan's report on the civil society forum on sudan and south sudan in addis ababa,...

7/29/2019 Voices for Sudan's Report on the Civil Society Forum on Sudan and South Sudan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Voices for Sudan Report: Civil Society Forum on Sudan and

South Sudan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

On January 21st through the 23rd, Voices for Sudan participated in the Civil Society

Forum on Sudan and South Sudan in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Abdelbagi Jibril of the DarfurRelief and Documentation Center (DRDC) organized the forum as a pre-Summit contribution tothe 20

thordinary session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government. Jimmy Mulla,

President and Co-Founder of Voices for Sudan, and Kelly Kundrat, Program Director of Voicesfor Sudan, were invited along with fellow leaders of 80 Sudan-focused advocacy groups,

representing national, regional and international organizations. Voices for Sudans attendance atthis important conference was made possible by individual and group supporters of the

organization. Without such support from our friends and family, this important work would notbe possible. Special thanks to: Debi Keller and Humanity United, Eric Cohen, Raymond Huey,

Richard Parkins, Timothy Oslovich, Osseynou Sonko and Abdelbagi Jibril and the entire DRDCteam for making the trip a reality.


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The conference took placeat the beautiful campus of the

International Livestock ResearchInstitute, or the ILRI, in Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia. All in attendancewere welcomed with bright

flowers and crisp sunshine. Theconference officially opened on

Monday, January 21st 2013 withwelcome statements from Ms.

Hannah Foster, Executive Directorof the African Center for

Democracy and Human RightsStudies (ACDHRS), Abdelbagi

Jibril, Executive Director of theDRDC, Mr. Biel Boutro Biel of the

South Sudanese Human RightsSociety for Advocacy (SSHRSA),

Dr. Kambudzi, Secretary to the

Peace and Security Council, AUCommission, and Ms Sephat Nega,representing H.E. Behane Gebre-

Christos, State Minister, Ministryof Foreign Affairs, Federal

Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,Chair of the IGAD Countries

Ministerial Council. Allparticipants gave compelling

opening statements, effectivelysetting the tone for the conference.

After welcoming allparticipants, Mr. Jibril highlighted

the AU Summits focus on Pan-Africanism, and wished to keep the

important concept central to thediscussion at the Forum. Pan-

Africanism is an ideologicalmovement focused on uniting

African peoples worldwide insolidarity.

With the Forum officially

declared open by the centralorganizers, the presenters of thefirst panel, Day One Session One,

sat together at the front table of theconference room.

The first presenter of this panelwas Dr. Mukesh Kapila, a Special

Representative on Crimes AgainstHumanity (Aegis Trust) and

former UN Resident HumanitarianCoordinator for Sudan. His

presentation was titled 10 Yearsof the Humanitarian Crisis in

Darfur: Personal Reflections.With years of experience working

to end the humanitarian crisis inDarfur, Dr. Kapila gave a powerful

and passionate presentation. Dr.Kapila explained being in the

region when the crisis in Darfurbegan to unfold, and his desperate

struggles in getting theinternational community involved.

Parallels were drawn between the

occurrences he witnessed in Darfurten years ago and what is occurringcurrently in the Blue Nile, Nuba

Mountains and South Kordofanregion of Sudan.

But this is much worse. Itis all that we saw in Darfur with

the addition of modern weaponryon top of tactics of ethnic

cleansing. This is Darfur Plus.One of the central problems

in the efforts to stop the tragedies,according to Dr. Kapila, is

fragmentation. The geographicalarenas of these crimes against

humanity in Sudan are beingfragmented when they should be

unified. Dr. Kapila laid out twosuggestions for resolving the crises

in Sudan:First, all theaters must be

connected for a solution because

the bigger picture is being lost.Second, African voices should bethe leadbut crimes against

humanity constitute a crimeagainst allhumanity. There needs

to be a stronger partnershipbetween the Sudanese people and

international organizations.According to Dr. Kapila

there has not been a great change

in the response to the widespreadkillings in Sudan. He noted that

individuals must unite in a moresubstantial waynot simply in

solidarity but in action. Dr. Kapilaended his presentation stating a

sustainable resolution requires anupscale global effort and both

justice and accountability. Headvised against overcomplicating

the narrative.The next presenter, Mr.

Abdul Mohammed, Chief of Staff,African Union (AU) High-Level

Implementation Panel, refrainedfrom giving his personal opinions

as he was representing aninstitution, the AU. His

contribution was titled AU

Involvement in Sudan and SouthSudan: Continued Engagement.The AUs involvement is strategic,

according to Mr. AbdulMohammed.

The way the Sudan andSouth Sudan conflict resolves itself

effects all of African and is inAfricas best interest to resolve,

Mr. Abdul Mohammed stated.Mr. Abdul Mohammed

emphasized two points: first, thestrategic importance of Sudan and

second, the problem of Sudanbeing highly internationalized,

stating how the internationalcommunity engages itself in Sudan

is Africas business. His Africa-only approach to the problems in

Sudan and South Sudan wereemphasized further when he stated

the issues in Sudan and South

Sudan must be understood beforedefining the problems, taking carenot to get involved based on the

definitions of others. These otherdefinitions of the problems in the

region can be taken into account,but there needs to be an African

decision, according to Mr. AbdulMohammed. The outline of the

African Unions principles


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involvement in Sudan weredescribed as the following: first,

the separation of the two Sudansnot separated into an Arab North

and an African South, andsecondly, the management of two

diverse societies in separation, butremaining amicable neighbors for

the sake of mutualinterdependency.

Mr. Abdul Mohammedoutlined three lessons. First, the

engagement of the AU has beenand will continue to be sustained.

There are no quick fixes, so theinvolvement requires patience.

Second, both countries haveleadership groups from the

Sudanese elite. These individuals

are tactical thinkers andpurposefully address day-to-dayproblems, purposefully getting out

of solving long-term issues. Third,AU has successfully managed

international intervention to helpfacilitate aid and sustainable

solutions.Mr. Abdul Mohammed

concluded his presentation bystating a major problem in

reconciling the issues within andbetween the two countries remains

the problem of having too manyactors without purpose and a lack

of long-term thinking.The third presenter from

Session One, Day One wasProfessor Kwame Karikari,

Director for the Media Foundationof West Africa. His contribution

was The Humanitarian Crisis in

Sudan and South Sudan: ARegional and Global Concern.Professor Karikari pointed out

Sudan and South Sudansplacement within the zone of a

conflict regionthe geographicalproximity to civil wars, political

events etc...may contribute andintensify the problems being

experienced within and between

the countries. For example, thecrisis in Mali has effected the

surrounding regions and half of thecontinent. Issues of Arab

colonization, the slave trade, andcontemporary economic resource

management issues (such as oil)serve to inflame the conflict, or

make the conflict more flammable,according to Professor Karikari.

The effects of these issues reachfar beyond their set geographical

region.Beyond pointing out the

interconnectedness of variousissues effecting Sudan and South

Sudan, Professor Karikari calledupon 1) the AU to develop policies

surrounding oil production in order

to make the natural resource ablessing, not a curse, 2) theAfrican media to present more

information on the issues of Sudanand South Sudan as there is the too

heavy a reliance on external,Western media, and 3) the AU and

NGOs to encourage more Africanvolunteers as the African

involvement represents muchneeded human resources. Professor

Karikari concluded hispresentation by warning of the

possibility of indigenousknowledge and culture being

destroyed by the ongoing livingconditions.

The final presenter fromDay One Session One was Dr.

Usman Bugaje, FormerPresidential Envoy of the Federal

Government of Nigeria to Sudan.

His presentation was The Reportof the AU High-Level Panel onDarfur: An Authentic African

Intellectual Contribution. Dr.Bugaje pointed to three major

issues in Sudan: 1) Power andwealth, 2) religion and 3) ethnicity.

You can share power andwealth. You can manage diversity,

but you cannot share religion and

culture, Dr. Bugaje explained,Pitting culture against one another

creates phobia. An understandingof culture and religion should be

revisited.Dr. Bugaje addressed the

issues of diversity within theregion, and the importance of

creating cross-cultural awarenessand understanding.

