GENEVA – Geneva Council for Human Rights and Justice (GCHRJ) urged the Sudanese government to respect the right to peaceful assembly and to avoid using excessive suppress protests in the country.
GCHRJ, an international human rights organization, stated in a press statement that the Sudanese authorities must abide by international conventions that guarantee the right to peaceful demonstrations and respond to the demands of the protesters.
Six people died in anti-government protests in the eastern town of Gedaref in al-Qadarif state, leading to a state of emergency and an overnight curfew.
Two others were killed in the northern town of Atbara, in River Nile State, local media reported on Thursday.
Protests against bread and fuel price rises were also dispersed in the capital, Khartoum, and other towns.
The demonstrations began on Wednesday in Atbara, Ed-Damar and Berber, where Sudanese police fired tear gas to break up large crowds of protesters chanting anti-government slogans.
The disturbances later became violent and several people were reportedly shot.
The International Covenant on Human Rights has guaranteed the right to peaceful assembly since the International Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Article 20 of which states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that “Countries shall recognize and guarantee the right to peaceful assembly”.
GCHRJ stressed the legal responsibility of the Sudanese authorities to respect the demands of the protests, especially in the cities of Atbara and Berber, condemning the high cost of living.
The Council warned of social media incitement the protests, which possibly prepares for the use of repression against them.
In this regard, it expressed its fears of repeated cases of repression by the security forces in Sudan, including the arbitrary detention of dozens of people during peaceful protests against the price rise that took place at the end of January.
It confirmed that these fears are increasing, given that Sudan has not passed any reforms to the laws governing the work of its security device, saying that the “National Security Law” of 2010 granted the authority extensive powers of arrest, detention, search and confiscation and violates the violated the international standards.
