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 Re: Human Rights Practices of Sudan -2002 (US human rights report-03/31/200 (Re: sudani)
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Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
Citizens had no genuine opportunity to change their government peacefully. Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in December 2000, and there were allegations of serious irregularities, including official interference, electoral fraud, inadequate opportunities for all voters to register, and inadequate election monitoring. All major opposition parties boycotted the election. Bashir was elected to another 5-year term, and the NC/NIF won 340 out of 360 seats in Parliament in the deeply flawed process.
The Constitution, which provides in theory for a wide range of rights, was passed by referendum in June 1998, and implemented in early 1999. There was widespread skepticism about the Government's claims that the constitutional referendum passed with 96.7 percent approval and 91.9 percent participation. Critics of the 1998 Constitution charged that it neither was drafted nor passed with truly national participation. Some critics also objected to the statement that Shari'a would be among "the prevalent sources of law" in regard to amending the Constitution. Despite the adoption of the Constitution promulgated by presidential decree in 1998, the Government continued to restrict most civil liberties.
In 1999 President Bashir disbanded the Parliament, suspended the Constitution, and decreed a state of national emergency, which suspended basic civil liberties. Parliament resumed 14 months later in February 2001. The state of emergency remained in effect at year's end.
The law allows the existence of political parties (see Section 2.b.). The Government continued routinely to deny permission for and disrupt gatherings that it viewed as politically oriented (see Section 2.b.). Security forces arrested, detained, and on occasion, beat political opponents during the year (see Sections 1.c. and 1.d.). During the year, authorities seized and occupied PNC offices.
The federal system of government slowly was developing a structure of 26 states, with governors and senior state officials appointed by the President from Khartoum. The Government considered this strategy as a possible inducement to the rebels for accommodation through a principle of regional autonomy; however, southerners were underrepresented in the central Government, and local appointees were not viewed universally as representative of their constituencies. This underrepresentation remained a key obstacle to ending the rebellion.
Women had the right to vote. There was 12 women members in the 360-seat Parliament. There were two female ministers, the Minister of Social Welfare and a member of the Council of Ministers. There also were two female State Ministers.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
Due to government restrictions, there were only two independent domestic human rights group--the Sudan Human Rights Group and the Sudan Human Rights Organization (SHRO). The SHRO operated out of Cairo until 2000 when the Egyptian Government asked them to close their offices. There also were two local NGOs that addressed health concerns related to the practice of FGM and other "traditional" practices (see Section 5).
During the year, there was at least one report a government helicopter gunship attacked an NGO in Bieh (see Section 1.g.).
The Human Rights Advisory Council, a government body whose rapporteur was the Solicitor General for Public Law, continued its role in addressing human rights problems within the Government. The Council was composed of representatives of human rights offices in 22 government ministries and agencies. While the council was charged with investigating human rights complaints, its effectiveness was hampered by lack of cooperation on the part of some ministry and agency offices. In January the Government reactivated the CEAWAC, which in turn formed mechanisms to identify and return abductees (see Section 1.b.).
Dr. Gerhart Baum served as Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Sudan. In November Dr. Baum presented his report to the U.N. Human Rights Commission, which highlighted ongoing human rights abuses during the year and noted the continuation of the state of emergency and the virtual impunity enjoyed by the security services. The Commission has assigned a representative to work with the U.N. Development Program in Khartoum who was active in organizing human rights courses for security and police forces; however, he had no human rights monitoring responsibilities.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, #######, Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, #######, or religious creed; however, discrimination against women and ethnic minorities continued. Mechanisms for social redress, especially with respect to violence against women and children, were ineffective.
Women
Violence against women was a problem; however, since reliable statistics did not exist, its prevalence was unknown. Many women were reluctant to file formal complaints against such abuse, although it was a legal ground for divorce. The police normally did not intervene in domestic disputes.
Displaced women from the south were vulnerable to harassment, rape, and sexual abuse. The Government did not address the problem of violence against women, nor was it discussed publicly. The punishment for rape under the Criminal Act varied from 100 lashes to 10 years imprisonment to death. In most cases, convictions were not publicized; however, observers believed that sentences often were less than the maximum provided for by law.
FGM was widespread, especially in the north. An estimated 90 percent or more of girls and women in the north have undergone FGM, with consequences that have included severe urinary problems, infections, and even death. Infibulation, the most severe type of FGM, was the most common type. Usually it was performed on girls between the ages of 4 and 7 by traditional practitioners in improvised, unsanitary conditions, which caused severe pain, trauma, and risk of infection to the child. No form of FGM was illegal under the Criminal Code; however, the health law forbade doctors and midwives from performing infibulation. Unlike in the previous year, there was no evidence that women displaced from the south to the north reportedly were imposing FGM increasingly on their daughters, even if they themselves have not been subjected to it. A small but growing number of urban, educated families were abandoning the practice completely. A larger number of families, in a compromise with tradition, have adopted the least severe form of FGM, "sunna," as an alternative to infibulation. The Government neither arrested nor prosecuted any persons for violating the health law against infibulation. The Government does not support FGM, and it has introduced information about FGM in some public education curriculums. One local NGO was working to eradicate FGM.
