PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Sudan moves to quell human rights violations
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Frowning at reports of human rights violations in South Kordufan Nuba mountain areas, the Sudanese Chief Justice, Mohamed Bushara Dousa, has set up a high-level judicial committee to probe the UN-spurred reports.
Dousa has named a top official at the Sudan Council for Human Rights - government human rights monitory body - as head of the committee empowered to "assess the human rights situation and international law in south Kordufan on the wake of the (gubernatorial) elections there."
The committee is made up of senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the National Security and Intelligence, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, the head of the International Humanitarian law at the Sudanese Council for Human Rights, as well as the Head of the Legal Department at the Human Rights Council, the National Council for Human rights, the Sudanese Attorney General and the Sudanese Council for Child Welfare.
The Minister of Justice gave the committee sweeping powers to review any document, visit camps for internally-displaced persons in Kordufan, summon government officials and citizens and to interrogate them and get first hand information from private individuals.
He also said the committee could solicit assistance from any person it deemed necessary and should submit its reports within two weeks.
The decision to set up the committee came as regional and international organizations started talking about possible human right abuses in the area, with the US and UN saying they wanted to have access to those areas where human right abuses allegedly occurred.
On Monday, the UN Human Rights office talked about possible violations of international criminal law and international humanitarian law in Southern Kordufan State in June this year and that those could amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes.
The report, which covers the period 5-30 June, 2011, described a wide range of violations of international law in the town of Kadugli, as well as in the surrounding Nuba Mountains, following clashes between the army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army North (SPLA-N) on 5 June.
The report talked about extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention, forced disappearances, attacks against civilians, looting of civilian homes and destruction of property and displacement.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as unfounded and baseless, the preliminary findings of the report, saying there was nothing but "a repetition of the biased and unfounded reports that were tabled before the Security Council last week."
Obeid Ahamed Murawaih, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) those who talk of violations tended to overlook the fact that those who initiated the fighting and attacked government positions in the area were SPLA-N elements that have allegedly slaughtered their government counterparts and were planning a wide range of assassinations there.
Murawaih urged the organizations to regain stability and security in place of encouraging the rebels.
Dousa is reportedly said to have the backing of both President El-Bashir and the vice President Ali Osman Taha and the minister has already taken a number of steps, including naming a prosecutor to look into any human rights abuse in Darfur, an area where most of the blames of human rights accusations stem from.
-0- PANA MO/BOS 17Aug2011
Dousa has named a top official at the Sudan Council for Human Rights - government human rights monitory body - as head of the committee empowered to "assess the human rights situation and international law in south Kordufan on the wake of the (gubernatorial) elections there."
The committee is made up of senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the National Security and Intelligence, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, the head of the International Humanitarian law at the Sudanese Council for Human Rights, as well as the Head of the Legal Department at the Human Rights Council, the National Council for Human rights, the Sudanese Attorney General and the Sudanese Council for Child Welfare.
The Minister of Justice gave the committee sweeping powers to review any document, visit camps for internally-displaced persons in Kordufan, summon government officials and citizens and to interrogate them and get first hand information from private individuals.
He also said the committee could solicit assistance from any person it deemed necessary and should submit its reports within two weeks.
The decision to set up the committee came as regional and international organizations started talking about possible human right abuses in the area, with the US and UN saying they wanted to have access to those areas where human right abuses allegedly occurred.
On Monday, the UN Human Rights office talked about possible violations of international criminal law and international humanitarian law in Southern Kordufan State in June this year and that those could amount to crimes against humanity or war crimes.
The report, which covers the period 5-30 June, 2011, described a wide range of violations of international law in the town of Kadugli, as well as in the surrounding Nuba Mountains, following clashes between the army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army North (SPLA-N) on 5 June.
The report talked about extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention, forced disappearances, attacks against civilians, looting of civilian homes and destruction of property and displacement.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as unfounded and baseless, the preliminary findings of the report, saying there was nothing but "a repetition of the biased and unfounded reports that were tabled before the Security Council last week."
Obeid Ahamed Murawaih, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) those who talk of violations tended to overlook the fact that those who initiated the fighting and attacked government positions in the area were SPLA-N elements that have allegedly slaughtered their government counterparts and were planning a wide range of assassinations there.
Murawaih urged the organizations to regain stability and security in place of encouraging the rebels.
Dousa is reportedly said to have the backing of both President El-Bashir and the vice President Ali Osman Taha and the minister has already taken a number of steps, including naming a prosecutor to look into any human rights abuse in Darfur, an area where most of the blames of human rights accusations stem from.
-0- PANA MO/BOS 17Aug2011