The region does not haveto be uniform to be united, Dr.

Bugaje concluded.After the panel presenters

spoke, fellow participants of theconference were allowed a chance

to make comments and ask furtherquestions. The issue of whether the

troubles faced by the people within

Sudan and South Sudan constitutedan African problem, needing anAfrican solution or whether the

international community should beengaged came up again.

This is a false debate! Dr.Kapila stated, The people in the

Nuba Mountains are not going toask, Where are you from? I only

want to be saved by people fromthe Moon. No! They say Help!

We must move beyond this debateso there is no more divide and rule.

Listen to the people most effectedby this and let that guide the

efforts.The panel session ended

with a call to reignite pan-Africansolidarityin the form of student

movements, labor movementsetc...to push the leaders within

the region to do what they should.


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Day One Session Two:The second panel began

after a lunch break. The firstpresenter was Mr. Magdi Al Naim,

a Human Rights Researcher inKhartoum. His presentation was

Civil Rights and PoliticalFreedoms in Sudan: Continuous

Regression in all Fields. Mr.Magdi Al Naim explained that

human rights violations, as well asthe political and economic crisis

within the region, are increasing.Victims are mainly youth, Mr.

Magdi Al Naim stated. Heinformed the participants that

fundamentalists monopolizeaccessibility to resources.

The second presenter was

Dr. Suliman Balbo, the Director ofthe Africa Division at theInternational Center for

Transitional Justice. Hispresentation, Intertribal Violence

in North Darfur and SouthKordofan States: A Hidden Civil

War? made the argument that theongoing tribal warfare often

dismissed as local level quarrelsactually represents a form of

hidden civil war. The tribalconflicts, according to Dr. Suliman

Balbo, are often over resources andboundaries but the introduction of

weaponry transformed theconflicts. Dr. Suliman Balbo points

to the modern governments loss ofability to keep the peace.

Next was Ms. CorlettLetlojane speaking for the absent

Mr. Hassan Shire Sheikh,

Executive Director of the East andHorn of Africa Human RightsDefenders Project (EHAHRDP).

Mr. Sheikhs report, as presentedby Ms. Letlojane, was on The

Situation of Human RightsDefenders in Sudan. The

presentation touched on theviolence targeted at activists

speaking out within the country as

well as the issue of surveillance.Many activists, according to the

presentation, are being arrested,tortured and sometimes killed.

The final presenter fromthe second panel on the first day

was Dr. Mohammed Jalal Hashim,Secretary General for the Nubian

Association. Dr. Hashimspresentation, Fundamental

Freedom and Liberties:Curtailment of Press Freedoms and

Freedom of Association in Sudan,discussed the changes in the

freedom of press within thecountry after the Comprehensive

Peace Agreement (CPA). Dr.Hashim explained that after the

CPA, the grip on the president was

released a little, giving him morepower to restrict freedoms. At thattime, the president closed form

newspapers and NGOs. Variouseditors and journalists were

summoned, representing the newmethod of systematic harassment.

Individuals would get sued, thensuspended, and then confiscated,

according the Dr. Hashim. Variouswebsites and some personal email

accounts would be hacked andblocked. All of these tactics,

according to Dr. Hashim, served toprevent certain journalists from

writing and has created a state ofvulnerability for NGOs functioning

within Sudan.

Day One Session Three:

The third session of thefirst day included updates from

particular conflict regions. Mr.Hafiz Mohamed Ismaed, the

Director of Justice Africa (Sudan)gave an update on the situation in

the South Kordofan State. Mr.Ismaed outlined the great

displacement occurring within theregion. An invisible

displacement phenomenon isoccurring because people distrust

the government, resulting in a lackof given details. Mr. Ismaed spoke

about serious food and healthissues within the South Kordofan

State, particularly the outbreak ofdiarrhea. He concluded by stating

immediate action is needed.The next presenter was Dr. Luka

Biong Deng, the Director of theKush World Organization. Dr.

Luka gave an update on thesituation in the Blue Nile State. He

touched on the hotly contested

Abyei region, and the issue ofindividuals returning after beingdisplaced without assistance. The

large population influx is occurringwithout any government present in

the area, just the United Nations.Dr. Luka made a special call to the

presidents to push the proposal forthe Abyei referendum and

economic future.The final presenter for this

panel was Dr. Hamid Eltigani Ali,President of the DRDC. Dr.

Eltigani gave an update on thehumanitarian situation in Darfur. A

call to endorse unity of all theSudanese people was made by Dr.

Eltigani. He claimed to stop thecrisis in the region the priority

needs to be to prevent theSudanese state from failing. To do

this, Dr. Eltigani states we must

find the common denominator andkeep from getting too caught up inideological discussions. The panel

ended with a challenge to endimpunity at all levels, not just on

the international stage.


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With such an intellectualand passionate group of panelistson the panels for the day, the final

panel, Session Four, was cancelleddue to lack of time. This panel

would have included our ownJimmy Mullas presentation

South Sudan and the Nation-Building Process: A Civil Society

Perspective. Instead, the first dayof the conference ended with a

presentation of Yoletta Nyangesdocumentary, Erasing the Nuba:

a powerful journalistic piece on theongoing bombing of the people

living in the Nuba Mountains.

Day Two Session One:

After a night of deep sleepenjoying the superb weather Addis

Ababa has to offer, Day Twobegan with Session One, a panel

focused on the issues surroundingSudanese women. The first

presenter was Ms. Arwa Al Rabie,Manager for the Khatim Adlan

Center for Enlightenment andHuman Development. Ms. Rabies

presentation was on theViolations of Womens Rights

under the Sudanese Public OrderLaws. She explained the

governments process of keepingwomen out of the public sector

through harassment anddiscrimination. In particular, the

Public Order laws are being used

to justify this harassment anddiscrimination against women. The

laws themselves are problematic,according to Ms. Rabie, because of

their ambiguity and unclearmethods of implementation. Ms.

Rabie presented her belief that thelaws regarding improper dress are

enforced in such a way thatfunction to make women feel

ashamed of their bodies.Any public officer can

stop a woman on the street and sayshes in improper dress or with

males that are not related to her,Ms. Rabie had explained.

Ms. Rabie had stated theseproblematic Public Order laws

represent not only legal issues, but

also larger issues with womenbeing treated as second-classcitizens in Sudan.

Being feminine became acrime in itself to the legislatures.

The second presenter wasMs. Niemat Ahmadi, President of

the Darfur Women Action Group.Her presentation was An Update

About the Situation of Women inDarfur. Ms. Ahmadi explained

that the internally and externallydisplaced people in Darfur are

mostly women. The widespreaduse of rape as a weapon of war has

effectively sidelined women. Ms.Ahmadi stated women are an

important resource in Darfur, and asolution to the issues for women

must be reached in order for theDarfur issue to be resolved. She

also mentioned the practice of

systematic rape of girls and womenis occurring across Sudan, not justin Darfur. Women and girls are

subject to arrests and torture by theregime. Ms. Ahmadi expressed

disappointment in the UN and AUlack of a gender-neutral approach.

Women are not part of thenegotiation and peacemaking

process. They have had no say in

this mediation. Woman must bebrought back in to the process,

Ms. Ahmadi explained.Beyond the current issues

of widespread systematic rape, Ms.Ahmadi expressed concern with

the lack of a safe space in whichwomen can report these crimes.

Women are not expected to go tothe courts, and as most courts are

male, women who do go are notcomfortable enough to tell their

story, Ms. Ahmadi stated.During the comments and

questions portion of this panel,someone expressed their opinion

that time is being wasted onstorytelling: that we already know

all these stories and information,

but what we need to talk about ispolicy suggestions. Ms. Ahmadidisagreed with this, stating that

while policy suggestions andcomprehensive strategies are of

vital importance, storytelling is aswell. For example, she brought up

the Rwandan genocide andmentioned she did not know about

the violence until seeing the movieHotel Rwanda. It is very possible,

according to Ms. Ahmadi, thatSudanese neighbors may not know

about the situations in Sudan, andthat telling these stories is

important to spread awareness.

