26/2/2023: Rights for Peace - 20 years since the Darfur Genocide: Will Sudan’s Framework Agreement provide Justice for survivors?, by Najlaa Ahmed and Hannah Klifa

ANALYSIS

Warning that the Framework Agreement will not provide justice for conflict victims in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan, human rights lawyer Najlaa Ahmed and Hannah Klifa identified various concerns including the:

· Number of issues “deferred” for further discussion;

· Lack of time frame for the Final Agreement meant to contain detailed provisions on the military, security sector, judiciary and law reform’;

· Ambitious list of reforms that is unrealistic for a two-year transition;

· Lack of guarantees that the Final Agreement will build on previous agreements regarding transitional justice, accountability and reparation for those who suffered gross human rights violations such as torture, conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and mass atrocity crimes. This includes the implementation of a law establishing the Transitional Justice Commission that was adopted by former prime minister Abdallah Hamdok’s government in June 2021.

· Concerns that CRSV is not mentioned at all.

SOLUTIONS

To help the Framework Agreement provide justice for victims of atrocities in Sudan, Rights for Peace, a charity that seeks to prevent genocide using human rights approaches, call for the:

· Transitional Justice Coalition of over 30 Sudanese NGOs to enable the sensitive participation of conflict-related sexual violence survivors in regional workshops to ensure this category of victims is not excluded from the transitional justice discussions;

· Political parties, mediators and other signatories to ensure participation of victims of human rights violations and their families, as well as pro-democracy activists, including women;

· The Law Reform Commission and Constitutional Court to be established without delay to ensure reform of the justice sector and oversee the appointment of newly qualified judges to improve access to justice.