One year since the violent attack on the sit-in in Khartoum which was the darkest moment during the revolution and it was engraved on Sudan’s collective memory. To mark this bloody day, UN experts have urged for a transparent and fair investigation into the massacre and for credible accountability and justice.
While they praised the steps taken by the authorities in Sudan to investigate human violations, experts have voiced concerns over the failure to deliver justice to victims and families a year after the attack.
“This is a test case for Sudan. The transition to a peaceful and democratic society will not be completed without delivering justice and providing effective remedies to the victims of this case, who fought for the revolution,” said Nyaletsossi Clément Voule, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.
They also pointed out that the peace process should not be limited to criminal justice, but it must also build social justice by addressing the violations of economic, social, and cultural rights.
The Independent Expert on the Human Rights situation in Sudan, Aristide Nononsi has tackled another issue in this regard which is gender-based violence. Nanonsi claimed that women during the protests have been subjected to all forms of violence, including sexual abuse.
“We urge the national independent committee to address the gravity of gender-based violence that occurred during the crackdown and do the utmost to secure justice and reparations for the victims,” said Nanonsi.
On 3 June, members of the security forces led a deadly raid on peaceful protesters at the sit-in area outside the military headquarters in Khartoum in which nearly 130 people were killed and hundreds more injured in the clearance operation of the sit-in. But scores remain unaccounted for. Protesters behind the months of street demonstrations against the former leader’s regime say at least 40 bodies were dumped in the nearby Nile that runs through central Khartoum.
The UN experts stressed that perpetrators must be held accountable, while respecting international human rights norms and standards. They also emphasized the responsibility of Sudanese authorities to set up a comprehensive victim-centered and gender-sensitive transitional justice process in order to address the issue of past human rights abuses and to prevent their recurrence and to establish an efficient Transitional Justice Commission.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25919&LangID=E