Day Two Session Two:The second session of the

second day involved issues ofracial and cultural identities

struggles as a means to justifypower and exclusion. The first

presenter was Dr. Al Baqir Al-Afif, Director of KACEHD. His


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presentation was the ArmedConflicts and Humanitarian Crisis

in Sudan as Catalysts of theNational Identity Dilemma in

Sudan. Dr. Baqir stated his highhopes for the CPA thinking the

agreement would simply divideone peoples into two countries

with soft borders and dualcitizenship. However, this did not

happen. Dr. Baqirs explanationfor why things went bad involved

one ethnic groups rules, bothpolitical and structural. In other

words, according to Dr. Baqir, theruling class within Sudan has

institutionalized their ownprejudicesa project followed by

the Sudan governmentand

skewed identities, affecting thepsyche of the national people. Thenew element of this program of

discrimination is to eliminateindigenous identities, recreating

the population into their ownimage, Dr. Baqir explained.

The next presenter, Dr.Juma Kunda Koney, Lecturer at

the Bahri Open University inKhartoum, discussed the Essence

of the Crisis of Governance andthe Role of Cultural Assimilation

in Armed Conflicts and PoliticalUnrest in Sudan. Dr. Koney

explained that the issues of theconflict and ethnocide are caused

by a crisis in the contested nationalidentity. The current national

identity in Sudan is notaccommodating to sub-national

identities, Dr. Koney stated.

Next, Mr. Jerome Tubiana,a Sudan Analyst at theInternational Crisis Group,

presented the Center-PeripheryRelations in Sudan and their

Impact on Full Enjoyment ofHuman Rights and Fundamental

Freedoms. Mr. Tubiana stated,The wars are between the

peripheries and the centerwhich

is not so much marginalization buthorizontal inequalities. Mr.

Tubiana warned against thedangers of making political issues

based on demographic identities,claiming, This is not a one-

dimensional conflict. The panelended with recommendations on

how to end the oppressive tacticsof acculturation and assimilation.

Day Two Session Three:The third session of the

second day addressed inter-humanitarian matters. The first

presenter was Commander AbebeMuluneh Beyene, Head of the

IGAD Security Sector Program,who presented The Role of IGAD

Countries in the Protection ofCivilians in Sudan and South

Sudan. Mr. Beyene discussed thedrought that had affected many of

the IGAD countries and thesubsequent issue of widespread

famine. He stated, The securitythreats are highly interlinked and

interconnected, within the region,and that the drought and famine

led to a mistrust of the memberstates.

Second was Mr. OmerIsmail, a Senior Policy Advisor for

the Enough Project, presentingRule of Law and Protection of

Vulnerable Groups (DarfurExperience). Mr. Ismail stated

that it is the most basic rule of lawfor a state to protect its civilians.

If a state fails to do this, said Mr.Ismail, then international

organizations should step in.Although members of the

international community may notrepresent those who would be best

suited to end the suffering ofSudanese civilians, it should

happen, Mr. Ismail explained. Thefailure of international intervention

to provide protection to the peopleof Darfur has stemmed from a lack

of communication. A possiblesolution to the lack of reporting on

the situation in Darfur could be forinternational organizations, such as

UNAMID, to step in to providetraining and supply technology to

the people within the region.

The final presenter of

session three was Dr. MehariTaddele Maru, an Independent

Expert, presenting Reinforcingthe Protection of Civilians Under

Situations of Armed Conflicts: TheNeed for Urgent Reform ofUNAMID. Dr. Maru pointed out

the potential for utilizing theconference as a forum to engage

AU council officials. There needsto be a source for a stable and

legitimate democratic state inSudan. According to Dr. Maru,

Sudan fails the credibility testbecause of the 1) systematic

violation of rights, 2) violation ofthe trust of the people through

manipulation and deception, and 3)lack of constitutional ability to

change the government. The

question and answer portion of thispanel presentation touched on theloss of UNAMID neutrality and

the need for an UNAMIDaccountability system.


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Day Two Session Four:

The fourth session of thesecond day discussed theengagement of international

organizations within the crises inSudan. The first presenter was Mr.

Desire Assogbavi, Head of OxfamLiaison Office with the African

Union. Mr. Assogbavi presentedCollaboration between the AU

and Civil Society: Procedures andPractice. Here, Mr. Assogbavidiscussed four main spaces of

collaboration: 1) institutionalspace; created by AU policies with

few real impacts and verybureaucratic, 2) invited space; AU

commission cultures, 3) self-created spaces and 4) joint space;

jointly organized. Mr. Assogbaviexplained there are still many

challenges with this coalition,pointing out that only ten percent

or less of AU decisions areactually implemented.

The next presenter was Dr.Lulsegged Abebe from

International Alert. Dr. Abebespresentation was Cooperation

Between the Inter-GovernmentalOrganizations and Civil Society:

Practical Experience. Dr. Abebeexplained that a treaty between two

or more governments constitutedan inter-governmental

organization. Dr. Abebe expressedhis belief in the need for a new

definition of global leadership andinternational cooperation in order

to create an effective collectiveglobal group. Through this

leadership, dialogue can befacilitated with a consultation and

partnership with the civil society,according to Dr. Abebe.

The final presenter wishedto remain anonymous and

presented on the Cooperationbetween UNAMID and Local Civil

Society: Practical Experience fromSudan. Anonymous stated that

although UNAMID is apeacekeeping organization that has

facilitated peace agreements, theseagreements have never brought

about peace. The Janjaweed,according to Anonymous, is

becoming more then they used tobe. Anonymous believed the

peacekeeping efforts of UNAMIDhave been ineffective and as such,

a change must be made.

Day Three Session One:

The third and final day ofthe Civil Society Forum on Sudan

and South Sudan began with anacknowledgment of the lack of

South Sudanese voices thus far.This was rectified with and

invitation for participants from theSouth to present on the ongoing

situations within the region.Conference participants from the

South explained that over 60% ofthe population in the south is

women because of the long-termconflict. Individuals also expressed

the need to codify customarylawsespecially in regards to

affirmative action for women inthe government.

The first panel of the thirdday was the Civil Society

Perspective and Strategy on FutureAdvocacy Action on Sudan and the

Republic of South Sudan. Thefirst presenter, Ms. Miriam

Kemple, the Campaigns andAdvocacy Manager of Crisis

Action, discussed SouthernKordofan and Blue Nile:

Addressing the Conflict through

Coordinated Advocacy. Ms.Kemple explained the concernsand goals of Crisis Action as being

1) the protection of civilians inarmed conflict, 2) working behind

the scenes and 3) workingglobally. Ms. Kemple explainedthat There will be no agreement

elsewhere in the region withoutpeace in Darfur and the Blue Nile /

South Kordofan. Crisis Action is,

according to Ms. Kemple, workingwith actors who actually haveleverage with the Sudan

government in order to establishpeace.

The next presenter, Mr.Hafiz Ismael from Justice Africa,

discussed the National CivilSociety Perspective in Sudan. Mr.

Ismael explained that civil societyis losing its place in Sudan because

of restrictions, red tape andcapacity building. The government

is working hard to drain theirresources, Mr. Ismael stated.

There is a front of freedom anddemocracy with civil society, but it

is not truethere are too manyrestrictions. To have national

advocacy, we need an active civil


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society working togetherthroughout the year, not just

coming together at this forum,Mr. Ismael said. He ended his

presentation with the need for aclear articulation of a cumulative

civil society message to establishclear goals of future projects.

Next was Mr. EdmundYekani, the Director of

Community EmpowermentProgress Organization, presenting

the National Civil SocietyPerspective from South Sudan.

Mr. Yekani explained the need forthe civil society to come out with a

very strong message, and called forthe AU implementation panel to

open doors to civil society. The

civil society in South Sudan isreceiving no feedback from policymakers and government officials,

according to Mr. Yekani. Heexplained that there must be an

institutionalization of advocacywith participatory national policy

development. This encouragementof interaction would, according to

Mr. Yekani, secure a space forhuman rights. Mr. Yekani also

pointed out the problematicpractice of individual militia

groups becoming a part of theSouth Sudan police force without

any actual training. He concludedby calling for a push for

accountability and transparencywithin South Sudan.