Prostitution is illegal but was a growing problem. Trafficking in women was a problem (see Section 6.f.).
The law prohibits sexual harassment; however, it occurred.
Some aspects of the law discriminated against women; including certain provisions of Shari'a interpreted and applied by the Government, and many traditional law practices. Gender segregation was common in social settings. In accordance with Shari'a, a Muslim woman has the right to hold and dispose of her own property without interference. Women were assured an inheritance from their parents; however, a daughter inherited half the share of a son, and a widow inherited a smaller percent than did her children. It was much easier for men to initiate legal divorce proceedings than for women. These rules only applied to Muslims and not to those of other faiths for whom religious or tribal laws applied. Although a Muslim man may marry a non-Muslim, a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim unless he converted to Islam; however, this prohibition was not observed or enforced in areas of the south not controlled by the Government or among Nubans. Unofficial, nonregistered marriages, known as "orfy" or traditional weddings, are valid legally but do not guarantee the wife's legal rights. For example, in an orfy customary marriage, a woman is not entitled to alimony or pension, has no judicial protection without official recognition by her spouse, and must file a legal petition to establish her children's parentage. Women cannot travel abroad without the permission of their husbands or male guardians; however, this prohibition was not enforced strictly for women affiliated with the PNC.
A number of government directives required that women in public places and government offices and female students and teachers conform to what the Government deemed an Islamic dress code (see Section 2.a.). At the least, this necessitated wearing a head covering; however, enforcement of the dress code regulations was inconsistent.
In February there were a number of incidents in which young women were detained at police stations and sometimes beaten for alleged improprieties of appearance or behavior. There were reports that police demanded bribes in exchange for releasing the women. In addition, a Khartoum-based NGO received an increasing number of reports of female students threatened with rape while detained at police stations.
Women generally were not discriminated against in the pursuit of employment; however, in July 21 women arbitrarily were dismissed from their jobs at the Customs and Excise forces (CEF) headquarters in Khartoum. No reason was given.
Children
Education was compulsory through grade eight; however, attendance reportedly was declining and was less than the 1990 level of 61 percent. There were wide disparities among states and some gender disparity especially in the eastern and western regions; for example, enrollment was 78 percent in Khartoum State and only 26 percent in South Darfur State. In the northern part of the country, boys and girls generally had equal access to education (50 percent and 47 percent respectively), although many families with restricted income choose to send sons and not daughters to school. Although there was little data on enrollment rates, it was estimated that the vast majority of the school age children of IDPs were not receiving an education. Nomadic groups also were disadvantaged. Although the gender gap in enrollment between boys and girls was only 3 to 5 percent in favor of the boys, girls were more affected by early withdrawal due to family obligations or early marriage. In the urban areas of the south, primary school age children in basic education were estimated at 68 percent of all boys and 67 percent of all girls. More than 50 percent of university students were women, in part because men were conscripted for war.
The Government operated camps for vagrant children. Police typically send homeless children who have committed crimes to these camps, where they were detained for indefinite periods. Health care and schooling at the camps generally were poor, and basic living conditions often were primitive. All of the children in the camps, including non-Muslims, must study the Koran, and there was pressure on non-Muslims to convert to Islam (see Section 2.c.). There were reports that boys in these camps and in homes for delinquent youths were forced to undergo circumcision. Male teenagers in the camps often were conscripted into the PDF, including some girls in the south (see Section 1.f.). There were reports that abducted homeless and displaced children were discouraged from speaking languages other than Arabic or practicing religions other than Islam.
FGM was performed frequently on girls (see Section 5, Women).
A large number of children suffered abuse, including abduction, enslavement, and forced conscription (see Sections 6.c. and 6.f.).
The Government forcibly conscripted young men and boys into the military forces to fight in the civil war (see Section 2.a.). There were reports of at least 50 cases this year of children taken from the markets of Khartoum and conscripted into the PDF. Government authorities frequently carried out conscription by raiding buses and other public places to seize young men. No one was jailed during the year for evading compulsory military service.
Rebel factions have conscripted citizens forcibly, including high school age children. During the year, the SPLM/A actively engaged in efforts to demobilize child soldiers; however, there were reports that child soldiers were involved in military incidents during December, which raised concerns that the SPLM/A again was using forced recruitment of children.
