Sudanese Human Right Activists Seeking Support
Posted by africanpress on November 17, 2009
By Saikou Jammeh-
Banjul, The Gambia: In a discussion paper launched in Banjul today on the occasion of the 46th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, underway here in The Gambia, a group of Sudanese human rights activists called for urgent reform of the public order regime in Sudan.
The paper entitled, Beyond Trousers: The Public Order Regime and the Human Right of Women and Girls in Sudan, reveals the dreadful state of Sudanese women amid the public order regime, which impedes on the personal, social, economic and professional lives of women in Sudan.
Presenting the report to the Commission, Dr. Albaqir Mukhtar of the Al-Khatim Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development described the public order regime in Sudan as, “a set of laws and mechanisms which in addition to dealing with matters of public security, prohibits and enforce a range of behavior ranging from “dancing at private parties”, to “indecent dress” and even intention to commit adultery.
These offences, the activist went on can be interpreted with great latitude and are enforced by special police and court system with a reputation for violence and summery justice, noting that severe penalties including lashing and execution are attached to these crimes.
“The experience of women with the public order regime constitutes a litany of suffering and lost opportunity,” Dr. Albaqir Mukhtar quoted Hala Alkarib, the Executive Director of SIHA, as saying. “Women from all walks of life especially the most vulnerable and marginalized live under daily threat of arrest and brutal punishment for “ill-defined behaviors” that should never be the subject of criminal law in a democratic society”.
He reminds the participants of the high profile trial of a Sudanese Journalist MS. Lubna Hussein was arrested in a restaurant in Khartoum and charged with indecent and immoral acts “under the criminal Code of 1991.
According to him, Lubna though refused to submit to trail and demand a lawyer- a resistance which earned her a temporal reprieve, 10 other women who were arrested alongside her, were immediately tried. “they were denied legal representation, and all declared guilty and immediately lashed including a 16-year-old girl.
Lubna’s case was transferred from the Special Public Order courts to the normal courts; however she was still denied the right to present a defense or witnesses and was convicted.
“It’s not a question of trousers,” he said, “the public order regime expresses and enforces an ideology that considers that women should not have equal access to public and private freedoms including- the basic components of the right to liberty, security of person and fair trial as set out in articles 6 and 7 of the African Charter.
“The public order regime is an oppressive tool which does not impacts the lives of individuals but also the development of Sudan as a whole.
Dr. Albaqir Alafiff said: “there is need for courage. Reform of the public order regime requires a fundamental shift in the approach to the use of law and state power. But it is essential not just to fulfill the constitutional obligation to ensure of equal protection of the laws, but also ensure a real transformation in Sudan.
“Up till now this aspect, although acknowledged by the political parties, has not been made a priority. People should know that the public order law contravenes not only the African Charter and the interim constitution of Sudan, but also lacks cultural legitimacy. It is alien to the Sudanese culture and well entrenched religious traditions.
Meanwhile the paper presented contains series of recommendations for bringing Sudanese law into conformity with the requirements of the African on human and peoples’ rights in order to ensure the liberation of Sudanese People especially women.
As part of the recommendation the activist called on the Commission to recall Sudan’s obligation to implement the recommendations of the Commission with respect to reform of the Public Order Regime. He also called for the immediate amendment of the criminal Law of 1991 to be in conformity with its obligation under the African Charter.
“Sudan must implement the recommendations of the African Commission to Sudan to both abolish penalty of lashing,” he urged. “We also call on the special rapporteur on the rights of women to offer assistance to the government of Sudan in the processes of law reform”.
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