Next, Niemat Ahmadispoke about the United to End

Genocide approach. Ms. Ahmadi

stated the plan is twofold: 1)bringing together key playerscoinciding with the ten year mark

of the Darfur genocide and 2)events in D.C. marking ten years

of atrocity called Decade inDarfur. According to Ms.

Ahmadi, these events will be donealongside an arrest Bashir

campaign.

The last presenter, Ms.Hannah Forster, Executive

Director of the African Center forDemocracy and Human Rights

Studies, spoke about the RegionalCivil Society Perspective. Ms.

Forster discussed the important ofhaving interface between advocacy

efforts and the need forcoordination.

We must head the Sudanesevoices first, then we can add

outsider help and support, Ms.Forster stated.

Final SessionElaboration and

Adoption of Issue-SpecificResolutions:

The capstone event of theCivil Society Forum on Sudan and

South Sudan was the Commissionof the Whole: Elaboration and

Adoption of Issue-SpecificResolutions. Here, all participants

of the conference conferred to editand adopt nine resolutions. These

resolutions can be read in theirentirety below, and include thefollowing: 1) Resolution on the

Humanitarian Situation inSouthern Kordofan and the Blue

Nile States, 2) Resolution onArmed Militias in Sudan, 3)

Resolution on the Status ofStateless Persons in Sudan, 4)

Resolution on the Situation ofHuman Rights in the Republic of

South Sudan, 5) Resolution on theUnited Nations and African Union

Hybrid Operation in Darfur(UNAMID), 6) Resolution on the

Report of the African Union High-

Level Panel on Darfur (AUHIP),7) Resolution on the Situation in

Darfur, 8) Resolution on theCritical Situation of Women in

Sudan and South Sudan, 9)Resolution on Civil Rights and

Political Freedoms in Sudan.President and Co-founder

of Voices for Sudan, Jimmy Mulla,helped draft and edit Resolution

One on the Humanitarian Situationin Southern Kordofan. Program

Director, Kelly Kundrat, helpeddraft and edit Resolution Eight on

the Critical Situation of Women inSudan and South Sudan.

Since the conference,progress has been made with the

proposed resolutions. After a series

of discussions with some membersand the Secretary of the AU Peaceand Security Council, the

resolutions of DRDC-led meetingwill be presented to the members

of the PSC hopefully as agenda fora plenary session or to limited

group of interested member states.We will keep you updated as

progress continues with theseimportant resolutions.

-Kelly Kundrat

Program DirectorVoices for Sudan


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The First Session of the Civil Society Forum on Sudan and South Sudanconvened in Addis Ababa on 21-23 January 2013. This three-day event wasorganised by Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre in collaboration with theAfrican Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, Darfur BarAssociation, Human Rights Institute of South Africa and South Sudan HumanRights Society for Advocacy. The Forum was organised as a civil society

contribution to the 20

th

session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State andGovernment.

More than 80 participants attended the first session of the Forum. Theyrepresent independent NGOs from Sudan and South Sudan as well asSudan-focused civil society groups from Africa and Western Europe. Seniorofficials from the African Union Commission, Inter-governmental Authority onDevelopment (IGAD), the United Nations and the European Union attendedthe First Session of the Civil Society Forum on Sudan and South Sudan.

The key objectives of the Forum are: 1. To map-out the obstacles to the

realisation of durable peace in Sudan and South Sudan and to share suchfindings with relevant AU organs and the IGAD Secretariat; 2. To strengthencollaboration between Sudan-focused civil society groups and the IGADSecretariat, the AU and its specialised organs such as the DPA, AUPSC,ECOSOCC, CIDO, ACHPR, PAP etc.; and 3. To harmonise advocacyactivities among Sudanese and Sudan-focused civil society and present theircollective vision on the on-going situation to concerned partners at thecontinental and the global levels.

The Forum adopted 11 resolutions addressing an array of issues in Sudanand the Republic of South Sudan. The resolutions adopted addressed the

following matters:

1. Humanitarian Situation in the Southern Kordofan and the Blue NileStates

2. Armed Militias in Sudan

3. Status of Stateless Persons in Sudan

4. Human Rights Situation in the Republic of South Sudan

5. United Nations and African Union Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID)

6. Report of the African Union High-Level Panel on Darfur (AUHIP)

7. Situation in Darfur

8. Critical Situation of Women in Sudan and South Sudan

9. Civil Rights and Political Freedoms in Sudan

10. Situation in Abyei Area

11. Civil Society: Current Situation and Recommendations


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1. Resolution on the Situation in Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile States

We, the participants at the Civil Society Forum on Sudan and South Sudan held in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia, 21

st23

rdJanuary 2013, within the context of the 20

thOrdinary Session of

the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

Consideringthe provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), the Charterof the United Nations (UN) as well as those of the African Charter on Human and PeoplesRights and other regional and international human rights instruments to which Sudan as astate party, is legally bound to fully and effectively implement the provisions of theseinstruments, and respect and promote the human rights and fundamental freedoms settherein without discrimination on any ground;

Deeplyconcerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation, insecurity, violence andmassive violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms being committed inSouthern Kordofan and the Blue Nile States in the Republic of Sudan;

Outragedat the continuing reports of grave violations of human rights and internationalhumanitarian law in these two states, including indiscriminate aerial bombardment incivilian areas and massive displacement of civilian populations, looting of homes anddestruction of property, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention of perceived politicalopponents, torture, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances of civilians,especially those belonging to the indigenous Nuba and Ingassina ethnic groups in theseregions;

Deploringthe unwillingness of the Government of Sudan to allow UN agencies and wellas independent international relief organizations and humanitarian workers access to thewar-affected populations thus putting the lives of a growing number of civilians in thesetwo regions, especially women and children, at high risk;

Welcomingefforts of the AU to address the situation in South Kordofan and the Blue NileStates and recalling in this regard Communiqu PSC/MIN/COMM/3.(CCCXIX) adopted bythe AU Peace and Security Council on 24 April 2012, as endorsed by UNSC Resolutionno. 2046/2012; provided a comprehensive approach which, inter alia, set out specifictimetable for the government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) to reach a peaceful resolution to the armed conflict in those regions;

Notingalso that Communiqu PSC/MIN/COMM/3. (CCCXIX) called on the Government of

Sudan to accept the tripartite proposal as submitted by the AU, the UN and the League ofArab States to permit humanitarian access to the population in Southern Kordofan and theBlue Nile States and to date the Government of Sudan has failed to authorize theimplementation of this arrangement;

Fullyconvinced that lasting and sustainable peace and stability in Sudan as well as adurable end to armed conflicts and political unrest in the country necessitatecomprehensive solutions through just and negotiated political settlements that address theroot causes of such conflicts in all parts of the country;

We call upon the 20th

Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and

Government to:


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1. Urge the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-Northto take immediate steps to start political negotiations and reach an acceptable andlasting settlement of the armed conflict in the Blue Nile and Southern KordofanStates in accordance with Communiqu PSC/MIN/COMM/3.(CCCXIX) adopted bythe AU Peace and Security Council on 24 April 2012 as endorsed by the UNSecurity Council Resolution 2046

of 2 May 2012, and that a specific timetable be

fixed for the two parties to reach such a political settlement.

2. Further urge the parties to the conflict to observe a cessation of hostilitiesarrangement, with immediate effect, end all military activities and attacks againstcivilians in Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile States and put a halt to the graveviolations of human and peoples rights, in particular the indiscriminate aerialbombardment of inhabited areas and the forced displacement of civilians, with aspecific deadline fixed for the two parties to reach such an arrangement.

