Statement by United Nations Watch
Delivered by Mr. Hillel Neuer, 5 November 2021
32nd Special Session — Situation in Sudan
Human Rights Council
Madam President:
UN Watch thanks the Council for heeding our call to hold this urgent session on the situation of human rights in Sudan, in wake of the military coup and the ensuing violence.
We urge the Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry that will hold the Sudanese military to account for serious violations of international human rights law.
Abuses include
- The unlawful house arrest of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok;
- The detention of at least five other ministers at undisclosed locations;
- Arrests of pro-democracy activists;
- The suspension of state institutions, including the Cabinet of Ministers and the Sovereign Council;
- Shutting down the internet;
- Restrictions on movement; and
- Excessive force against peaceful protesters.
Madam President, at least ten protesters have already been killed, and 140 wounded since the coup.
This Council must demand that Sudan’s military leaders respect the right to life and peaceful protest, and immediately release all those unlawfully detained. The world must resist this attempt to undermine Sudan’s transition towards democracy.
Finally, this is also a time for the Council to reflect on its own actions. For nearly three decades, the Council and its predecessor mandated an independent expert to monitor Sudan, who acted as a vital, early warning mechanism.
And so we ask: By what moral logic did the Council, in its October 2020 session, decide to the scrap the mandate on Sudan? What message did this send to Sudan’s military?
Will the Council correct this grievous act by re-establishing the mandate on Sudan?
I thank you.
