UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 11) The [Criminal Code] was amended in 2015 with the addition of the offence of sexual harassment and the separation of the offence of rape from that of adultery in article 149, thereby removing all ambiguity and ensuring just and fair treatment for victims. Two paragraphs were added to article 88: paragraph (a) which makes it a crime for public officials to abuse their office or authority, and paragraph (b) which defines a public official as anyone who works in a legislative, executive, administrative or judicial capacity, whether appointed or elected.

Para 97) The Criminal Code as amended in 2015 stipulates penalties for offences that fall within the concept of violence against women such as sexual harassment. It also differentiates between adultery and rape.

Para 99) A draft national policy to combat violence against women and children has been drawn up for the period 2016-2031.

Para 100) The five-year national plan to combat violence against women 2012-2016 has been adopted. The unit for combating violence against women and children follows up on the implementation of the plan by acting as a coordination mechanism between ministries, the provinces, civil society organizations and United Nations organizations.

Para 101) The unit for combating violence against women and children has created 14 subunits at the provincial level, including 4 four subunits in four of the provinces of Darfur. A network of civil society organizations engaged in combating violence against women has also been set up in order to improve coordination between the State sector and civil society, and it focuses particular attention on the issue of violence against women in Darfur. A number of action plans for the provinces of Darfur have emerged from the national plan to combat violence against women, and these have been discussed with the European Union in Brussels.

Para 102) The unit has worked with the Ministry of the Interior to increase the number of female police officers involved in protecting civilians in camps, especially women. A course has been developed to train female police officers in investigation techniques and in the principles of international humanitarian law and human rights.

Para 103) Training and capacity-building courses focusing on international, regional and national law have been run for persons working in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies. Female police officers have received training in how to conduct criminal investigations in cases involving violence against women, and a guide on medical treatment in cases of rape has been developed.

Para 104) The report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on the prevention of violence against women and girls (E/CN/6/2013/4) mentioned the Sudan as one of 10 States to have reported on the establishment of coordination mechanisms, including task forces, dedicated units, working and interministerial groups and observatories.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 28) HRW, JS2 and JS7 were concerned that rape crimes continued to be used as a weapon, with allegations about the rape of 200 women in 2014 in Tabit, Darfur by SAF which were not investigated thoroughly or punished.

National Report:
Para 22) … • Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) (2003).

National Report:
Para 75) The State’s responsibility to protect women’s rights as enshrined in international and regional agreements ratified by Sudan is set forth in article 49 of the Constitutional Document, which upholds women’s rights in all areas and enjoins the State to practise positive discrimination in their favour, to combat customs and traditions that are harmful to their dignity and to provide free health care for mothers, children and pregnant women.
Para 83) To uphold the principle of the rule of law and combat impunity, the Public Prosecutor has issued decrees for the formation of committees, made up of prosecutors and civil society representatives, to conduct investigations into cases involving violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law.
Para 84) Family and child protection units, which incorporate specialized prosecution offices, have been set up in all states of Sudan.

UN Compilation:
Para 8) The Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan welcomed the reports on the endorsement of the Miscellaneous Amendments Act by the Joint Council in July 2020, which provided for amendments to the Criminal Code of 1991. … The Act also criminalized actions that included gender-based discrimination and provided for better protection for women’s rights.
Para 12) The HR Committee was concerned about the persistence of entrenched discriminatory provisions in legislation, in particular in the areas of family law and personal status …
Para 46) The Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan noted that women in the Sudan were at the forefront of the peaceful protest. They had also been among the primary victims of violence, including human rights violations and sexual violence, during the course of the protest and the reporting period. He commended the great emphasis the constitutional document placed on women’s rights. Article 7 (7) provided for assurances to guarantee and promote women’s rights in the Sudan in all social, political and economic fields, and to combat all forms of discrimination against women, taking into account provisional preferential measures in both war and peace. Article 48 expanded women’s rights provisions by stating that all women’s rights enshrined in international and regional treaties ratified by the Sudan would be recognized and protected by the State.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 74) JS24 noted that women and girls were unequal before the law. For example, the testimony of two women being needed to counteract that of one man in certain trials before a judge. A widow can only inherit one-eighth of her husband’s estate, with the remainder going to the children. Even then, a two to one majority share would be inherited by the sons versus the daughter. Legal measures also include adultery charges for Muslim women that choose to marry a non-Muslim man, but the lack of penalty in the reverse situation for men.
Para 76) JS23 noted that the Miscellaneous Amendments Act abolished flogging for violation of the public decency law, envisaged by Article 152 of the Criminal Code, and removed the wording “wears an indecent or immoral dress”. However, Article 152 can still be used, as it has been in its past form, by authorities to target Christian women and girls for indecent clothing (on the basis of not covering their head or wearing trousers) with reference to its legally vague language without a safeguard for an objective standard.

National Report:
Para 22) Sudan is in the process of ratifying the following instruments: • CEDAW (1979);
Para 75) The State’s responsibility to protect women’s rights as enshrined in international and regional agreements ratified by Sudan is set forth in article 49 of the Constitutional Document, which upholds women’s rights in all areas and enjoins the State to practise positive discrimination in their favour, to combat customs and traditions that are harmful to their dignity and to provide free health care for mothers, children and pregnant women.

UN Compilation:
Para 8) The Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan welcomed the reports on the endorsement of the Miscellaneous Amendments Act by the Joint Council in July 2020, which provided for amendments to the Criminal Code of 1991. … The Act also criminalized actions that included gender-based discrimination and provided for better protection for women’s rights.
Para 46) The Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan … commended the great emphasis the constitutional document placed on women’s rights. Article 7 (7) provided for assurances to guarantee and promote women’s rights in the Sudan in all social, political and economic fields, and to combat all forms of discrimination against women, taking into account provisional preferential measures in both war and peace. Article 48 expanded women’s rights provisions by stating that all women’s rights enshrined in international and regional treaties ratified by the Sudan would be recognized and protected by the State.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 76) JS23 noted that the Miscellaneous Amendments Act abolished flogging for violation of the public decency law, envisaged by Article 152 of the Criminal Code, and removed the wording “wears an indecent or immoral dress”. However, Article 152 can still be used, as it has been in its past form, by authorities to target Christian women and girls for indecent clothing (on the basis of not covering their head or wearing trousers) with reference to its legally vague language without a safeguard for an objective standard.