3. Encourage the Government of Sudan to allow international relief organizations andindependent reporters immediate and unconditional access to Southern Kordofan

and the Blue Nile States in order to conduct assessments and provide thenecessary independently monitored humanitarian assistance to the needy civiliansin the affected regions as agreed upon by the AU, the League of Arab States andthe UN and provided for in the "Joint AU/LAS/UN Proposal for Access to Provideand Deliver Humanitarian Assistance to War-Affected Civilians in Blue Nile andSouthern Kordofan States."

4. Request the UN Security Council to mandate an international fact-finding mission tovisit Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile States and to investigate and report backto the UNSC on the violations of human rights and international humanitarian lawcommitted in these two states since the start of the conflict in June 2011. TheCommission of Investigations should recommend to the UNSC measures to holdaccountable perpetrators of atrocious crimes documented in its report.

5. Call on the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North to guarantee the fundamental rights of the victims to the restoration of theirproperties and land, and to reparations for the loss of lives, serious injuries, loss ordamage of property, and other harms caused by the belligerents in the course ofthe conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States.

6. Call on the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-

North to support processes of intercommunal and tribal reconciliation andrestoration of social peace and peaceful coexistence among the population groupsof the two states.

Done at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 23rd

January 2013


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2. Resolution on Armed Militias in Sudan


st23




Consideringthe provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), the Charterof the United Nations (UN) as well as those of the African Charter on Human and PeoplesRights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Protocol on theRights of Women in Africa, the Protocol Establishing the AU Peace and Security Council,and other regional and international human rights instruments and humanitarian law;

Notingthat Article 4 of the AU Constitutive Act reaffirms faith in the dignity of the humanperson, in the sanctity of human life, and condemns and rejects impunity, therebyestablishing the right of the AU Member States to intervene in the territory of any MemberState to prevent the commission of grave crimes such as war crimes, crimes againsthumanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide;

Gravely concernedabout the impact of armed conflicts on civilian populations, includingwomen, children and other vulnerable groups, and that armed conflicts represent a realdanger to territorial integrity and trans-border stability of concerned states;

Stressingthat maintaining peace and law and order is the prime responsibility of theregular security forces of the State and that there is a need for specific instruction ofmilitary personnel and security forces to uphold international humanitarian law and humanand peoples rights;

Deeply concernedby the policy of the Government of Sudan to recruit tribal militia groupsand para-military formations such as the Popular Defense Forces, Central Reserve Police,Borders Guard, and that such groups commit heinous crimes abhorrent to all canons ofcivilized life targeting defenceless civilian populations in Darfur, Southern Kordofan andthe Blue Nile States in flagrant violation of regional and international human rights andhumanitarian law;

We call upon the 20th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State andGovernment to:

1. Condemn the violence and destruction of lives and livelihoods, including war

crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing committed by tribal militiagroups and paramilitary formations against civilian populations in Sudan to whichthey must be held accountable.

2. Condemn in the strongest possible terms the policy of the Government of Sudan touse militia groups in its military efforts in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and the BlueNile States.

3. Express its concern about the integration of the Popular Defence Forces, tribalmilitias, and other paramilitary forces into the regular armed forces and policeincluding some of the militias which were transformed into border guard forces.


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4. Further express its concern about the practice of the Government of Sudan tomobilize and recruit militias from outside the country, and that such militia groupsdisplace local communities with clear intention of demographic engineering.

5. Condemn the government policy to militarize society on ethnic ground and thatmilitia groups recruited within this policy are deployed in areas different from their

areas of origins.

6. Urge the Government of Sudan to take the necessary actions to disarm all armedgroups other than the regular military and police forces.

7. Further urge the Government of Sudan to take immediate measures, in coordinationwith competent regional and international organizations, to disarm, dismantle andabrogate all laws that protect and organize its relationship with tribal militia groupsand para-military formations.

8. Invite the AU Peace and Security Council to study the negative impact of the use of

armed militia groups and para-military formations on the safety and security ofcivilians in Sudan, as well as the dangers that such groups pose to peace andstability in the African sub-region.

9. Urge the African Union Peace and Security Council, in collaboration with theGovernment of Sudan, to investigate the claim of deployments of foreign militias inconflict areas in Sudan.

10. Urge the Government of Sudan to ensure wider dissemination of information oninternational humanitarian law among its security forces and to integrate humanrights education within the training programmes for such forces.

Done at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 23rd January 2013


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3. Resolution on the Status of Stateless Persons in Sudan


st23




Notingthat the Government of Sudan has introduced amendments to the SudaneseNationality Act of 1994, and that the amendments, which were adopted in response to thesecession of the Republic of South Sudan entered into force on 10 August 2011;

Deeplyconcernedthat the amendments to the Sudanese Nationality Act of 1994 havebeen discriminatory in nature targeting a specific segment of the Sudanese population, forinstance Article 10 (2) provides that "A person will automatically lose his Sudanesenationality if he has acquired, de jure or de facto, the nationality of South Sudan; hasbeen retroactively applied, thereby full-fledged Sudanese citizens originating from SouthSudan have been collectively and arbitrarily deprived of their rights;

Notingalso that in May 2011, Sudan introduced a new system of national identification(National Registration Numbers) declaring that the measure intends to preserve theSudanese identity from intruders, and that registration through the new system is requiredfor enjoyment of citizenship rights and access to civil amenities such as obtainingpassports and driving licenses, employment in the public and private sectors, universityregistration, banking transactions and exit visa;

Gravelyconcernedabout reports that the process of authentication of the identity of theapplicants for the National Registration Number is marred by serious difficulties andimplemented in a manner that discriminates against citizens originating from certainregions of the country, and that the security risks as well as the weak infrastructure orunavailability of communication networks are being used by government officials asreasons that the internally displaced persons and war victims in Darfur, Southern Kordofanand the Blue Nile States are deliberately left out in the registration process;

Deeply alarmedby the reports that the process of national identification is complicated,selective and highly politicized and that individuals from some peripheral regions of Sudanor those of South Sudan origin were arbitrarily deprived of their right to procure NationalRegistration Numbers without respect to the evidence that these individuals are full-fledged Sudanese citizens as governed byjus soliandjus sanguinis principles under theSudanese Nationality Act, thus creating a situation of growing statelessness in Sudan;


1. Urge the Government of Sudan to respect its obligations under regional andinternational human rights treaties to which Sudan is a state party, and in particularto protect the rights and freedoms of all individuals living in Sudan, especially thoseSudanese citizens with South Sudanese ancestry.

2. Advise the Government of Sudan to eliminate all discriminatory administrativemeasures and practices associated with the procurement of the "National

Registration Number" and to facilitate the procedures for obtaining the Sudaneseidentity documents to all rightful citizens, especially those in Sudan's peripheralareas including the internally displaced persons in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and


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the Blue Nile States, without prejudice.

3. Urge the Government of Sudan to take the necessary steps to ensure that theprocess of national identification does not create a situation of statelessness in thecountry and that human dignity requires that the individual's volition of its citizens beaccorded the utmost respect in matters and procedures for the authentication and

establishment of national identity.


January 2013


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4. Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in the Republic of South Sudan


st23




Guidedby the principles and objectives of the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act, theCharter of the United Nations, the Universal Bill of Human Rights, the African Charter onHuman and Peoples' Rights and other relevant regional and international human rightsinstruments;

Reaffirmingthe fundamental obligation of States to ensure that all individuals within theirterritories fully enjoy their human rights, liberties and freedoms and that States have theprimary responsibility for the promotion and protection of all human rights, including civiland political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights and the right todevelopment;

Reaffirmingalso that States need to build the necessary legal and legislative frameworkand eliminate any legal vacuum that could exist and create a situation in which individualsand groups are rendered vulnerable to violations of their basic rights, including harassment,intimidation and arbitrary arrest and detentions, and that the absence of legal safeguardsenables the security officers to arrest and detain people without any judicial purview or theauthority to do so;.Acknowledgingthe growing challenges faced by the Republic of South Sudan in its effortsin the vital fields of state-building and institutional capacity as well as human rightseducation and training, however, such challenges shall not be considered as pretexts forregression in the area of the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms or for the violations thereof;


1. Urge the Republic of South Sudan to take immediate steps to adhere to the majorregional and international human rights instruments, particularly the African Charteron Human and Peoples' Rights, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human andPeoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Protocol on the Preventionand Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women and Children, the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Eliminationof All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on theRights of the Child, the International Convention against All Forms of RacialDiscrimination and other relevant regional and international human rightsinstruments.

