On 21 September, 10 Sudanese civil society and human rights organisations (names have been withheld, as protection against reprisals) in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Alternatives, submitted a stakeholder report to the second UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Sudan, scheduled to take place in Geneva in April 2016.
This coalition submission focuses on freedom of expression in Sudan, including media freedom, limitations on access to information, censorship, violations of human rights online, protection of journalists, and violence against women journalists. The submission also documents human rights violations in relation to constitutional amendments, the anti-terrorism act, and special courts; religious freedom; and freedom of association and assembly. The issues highlighted in this report represent only a fraction of the human rights violations experienced in Sudan.
The coalition of Sudanese and international civil society organisations involved in developing this submission call on the international community to hold Sudan accountable for its human rights violations, and to ensure protection of human rights defenders and journalists who shed light on human rights violations in the country.