The African Commission recommends that the Government of Sudan:
NISS
1.Takes adequate measures in combating insecurity, violence, and police and law enforcement excesses, especially those of the NISS.
2.Ensures that the conditions of arrest, preliminary interrogation and detention of suspects comply with the principles of the Robben Island Guidelines.
Judiciary
3.Undertakes to train members of the judiciary at all levels, state prosecutors, and members of the bar, police and prison officials on human rights law.
4. Put in place the reforms to strengthen the judiciary especially as it relates to human rights training for judges.
Press Freedoms
5.Take the necessary measures that ensure freedom of expression and access to information.
Death Penalty and Torture and Cruel and Inhuman Treatment and Punishment
6.In its next report provide the number of persons on death row.
7.To observe the moratorium on the death penalty and take measures for its total abolition.
8.Takes urgent and concrete measures to abolish laws that allow corporal punishment including stoning, amputation, cross-amputation and whipping.
9.Should include standards like the Robben Island Guidelines in the human rights program of Sudan Police College and the training of prison officers.
10. Consider enacting a law criminalizing torture.
11. Appoints an independent commission to investigate all extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and torture by the police and make public its findings.
National Security Act
12. Repeal Article 52(3) of the National Security Act 2010 that provides members of the NISS and their associates with immunity from criminal and civil procedures.
13. Takes immediate steps to close down all unofficial places of detention.
14. Adopts a holistic approach to prison decongestion and conditions of detention in the prisons, ensuring that the Prison Service get adequate resources, including funding to improve living conditions and access to health care in prisons and places of detention.
Women
15. Enacts legislation prohibiting female genital mutilations, violence and other discriminatory practices against women.
16. Takes measures to ensure female participation at all levels of decision making, including considering enacting a law on affirmative action.
17. In its next Periodic Report provides gender disaggregated data with its narrative Report.
18. Ratify the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.
19. Ratifies the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
20. Takes legislative and other measures that address rape in Sudan.
21. Takes measures that address the low level of literacy amongst the girl-child.
22. Enact a law that encourages and promote women’s participation in the political affairs of the State.
23. Takes measures to ban child labour and recruitment of child soldiers.
24. Should indicate the participation of NGOs in the preparation of its next Periodic Report.
25. Takes the necessary legislative measures and material preparations to extend free legal assistance to all crimes where the accused person cannot afford to pay legal representation fees.
26. Open up constructive dialogue, with the full involvement of the AU, with all factions of the various conflicts in Sudan, in particular South Sudan, in a bid to find a comprehensive solution to the problems in the country.
27. Ensure that the deportation of refugees within its territory conforms to international and regional human rights standards. It should explore measures such as voluntary repatriation, integration or resettlement as durable solutions for long standing refugees’ problems.
Ratification of International / Regional Instruments
28. Takes measures to ratify international and regional human rights instruments, including:
- the Convention Against Torture;
- the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
- the Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights;
- the OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa,
- and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption; Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance.
29. Should undertake to make a declaration accepting the competence of the African Court under Article 34(6) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
30. Domesticates all the relevant regional and international instruments it has ratified in line with it international obligations.
Rights of Older Persons and the Disabled
31. In its next reporting period the report should outline how the rights of older persons and disabled people are protected.
General
32. Ensures that Sharia law is not applied to Christians and other non-Muslims groups.
33. Requests Sudan to respond to its request for Provisional Measures on Southern Kordofan.
34. In its next Periodic Report provide information on the measures taken by the authorities to deal with excesses of the police and other security agents.
35. Finally, the African Commission requests that the Republic of Sudan in its next Periodic Report inform the African Commission how it has implemented the recommendations in this Concluding Observations.
Adopted at the 12th Extra-ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights held from 29 July to 4 August 2012, Algiers, Algeria