2. Urge the Republic of South Sudan to urgently enact laws to protect freedom ofexpression, media freedoms, establish and regulate the powers of the nationalsecurity service, especially with regard to the arrest and detention of people, and

conduct independent investigations into abuses and killings of journalists, includingthe assassination of the late Isaiah Abraham, to ensure that the perpetrators arebrought to justice.


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3. Encourage the Republic of South Sudan to accord particular attention to inculcatinghuman rights culture - through training and education - among members of the lawand order forces and that priority should be accorded to training in the area of theprotection of civilian populations, the administration of justice and the rule of law,and the promotion and protection of womens human rights as well as theprevention and provision of response to acts of gender base violence.

4. Encourage the Republic of South Sudan to seek technical assistance andcooperation with competent regional and international institutions in the field ofhuman rights education, training and capacity-building.

5. Encourage the Republic of South Sudan to cooperate with all national andinternational human rights monitoring bodies including, but not limited to, UN humanrights observers, and ensure that those observers are given the freedom toinvestigate abuses without threat or hindrance from the government.

6. Urge the Republic of South Sudan to bring an end to abuses of human rights and

rule of law, to put in place practical and effective measure to end impunity, and inparticular to work towards the strengthening of the administration of justice, theJudiciary, and national human rights institutions.

7. Further urge the Republic of South Sudan to open a public debate on the abolitionof the death penalty.

8. Encourage the Republic of South Sudan to speed up the enactment of theInternational Treaties Bill.



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5. Resolution on the United Nations and African Union Hybrid operation in Darfur(UNAMID)

We, the participants at the Civil Society Forum on Sudan and South Sudan held in AddisAbaba, Ethiopia, 21st23rdJanuary 2013, within the context of the 20th Ordinary Session ofthe AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

Notingthat the AU Constitutive Act has reaffirmed faith in the dignity of the human person,in the sanctity of life, and that it condemned and rejected impunity and established the rightof the AU members to intervene in the territory of any AU member State to prevent thecommission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide;

Fully recognizingthe important role played by the United Nations and African UnionHybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in providing services to the civilian populations; yetnoting that UNAMID has achieved limited success in its mission of protecting civilians,facilitating the humanitarian relief operations, providing an environment conducive to theattainment of peace and security in Darfur. on reporting about the violations of human

rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur, and that more robust action and effortsare needed in this respect;

Deeply concernedthat UNAMID's level of effort both on the basis of soldiers per sq. kmor per 1000 inhabitants is below the accepted universal average, moreover, it continues toface serious obstacles and that it has not reached its authorized capacity, both in militarycapability and in the deployment of competent personnel, and that such shortcomingscould eventually lead to the failure of the predominately African military force and itsdisgraceful withdrawal;

Gravely concernedthat UNAMID personnel are deliberately targeted by armed assailantsin Darfur and that the attacks, which frequently take place in areas controlled by theGovernment of Sudan in proximity of army garrisons or security check points, have, so far,caused the death of over 43 soldiers and the injury of dozens others; meanwhileUNAMID's local staff are systematically arrested and detained by the security forces; andin this respect paying tribute to the fallen UNAMID personnel and to all other soldiers thatwere injured or maimed while on the line of duty in Darfur;


1. Reaffirm its determination to put an end to the humanitarian crisis in Darfur anddemand that the warring parties end all military operations in Darfur and that theGovernment of Sudan fully respects relevant UN Security Council resolutionsbanning military flights, disarm the militia groups and allow the delivery of reliefmaterials to the needy populations without any obstruction.

2. Renew faith in the efforts of UNAMID, strengthen its mandate and provide it witha stronger political and diplomatic support as well as the needed militaryequipment, including armoured vehicles and helicopters to ensure their safetyand security.


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3. Condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the deliberate attacks, killings,abductions and intimidation of UNAMID personnel and the disruption of theirfunctions.

4. Request the AU Peace and Security Council and the UN Security Council toauthorize an independent panel of experts to evaluate the performance of

UNAMID and to determine the obstacles faced and make public the evaluationreport.

5. Request that the AU-PSC and the UNSC encourage UNAMID to focus oncivilian protection, especially by upholding its mandate under Chapter VII of theUN Charter as outlined in relevant UNSC resolutions and in accordance with theStatus of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

6. Request UNAMID and the parties to the conflict in Darfur to initiate the DarfurDialogue and Consultation (DDC) as stipulated in the Doha Document for Peacein Darfur (DDPD).

7. Request the AU and UN to appoint an independent Mediation Mechanism forDarfur to re-launch a peace process that includes all the major Darfur insurgentmovements non-signatories to the DDPD.


January 2013


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6. Resolution on the Report of the African Union High-Level Panel on Darfur (AUHIP)


st23




Takingnoteof the report of the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur (AUPD), as contained inDocument (PSC/AHG/2(CCVII), adopted by the AU Peace and Security Council at its207th Meeting held at the Level of Heads of State and Government in Abuja on 29October 2009;

Welcomingthe findings and recommendations contained in the AUPD's report as anauthentic African intellectual contribution agreed upon by eminent African statesmen andexperts, and that they represent the best policy options to comprehensively and effectivelyaddress the issues of accountability, justice and combating impunity, on the one hand, andpeace, healing and reconciliation on the other;

RecallingCommuniqu PSC/AHG/COMM.1(CCVII) adopted by the AU Peace andSecurity Council on 29 October 2009 in which the Council stressed that the AUPD'srecommendations provide a sound roadmap for achieving peace, justice, reconciliationand healing in Darfur, and thereby contribute to promoting sustainable peace and stabilityin Sudan;

Fully endorsingthe Council's decision that the AUPD's recommendations shall be thebasis of the AU engagement in Darfur and its interaction with international partners;

Taking note of paras. 11 (d) of Communiqu PSC/AHG/COMM.1(CCVII) in which thePeace and Security Council requested the Chairperson of the AU Commission toestablish an AU High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), composed of PresidentsThabo Mbeki, Pierre Buyoya, and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, to oversee theimplementation of the recommendations of the AUPD report and to promotedemocratization in the country;

Fully convincedthat the AUPD report provides an important opportunity for betterunderstanding of the root causes of violence and armed conflicts in Darfur and Sudan atlarge and that full and scrupulous implementation of the recommendations containedtherein paves the way for sustainable peace, stability, reconciliation and justice in Sudan;

We call upon the 20

th

Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State andGovernment to:

1. Reaffirm its support to the full implementation of the recommendations contained inthe AUPD report as a key policy option that would lead to improved security inDarfur; the voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to theirareas of origin, and to early recovery and development programmes; justice andreconciliation and eventually the conclusion of a comprehensive politicalagreement.

2. Request the Chairperson of the AUHIP to prepare a comprehensive work plan and

to propose the necessary mechanisms, which will include civil society participation,to supervise the implementation of the recommendations of the AUPD's report.


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3. Urge the International Sudan Consultative Forum, currently known as the Sudan-South Sudan Consultative Forum (SSSCF), to establish a coherent policy towards aholistic resolution of the problems of Sudan that would enable the internationalcommunity to coordinate its activities relating to the peace and democratization inSudan.

4. Request the AUHIP to urge the Peace and Security Council to liaise with theGovernment of Sudan to ensure that viable conditions are established for the returnof the internally displaced persons and refugees to their places of origin.

5. Urge the Government of Sudan, the opposition forces (armed and non-violent, andcivil society organizations) to foster national dialogue in order to achieve nationalconsensus for a peaceful resolution of the conflicts and for democratictransformation.


