Today marks international Human Rights Day. This year we are celebrating 20 years of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Around the world a number of events will celebrate the success of a collective effort to tackle human rights abuses and protection of citizens.
Sudan is a signatory to many of the most important international and regional Human Rights agreements. There are many in Government who recognise the importance of improving respect for human rights. The The establishment of the National Human Rights Commission in 2011, was an encouraging step which we were among the first to support. We also welcomed the release of a number of political prisoners in June.
But the killing of demonstrators in Khartoum in September, the detention of many more and the closure of a number of media outlets came as a shock to many Sudanese, including many in Government. Those events encapsulated the enormous challenge Sudan faces in making a reality of the human rights which are set out so eloquently in its own constitution.
We are doing what we can to help improve the human rights situation in Sudan: working to help end conflict and underdevelopment (which are the causes of many human rights abuses), to build a more constructive and productive relationship between Sudan and the UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan, and supporting many non-Governmental and professional groups working in different ways to improve the situation.
But rather than spending this Human Rights day talking about what the UK is doing, I wanted to give space to the views of Sudanese people themselves. They raised some fundamental issues. But though they were critical they also had some constructive proposals to improve the situation. I hope they will be heard:
Freedom of expression and within that media freedom are the cornerstone of every democratic society.
But journalists are struggling to operate effectively:
..also as a result of restrictive legislation:
Freedom of association and assembly continues to be restricted, reducing the space within which civil society can operate, in some cases, demobilising them altogether:
The solution lies with the government working inclusively with civil society towards a peaceful, respresentative solution:
A separate – but related – key issue for use is protection of the most vulnerable and underrepresented in society, in particular women. Promoting gender equality runs through everything we do as an Embassy here in Sudan and across the UK’s global network:
Last month the UK was re-elected to the Human Rights Council. The Council works to call to account nations that commit serious and systematic violations against their citizens. The Foreign Secretary set out what the UK will do during its mandate:
That is our global commitment and our commitment in our work in Sudan. We hope that on International Human Rights Day in 2014, there will be more positive stories to tell.