Publications

In a letter released ahead of the 3rd cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Sudan, REDRESS joined more than 53 Sudanese, regional and international organisations in calling on the UN Human Rights Council to address the ongoing political crisis in Sudan. The signatories highlight that the Human Rights Council must raise the grave human rights violations that have occurred since the military coup on 25 October 2021.

This Q&A aims to help journalists navigate the complexities of reporting on enforced disappearances in Africa, a particularly cruel human rights abuse that is prevalent on the continent, frequently used by governments as a method of repression, terror, and stifling dissent. Human rights advocates, political opposition, union leaders, journalists and minority groups are often targeted. The Q&A addresses key concepts and terminology; the main contexts in which it happens in Africa; the main obstacles faced by victims seeking justice; and the shortcomings in the available data. It also offers guidance on how to mitigate the risks to journalists and victims when reporting on enforced disappearances.  

In a letter distributed on 28 October, REDRESS joined more than 35 Sudanese, African, and international civil society organisations in calling on the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special (emergency) session to address the ongoing political crisis in Sudan, following the 25 October military takeover of the transitional government. The signatories stress that the Human Rights Council has a res­ponsi­bility to act urgently.

Early on the morning of October 25 2021, Sudanese security forces arrested at least five civilian members of Sudan’s transitional government, including the prime minister and other officials and key political leaders. The military announced the dissolution of the joint civilian-military transitional government. In response, in a briefing distributed to members of the UK Parliament on 25 October, REDRESS called on the UK Government to take several urgent steps.

In a letter released ahead of the 48^th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC48), 34 Sudanese, African, and international civil society organisations highlight the need for the Coun­cil to both continue supporting human rights reforms in Sudan and maintain human rights moni­tor­ing and reporting. The signatories suggest that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continue reporting to the Council on a yearly basis, and that its reports form a basis for debates.

REDRESS and 66 other civil society organisations wrote to Sudan's transitional government, urging it to urge the government to follow through on recent commitments to deepen its cooperation with the ICC by transferring former president Omar al-Bashir, Ahmed Haroun, and Abdel Raheem Muhammed Hussein to The Hague.

This report considers the practice of enforced disappearance in Africa, exploring the contexts in which it takes place, the existing international and regional legal and policy frameworks in place to prevent and respond to enforced disappearances, and the gaps in those frameworks that prevent the eradication of enforced disappearance in Africa, as well as making a set of recommendations to the relevant bodies on how to eliminate the practice on the continent. We are grateful to the law firm Linklaters for their invaluable pro-bono support. 

Sudan’s transitional government has taken some important steps towards securing justice for past human rights violations and international crimes in Sudan, but more is needed. As this policy briefing discusses, this includes additional progress on the planned justice institutions under the Juba Peace Agreement and Constitutional Charter 2019, and the elimination of remaining legal and institutional obstacles to accountability. To date, the perpetrators of serious human rights violations and international crimes in Sudan have, by and large, not been held accountable, even as human rights violations continue throughout Sudan.