January 2013


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7. Resolution on the Situation in Darfur


st23




Consideringthe provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), the Charterof the United Nations Organization (UN) as well as those of the African Charter on Humanand Peoples Rights and other regional and international human rights instruments towhich the Sudan as a state party, is legally bound to fully and effectively implement theprovisions of these instruments and respect and promote the fundamental rights settherein without discrimination on any ground;

Welcomingregional and international efforts to combat impunity, to uphold fundamentaljustice to the victims and to maintain durable peace in Darfur, including the decision of theInternational Criminal Court to hold accountable individuals accused of planning,executing, condoning or encouraging the commission of war crimes, crimes against

humanity and genocide in Darfur;

Highly appreciatingefforts of the AU to address the situation in Darfur and recalling inthis regard previous resolutions on Darfur adopted by the AU Assembly of Heads of Statesand Governments as well as those of the AU Peace and Security Council and other AUorgans since the beginning of the conflict in 2003; notably Decisions: Assembly/AU/Dec.68(IV) of 31

stJanuary 2005 and Assembly/AU/ Dec.54 (III) of 8

thJuly 2004, Communiqu

PSC/AHG/Comm. (XXIII) of 10th January 2005 as well as CommuniqusPSC/AHG/Comm.(LXVI) and PSC/AHG/COMM.1(CCVII) adopted by the AU Heads ofState and Government on 30th November 2007 and 29th October 2009 respectively;

Deeply concernedat the ongoing grave violations of human rights and internationalhumanitarian law in Darfur, in particular systematic attacks on civilians, destruction andburning of villages, aggression against internally displaced persons (IDPs) and civilians bythe government security forces, including, inter alia, extra-judicial killings, forceddisappearances, forced slavery, torture and detention without charges or trial as well as thelack of adequate protection of and assistance to IDPs and war-affected communities;

Utterly outragedby reports of widespread rape and other forms of sexual violence againstwomen including the girl child and other minors as a means of warfare in flagrantviolation of both human rights law and international humanitarian law as well as the reports

of abduction and forced labour of women and children committed by the security forces andmilitia groups within the context of the armed conflict in Darfur;

Deeplyconcerned that military operations, including aerial bombardments of civiliantargets and destruction of water sources as well as other grave violations of internationalhumanitarian law are taking place in Darfur in a systematic manner despite numerousregional and international attempts to put an end to the conflict through negotiatedsettlement, including the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur;

We call upon the 20th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of States andGovernments to urge the Government of Sudan to:


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1. Meet its obligations under the AU Constitutive Act, the UN Charter, the African Charteron Human and Peoples Rights and all other regional and international human rightstreaties to which Sudan is a state party.

2. Stop, with immediate effect, all military activities and attacks against civilians in Darfurand end the grave violations of human and peoples rights, particularly, the ongoing

forced de-population of entire areas in North Darfur State of their ethnic Zagawainhabitants, and to cease all support, including the protection of and provision ofweapon and other military supplies to the militia groups.

3. Allow immediate and unconditional return of international relief organizations to Darfurand provide the necessary support to all relief agencies and organizations in order toensure immediate, full, safe and unhindered access to the war-affected population inDarfur and facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in need thereof.

4. Cooperate, fully and unconditionally, with the International Criminal Court in its efforts tobring to justice all persons suspected of perpetrating war crimes, crimes against

humanity and the crime of genocide in Darfur and to arrest and hand over suchindividuals.

We further call upon the 20th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of States to:

5. Urge all States members of the AU and the UN to fully cooperate with the InternationalCriminal Court by arresting and handing over all persons accused of committing warcrimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur.



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8. Resolution on the Critical Situation of Women in Sudan and South Sudan


st23




Upholdingthe Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Charter of the United Nations,theUniversal Bill of Human Rights, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples'Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, the Protocol on the Prevention and Suppressionof Sexual Violence against Women and Children;

Notingthe provisions ofthe Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by theFourth World Conference on Women, and their review conferences in 2005 and 2010, aswell as action of the UN Security Council, notably Resolution 1325 on Women and Peaceand Security adopted by the Council on 31 October 2000 and Resolutions 1820, 1888, and1960 that called for an end to the use of brutal acts of sexual violence against women andgirls as a tactic of war and an end to impunity of the perpetrators, and those Resolutions of

the UN Human Rights Council on the elimination of all forms of discrimination againstwomen;

Fully awarethat regional and international human rights treaties on the protection ofwomen's human rights incriminate and prohibit all kinds of discrimination on the basis ofgender and guarantee that women and the girl child fully enjoy their rights and freedomswithout discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, religious or cultural believes,national or social origin etc;

Deeply concernedthat women in Sudan face multiple forms of discrimination andviolations of their fundamental rights and that such violations are consolidated bydiscriminatory laws, policies and practices including degrading corporal punishments asprovided for in the Sudan Criminal Act of 1991 as well as the Public Order Acts enacted bydifferent Sudanese states;

Strongly condemnthe systematic violations of women human rights in Sudan, particularlythe assault against women pro-democracy activists, students and internally displacedwomen from Sudan's peripheral areas and that they are subjected to extrajudicial killings,torture and corporal punishment, arrest and detention without charges or trial, abduction forsexual enslavement;

Abhorringthat women in South Sudan face multiple forms of discrimination and violationsof their fundamental rights, including widespread early and forced marriage, the absence offamily law, limited womens political participation at all levels of government, and pervasivesexual and domestic violence;

Further abhorringreports of gender-based sexual violence faced by women in bothcountries, including widespread rape and sexual violence against women and girls in Darfursuch as the rape of female student at Al-Fasher University in North Darfur State,committed by security forces, in particular the Borders Guards and Central Reserve Police(Abutiraha), the Popular Defense Forces and government-sponsored tribal militia groups,during inter-tribal conflict in South Sudan women and girls are abducted. Sexual violence

in internally displaced persons camps along the border areas in South Sudan is alsoprevalent;


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Mindfulthat women and children victims of the armed conflicts in Sudan, including Darfur,Southern Kordofan and the Blue Nile States, and South Sudan represent theoverwhelming majority of the internally displaced persons and refugees, and, as such,should be proportionately represented in the decision-making process;


Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and

Government to:

1. Urge the Government of Sudan to uphold and implement the laws and agreements,already agreed to, on womens political participation, the prevention and responseto gender-based violence, as well as those listed in the African Charter on Humanand Peoples Rights.

2. Encourage the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to eliminate all kinds ofdiscrimination against women, in law and in practice, and to this effect, they shouldalso repeal all federal and state legislations that infringe upon women's rights andfreedoms, particularly the Public Order Acts applied in Sudan.

3. Urge the Government of Sudan to put an immediate end to the violations of therights of women pro-democracy activists and to release those currently held ingovernment custody for political reasons as well as those held under parole.

4. Further urge the Government of Sudan to make public its findings on the killing ofMs. Awadia Agabana and bring to justice members of the security forces accusedof her extra-judicial killing on 5 March 2012.

5. Condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the widespread rape and sexual violencecommitted by government security agents in Darfur and other areas affected byarmed conflicts in Sudan and to invite relevant African Union institutions and UnitedNations agencies, funds and programmes, treatybodies and civil society actors toplace special emphasis on combating rape and sexual violence in Darfur.

6. Request the United Nations and African Union Hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID)and the UN agencies to intensify the work of the Protection Working Group (PWG)and to effectively prioritize its Integrated Strategic Framework (ISF) to combat theimpunity with which the security forces commit rape and sexual violence and toprotect and rehabilitate the victims.

7. Urge the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to ratify and adhere, withoutdelay, to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on theRights of Women in Africa and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women.

8. Further urge the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan to ensure that womenare included in key decision-making processes at all levels of local, regional, as wellas at the national level.

9. Combat early and forced marriage practices in South Sudan by enacting family lawssupported by advocacy as well as adequate training and education.

10. Request the Government of Sudan and South Sudan to give priority to the trainingof police officers on womens rights and response to gender-based violence,


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increase the number of female police units and female peacekeepers in both Sudanand South Sudan, and improve the functionality of the Special Protection Units toprotect women and girls in both countries.