People with Disabilities
The Government did not discriminate against persons with disabilities, but has not enacted any special legislation for persons with disabilities, such as mandating accessibility to public buildings and transportation. The law requires equal educational opportunities for persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The estimated population of 27.5 million was a multiethnic mix of more than 500 Arab and African tribes with numerous languages and dialects. Northern Muslims, who formed a majority of approximately 16 million persons, traditionally have dominated the Government. The southern ethnic groups fighting the civil war (largely followers of traditional indigenous religions or Christians) total approximately 6 million and sought independence, or some form of regional self-determination or autonomy from the north.
The Muslim majority and the Government continued to discriminate against ethnic minorities in almost every aspect of society. Citizens in Arabic-speaking areas who did not speak Arabic experienced discrimination in education, employment, and other areas. For university admission, students completing high school were required to pass examinations in four subjects: English language; mathematics; Arabic language; and religious studies. Even at the university level, examinations in all subjects except English language were in the Arabic language, placing nonnative speakers of Arabic at a disadvantage.
There were periodic reports of intertribal abductions of women and children in the south, primarily in the Eastern Upper Nile. The abductions were part of traditional warfare in which the victor took women and children as a bounty and frequently tried to absorb them into their own tribe. There were traditional methods of negotiating and returning the women who were taken in these raids. During the year, there was at least one serious incident near Pibor in which members of the Murle tribe abducted women and children from other tribes.
There were deaths in conflicts between ethnic groups, such as continued fighting between Dinka and Nuer or between Nuer tribes.
Intertribal fighting among Nuer tribesmen increased during the year. In November battles, which took place near Bentiu, resulted in numerous deaths.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution provides for the right of association for economic and trade union purposes; however, the Government restricted this right in practice. The Government prescribed severe punishments, including the death penalty, for violations of its labor decrees. The Trade Union Act established a trade union monopoly. There were no independent trade unions. Only the government-controlled Sudan Workers Trade Union Federation (SWTUF) can function legally, and all other unions were banned.
Former workers' union leaders were arrested during the year.
The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers.
SWTUF, the official government union, affiliated with international bodies, such as the African Workers' Union and the Arab Workers' Union.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The emergency decree passed in December 2001 still was in effect. Labor organizing committees have the right to organize and bargain collectively; however, government control of the steering committees meant that in practice the Government dominated the process of setting wages and working conditions. The continued absence of labor legislation allowing for union meetings, the filing of grievances, and other union activity greatly reduced the value of these formal rights. Local union officials have raised some grievances with employers, although few raised them with the Government. There were credible reports that the Government intervened routinely to manipulate professional, trade union, and student union elections (see Section 2.a.).
A tripartite committee comprising representatives of the Government, the SWTUF, and business set wages. Specialized labor courts adjudicated standard labor disputes; however, the Ministry of Labor has the authority to refer a dispute to compulsory arbitration. A labor code has been in effect since December 2000, which strengthened government control over trade unions and continues to deny trade unions autonomy to exercise their basic right to organize or to bargain collectively. The code provides that unions should be democratic, national, and neutral, defend the welfare of their members, and should raise productivity. There was nothing in the code regarding organizational structure, strikes, or term limits. Union funds were subject to control by the auditor general. A 30 percent salary increase was scheduled to take place in January 2003 but only in Khartoum.
The Government continued to dismiss summarily military personnel as well as civilian government employees whose loyalty it considered suspect.
Strikes were banned and were considered illegal unless the labor office granted approval, which never has been given. In most cases, employees who tried to strike were subject to employment termination. No action was taken against members of the security forces who forcibly dispersed strikes in previous years.
There was one export processing zone.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Bonded Labor
The 1998 Constitution prohibits forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, slavery and forced labor persisted, affecting women and children in particular. The enslavement of women and children, particularly in the war zones, and their transport to the central and northern parts of the country continued.
Some NGOs reported that victims of government bombings and of the civil war in general who fled to government-controlled peace camps were subject to forced labor.
There were frequent and credible reports that militia raiders, "murahileen", with the support of forces directly under the control of government authorities, systematically raided villages and captured women and children as remuneration for their services in Bahr el-Ghazal and Upper Nile. The Government took no action to halt these practices and continued to support tribal militias. Abductees frequently were forced to herd cattle, work in the fields, fetch water, dig wells, or do housework. They also were subjected to arbitrary punishment, torture, and rape, and at times, killed. These practices had a pronounced racial aspect, as the victims exclusively were black southerners and members of indigenous tribes of the Nuba Mountains. There were reports of the sale and purchase of children, some in alleged slave markets; however, the Government continued to deny slavery and forced labor existed but acknowledged that abductions occurred (see Section 1.b.).
