Sudan

The chief of the joint United Nations-African Union operation in Darfur (UNAMID) stressed today his commitment to end impunity for criminal acts in displacement camps during a meeting with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state of North Darfur.

The bodies of two women who had been raped and murdered in Gerud locality were found in the region of Kara, South Darfur on Sunday.

Speaking to a local radio station in Nyala on Monday, the government accused the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdul Wahid of carrying out the attack.

UNAMID organized today in El Fasher, North Darfur, an open day on the progress in the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security under the theme “Women count for peace”. More than 100 women from Darfur's three states participated in the event, including officials from the state governments, legislators and UN agencies.

A report published in conjunction with a human rights conference to be held in Gambia from 24 October to 7 November paints a bleak picture of the plight of women in North Sudan, reserving caveated optimism for South Sudan.

On 25 July the Khartoum Media Court, headed by the judge Mudathir Al-Rashid, sentenced the female journalist Amal Habani to pay a fine of 2000 Sudanese Pounds (about 660 US dollars). If she did not pay this sum, she knew she would face one month of imprisonment. Amal Habani decided to be sent to prison rather than pay the fine, and she has now been sent to Omdurman Women's Prison.

Violence against women is rampant, devastating and tolerated in South Sudan and the new country needs to address these gross human rights violations and train people, especially soldiers, to respect women's rights.

This is according to rights activists in the country.

The increasing number of South Sudan's armed forces is costing more than 50 percent of government's expenditure by some estimates – despite a two-year-old US$55 million demobilization and disarmament programme (DDR) sponsored by international donors.

Only about 12,000 people in South Sudan have completed the DDR process that targeted 90,000 ex-combatants.

The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned the decision of a Sudanese court to sentence a journalist to one month in prison for reporting on the alleged rape of a female opposition activist by members of the country's security forces. Fatimah Ghazali was jailed on Tuesday, 5 July, freelance journalist and human rights advocate Abdelgadir Mohamed Abdelgadir said in a written statement.

On July 9th, South Sudan will declare its independence, becoming Africa's newest nation. The challenges it faces are many. 50 years of war and conflict have seriously undermined the capacity of institutions at all levels to provide justice. Scores of cases of human rights violations and abuses, including sexual violence have remained uninvestigated, unprosecuted or unpunished.

South Sudan should mark its independence on July 9, 2011, by taking key steps to further a robust human rights agenda, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. The steps should include placing a moratorium on the death penalty, releasing detainees whose continued imprisonment is unjustified, and ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).