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9. Resolution on Civil Rights and Political Freedoms in Sudan


st23

rdJanuary 2013, as civil society contribution to the 20

thOrdinary

Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

Consideringthe provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the Charter of theUnited Nations as well as those of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights andother regional and international human rights instruments to which the Sudan is a stateparty and that Sudan is legally bound to fully and effectively implement the provisions ofthese instruments, and respect and promote the human rights and fundamental freedomsset therein without discrimination on any ground;

Appreciatingefforts made by the African Union and its treaty bodies, including those ofthe African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (Commission) to address thesituation in Sudan and recalling in this regard previous resolutions adopted by theCommission on the situation in Sudan since its 35th Ordinary Session (May June 2004),

and note the failure of the government of Sudan to implement the CommissionsConcluding Observations and Recommendations on Sudan's Third Periodic Report as wellas past decisions in which the Commission, inter alia, requested the government of Sudanto abolish corporal punishment;

Welcomingregional and international efforts to combat impunity, to uphold fundamentalright to justice of the victims of violations of human rights, international humanitarian andcriminal law, to maintain durable peace in Sudan, including the decision of theInternational Criminal Court to hold accountable individuals accused of planning,executing, condoning or encouraging the commission of war crimes, crimes againsthumanity and genocide in Darfur;

Alarmed bythe deteriorating situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms inSudan, in particular the reports of extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, tortureand ill-treatment of political detainees, including students, youth leaders and pro-democracy activists and, the suppression of political dissidents and the right to hold publicrallies and manifestations, arbitrary arrest and detention without judicial preview of politicalopponents, curtailment of the freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the media,freedom of association and the dismantling or suspension of independent civil society inthe country;

Stronglycondemn reports of numerous incidents of ethnically motivated enforceddisappearances committed in the regions affected by the armed conflict in Sudan as wellas extrajudicial killings and assassinations of students at Al Gezira University and thekilling of high school students in Nyala in South Darfur State;


Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State andGovernment to:

1. Urge the government of Sudan to comply with its obligations under the AUConstitutive Act, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the UNCharter and all other regional and international human rights treaties and covenants

to which Sudan is a state party.

2. Further urge the government of Sudan to cease all violations of human rights and


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fundamental freedoms, including extra-judicial killings and political assassinations,torture and ill-treatment of detainees and safeguard the freedom of the press andmedia as well as the freedom of assembly and association.

3. Investigate all cases of extra-judicial killings, including the assassination and forceddisappearances of 6 students at Al Gezira University in December 2012, the

assassination of 12 school students in Nyala in July 2012 and the killing of Ms.Awaida Ajabna in Khartoum and bring those responsible for the commission ofthese crimes to justice.

4. Call on the government of Sudan to implement the decisions and recommendationsadopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in particular tocriminalize torture and all forms of violence against women, end corporalpunishment, revise laws regarding press freedom, and repeal Article 22 of theNational Security Act that confers on members of the security forces total immunityfor the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

5. Call on the government of Sudan that all persons held in its custody for politicalreasons or in connection with the armed conflict in Darfur, Southern Kordofan andthe Blue Nile States be brought before independent courts of law and be allowedunhindered access to family members, lawyers of their choice and to medical care.All persons held without legal ground or out of judicial preview should be released,without any further delay.

6. Urge the government of Sudan to stop all forms of harassments againstindependent civil society, to reverse its decisions to close NGOs and allowindependent civil society and research institutes to work freely and withoutinterference and to ensure the safety and security of their members and staff.

7. Further urge the government of Sudan to stop all types of harassments againstSudanese human rights defenders, to respect their rights as internationallyrecognized and allow them space to monitor, research and report on human rightssituation in different parts of the country.

8. Call on the government of Sudan to respect the rights of political parties to organizepublic rallies and implement activities across the country without hindrance and tostop all forms of harassment of students due to their political affiliation and/oropposition to the government, real or imagined, particularly Darfur university

students.

9. Urge the government of Sudan to fulfill its obligations in combating all forms ofdiscriminating and racism and to fully implement the recommendations made by theAU High-Level Panel on Darfur on the dispensation of justice and to expandinternational coordination around apprehension of all individuals accused by theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) of committing war crimes, crimes againsthumanity and genocide in Darfur.


January 2013


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10. Resolution on the Situation in Abyei Area


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Consideringthe provisions of the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), the Charterof the United Nations (UN) and that as state parties, Sudan and the Republic of Sudan arebound to fully and effectively uphold the provisions of these instruments and to respect thedecisions and resolutions adopted by these two intergovernmental organizations;

Deeplyconcerned about the humanitarian situation, insecurity and violence in Abyei aswell as the reports of grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian lawin this area, including indiscriminate military bombardment, displacement of civilianpopulations, looting of homes and destruction of property;

Welcomingefforts of the AU to address the situation in Abyei and recalling in this regard

Communiqu PSC/MIN/COMM/3. (CCCXIX) adopted by the AU Peace and SecurityCouncil on 24 April 2012, as endorsed by UNSC Resolution 2046/2012; and that itprovided for a comprehensive approach which, inter alia, set out specific timetable for thegovernments of Sudan and South Sudan to reach a peaceful resolution to all theoutstanding post-independence issues including the final status of Abyei;

Fullyconvinced that lasting and sustainable peace and stability in Abyei necessitatecomprehensive solutions through just and negotiated political settlement as proposed bythe AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) on 21 September 2012, and that theAUHIP's proposal represents a fair, equitable and workable solution to the disputebetween the two countries; and addresses the root causes of the conflict in the area whiletaking into account the needs and interests of the communities on the ground; and in thisrespect we commend the government of South Sudan for its cooperative attitude;


1. Endorse communique of 24th October 2012 adopted by the Peace and SecurityCouncil at its 339th meeting on the situation between Sudan and South Sudan, andin which the Council adopted the proposal submitted by the AUHIP on 21

st

September 2012.

2. Call upon the AUPSC to endorse the AUHIPs recommendations on the final statusof Abyei area and to mobilize the international community to assist in safe anddignified return of IDPs and reconstruction and rehabilitation of Abyei area includingthe needs of the Arab nomads.

3. Endorse the Sudan New Dawn Charter as a basis for building national consensusfor democratic transformation and national reconciliation in Sudan.



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11. Resolution on Civil Society: Current Situation and Recommendations

We the participants at the Civil Society Forum on Sudan and South Sudan held in AddisAbaba in Ethiopia 21

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rdJanuary 2013, as civil society contribution to the 20

thOrdinary

Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

Welcomingthe commitment and actions of local, regional and international Sudan-focused civil society organizations to peace building, democratic transformation, justiceand the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Sudan and the Republic ofSouth Sudan;

Applaudthe establishment of the Civil Society Forum on Sudan and South Sudan as anindependent venue for dialogue on issues of peace, conflict prevention and democratictransformation in Sudan and South Sudan

Acknowledgingthe efforts of civil society in Sudan and South Sudan in advocating andpromoting a culture of peace, respect for human rights, the rule of law, good governance

and democracy;

Recognizingthe importance of this Forum in providing the space for civil society to worktogether to achieve our common objective of promoting a culture of peace, tolerance,respect for human rights, the rule of law, good governance and democracy in Sudan andSouth Sudan;

Deeply Concernedby the delay in the peace processes and political negotiations toresolve the post-cessation issues between Sudan and South Sudan and that the absenceof an expeditious resolution of the outstanding questions represents a real threat to peaceand good neighborhood between the two nations;

Condemningthe closure of independent civil society organizations in Sudan and the on-going campaign of repression against pro-democracy activists as well as the deterioratingsituation of human rights and the rule of law within both countries;

We, hereby, commit ourselves as Sudanese and Sudan and South Sudan-focusedregional and international civil society organizations to:

1. Harmonise our activities at the local, regional and international levels in order toexert pressure on the Governments of Sudan and South Sudan and other regional

and international actors with a view to realizing lasting and durable peace in the twocountries. To do this, we commit ourselves to the following:

a. Celebrating

voices for sudan's report on the civil society forum on sudan and south sudan in addis ababa,...

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