Publications

This Paper – written on behalf of the Project for Criminal Law Reform in Sudan – forms part of broader efforts by Sudanese civil society to raise awareness about the repressive nature of Sudanese public order law. This campaign advocates for a repeal or amendment of provisions incompatible with applicable national and international human rights standards. The current draft of the Social Control Act 2011 entrenches repressive features of Sudanese public order law for the capital, and fails to reflect any of the concerns or proposals for change made in recent years, particularly concerning women’s rights. Its broad scope further opens the door to arbitrary law-enforcement, threatening marginalised citizens and the tranquility of post-separation Sudan.

This publication, written in association with Uganda Victims Foundation, seeks to provide insight into the barriers faced by Ugandans in seeking redress following the terrible impact of the Lango War. The report details the treatment of these cases within the International Criminal Court, the response of the Ugandan government to these cases, and the current problems facing Uganda's socio-economic programmes in the greater north, including programme such as NAADS, NUSAF 1, PRDP and NUSAF II.

As part of our on-going partnership with the Uganda Victims Foundation, REDRESS facilitated a three-day workshop on reparations in Lira, Northern Uganda from 18 to 20 January 2011. The workshop provided expertise on the right to remedy and reparation, focusing on the process rights of victims to be informed and participate in decision-making processes leading to reparations. Case studies on other reparations processes were provided in order to help UVF and new members joining the group identify key objectives for their campaign, as well as draft a preliminary action plan. The UVF campaign is currently focused on the upcoming conference organised by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights on reparations in Kampala, schedules for later this year. A follow up workshop is planned for March 2011, to build further capacities to ensure effective and inclusive participation of victims as integral to the UVF campaign.

This submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Sudan - co-authored by Redress and the Sudanese Human Rights Monitor - highlights the need for legislative reforms in Sudan to address persisting discrepancies between the country's domestic laws and its international human rights obligations, particularly under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The report includes an analysis of the Sudanese Bill of Rights, with a view to identifying critical aspects that should form part of the new constitution following the end of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement interim period in mid-2011. This submission forms part of our Project on Criminal Law Reform in Sudan with the Sudanese Human Rights Monitor and Sudanese civil society.