Sudan should focus on peace accord and human rights, UN expert says

The new Sudanese Government should implement a comprehensive peace agreement and a new constitution without delay, while focusing on protecting and promoting human rights people, a United Nations expert on the country has told the General Assembly.

Sudanese officials should also work closely with the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) to deploy police in vulnerable areas in Darfur to protect civilians – particularly in camps for internally displaced person (IDP) – from harassment and murder, and to prevent rape and violence against women, the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights to Sudan, Sima Samar, told the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural (Third) Committee on Thursday.

The Rapporteur, who is an unpaid expert serving in an independent personal capacity, just returned from a weeklong visit to Sudan, which she said has embarked on a difficult path of peace building, reconciliation, and reconstruction. She noted that the Government's process was marked by delays in implementing the peace agreement in Darfur, and it is experiencing challenges in harmonizing the national legislation with the Interim National Constitution, particularly along the lines of protecting international human rights.

A culture of impunity for perpetrators of human rights violations still exists, and while authorities have acknowledged the violence, they have contested accounts of its magnitude, she said.

The Rapporteur, who receives her mandate from the UN Commission on Human Rights and reports back to it, said that an end to impunity for human rights violators was vital to achieving sustainable peace. She urged the Khartoum Government to coordinate with law enforcement and the judiciary to bring violators to justice, as well as to ensure that detainees were not subject to ill-treatment and torture during pre-trial detention.