Resolution on Elections and the Human Rights Situation in Sudan
We, the participants at the Forum on the participation of NGOs in the 47th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
Deeply concerned by reports of widespread human rights violations during the course of Parliamentary and Presidential elections held April 11-15 in Sudan including the repression of and violence against opposition members, intimidation of electoral observers, and threats of violence against voters themselves in certain areas;
Deeply regretting the ongoing humanitarian situation in Darfur exacerbated by lack of access to the area by humanitarian groups and continuing reported governmental attacks on civilian areas which severely impeded the conduct of elections there;
Noting with regret the manipulation of the census, the National Electoral Commission’s composition, border delimitation, voter registration, and the campaigning period;
Alarmed by the ongoing restrictions on basic civil and political rights including especially the freedom of expression, association, and assembly, despite their necessity to the staging of free and fair elections as contemplated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement;
Recalling that Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantees the right to free expression, Article 10 which guarantees the right to free association, Article 11 which guarantees the right to free assembly, and Article 13 which guarantees the right to participate freely in the government of one’s country;
Stressing the significance of a peaceful, legitimate, free, and fair upcoming referenda process;
Hereby call on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to:
- Condemn strenuously those responsible for the range of human rights violations documented before, during, and following the balloting process; and
- Investigate all allegations of electoral fraud and demand that the perpetrators of human rights violations during the elections be brought to justice.
Done in Banjul, May 10th, 2010