Both the Government and rebel factions continued to conscript men and boys forcibly into the fighting forces (see Section 5). There were reports that the Government's PDF seized underage recruits from the streets of Khartoum. Conscripts faced significant hardship and abuse in military service, often serving on the frontline.
The ILO Conference Committee urged the Government to punish the perpetrators of these abductions and to enforce ILO Convention 29 on forced labor. The ILO also has recommended an ILO "direct contact" mission to investigate the situation. The Government rejected this suggestion.
The rebel factions continued to force southern men to work as laborers or porters.
d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for Employment
The Constitution provides that the Government protect children from exploitation; however, the Government did not enforce the provisions. The legal minimum age for workers was 18 years; however, the law was not enforced in practice. Children as young as 11 or 12 years of age worked in a number of factories, particularly outside the capital, including the factories at Um Ruwaba that produced edible oils. In addition, severe poverty has produced widespread child labor in the informal economy. In rural areas, children traditionally assisted their families with agricultural work from a very young age.
The Government did not adhere to ILO Convention 182 on the worst forms of child labor and has not taken any action to investigate abuses or protect child workers.
There were credible reports that children were taken as slaves (see Section 6.c.).
Child labor existed in SPLM/SPLA-held areas, particularly in the agricultural sectors. Child labor in such areas was exacerbated by lack of schools, extreme poverty, and the lack of an effective legal minimum age for workers.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The legislated minimum wage was enforced by the Ministry of Labor, which maintained field offices in most major cities. Employers generally respected the minimum wage. Workers who were denied the minimum wage could file a grievance with the local Ministry of Labor field office, which then was required to investigate and take appropriate action if there was a violation of the law. The Ministry of Finance approved a 30 percent increase in the minimum wage effective January 2003 for all workers only in Khartoum. The minimum wage was $26 (6,881 SD), an insufficient amount to provide a decent standard of living for an average worker and family. There were reports during the year that some workers were not paid their regular wages.
The workweek was limited by law to an 8-hour day, with a day of rest on Friday, which generally was respected. Legal foreign workers had the same labor rights as domestic workers.
Although the laws prescribe health and safety standards, working conditions generally were poor, and enforcement by the Ministry of Labor was minimal. The law does not address the right of workers to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without loss of employment.
Legal foreign workers had the same labor rights as domestic workers. Illegal workers had no such protections and, as a result, typically worked for lower wages in worse conditions than legal workers. Southern IDPs generally occupied the lowest paying occupations and were subject to economic exploitation in rural and urban industries and activities.
f. Trafficking in Persons
Although the law does not prohibit specifically trafficking in persons, the Constitution specifically prohibits slavery and forced labor; however, slavery, forced labor, and trafficking in persons persisted, particularly affecting women and children (see Sections 1.b. and 6.c.). The capturing and abduction of women and children as slaves and their transport to other parts of the country continued; the majority of abductees were taken to the government-controlled part of the country. During the year, there were credible reports of abductions of women and children by government and government-associated militia and their use as domestic servants, forced labor, or ####### slaves.
The Government has pledged to end abduction and slavery, and the CEAWAC has resulted in the return of approximately 300 abducted individuals (see Section 1.b.); however, an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 women and children remained in captivity and subject to forced servitude at year's end. The Government did not identify publicly the abductors or forced labor owners and chose not to prosecute them.
During the year, the Government's refusal to approve flight clearances for the transfers of the abductees prevented additional reunifications.
In November 2001, the Government announced the establishment of special civilian tribunals in the border regions separating the south and the north of the country to prosecute persons involved in the abduction, transport, holding, and selling or exchanging of women and children from war zones. The tribunals were not set up nor were administrative procedures promulgated by year's end.
Libyans have been implicated in the purchase of Sudanese slaves, particularly women and children who were captured by government troops.
There are credible reports that intertribal abductions of women and children continued in the southern part of the country; abductees were absorbed into tribes or kept as domestic servants or ####### slaves (see Section 5).
There were continuing reports that the SPLA forcibly recruited Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda for service in their forces.
During the past 10 years, between 3,000 and 10,000 Ugandan children were kidnaped by the LRA, taken to the southern part of the country, and forced to become ####### slaves or soldiers. There also were reports in previous years that the LRA had sold and traded some children, mostly girls, or provided them as gifts, to arms dealers in Sudan. In March the Government signed an agreement to stop supporting the LRA and permit Ugandan army access in the south to pursue the LRA. The LRA continued to operate in the south and to hold a large number of child abductees during the year.
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فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست