UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 105) Work began on a draft law to prevent female genital mutilation in 2007. The draft was reviewed by a national committee for the review of laws related to women's rights in 2012-2013, and a series of consultative meetings between the Ministry of Justice and parliamentarians took place.

Para 106) In cooperation with UNICEF the Government has launched the "Salima" campaign which is a social media initiative designed to prevent female genital mutilation. It focuses on bringing about change in society rather than in the individual, making change socially acceptable and disseminating knowledge and awareness about the harmful effects of female genital mutilation.

Para 107) The National Council for Child Welfare, in cooperation with the National Council for Strategic Planning, drafted the national strategy 2008-2018 to prevent female genital mutilation in the Sudan. The aim of the strategy is to build capacity in institutions and in civil society, and to develop skills in society as a whole in order to help people to abandon this practice. Goals of the strategy include enacting legislation to prohibit and criminalize female genital mutilation, raising awareness in society, constructing local, regional and international partnerships, and mobilizing religious figures to play their part. The implementation of the strategy is proceeding as planned.

UN Compilation:
Para 36) UNESCO noted the strategy to eliminate female genital mutilation. It appeared, however, that the Sudan had not taken further steps to prohibit the practice and educate the women on their rights.

National Report:
Para 60) The Public Prosecutor has established 18 offices to oversee investigations carried out by the police unit for the protection of families and children. Also, 18 children's courts have been set up to examine cases involving child victims of crime. The staff of these judicial institutions has received training in the principles and procedures followed in juvenile courts and the treatment of offenders. Moreover, mechanisms are available to provide psychological and social support to children, whether offenders, victims or witnesses.

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

National Report:
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.

National Report:
Para 22) Sudan is in the process of ratifying the following instruments: • CEDAW (1979);

National Report:
Para 12) [The Elections Act] was amended in 2014 to increase the proportion of women from 25 per cent to 30 per cent and to improve geographical and proportional representation in order to widen participation.

Para 33) The findings of a workforce survey to determine levels of employment and participation in economic life among men and women made public in April 2012. Among its more significant results, the survey showed that economic participation among both sexes increased from 39.3 per cent in 1999 to 43 per cent in 2011. The number of people reliant on paid work jumped to 40.1 per cent, standing at 43.6 per cent for men and 29.4 per cent for women.

Para 69) The National Quarter-Century Strategy for 2007-2031 advocates the participation of women in a wholesale revival of society. One of the central elements of the Strategy is, in fact, the empowerment of women.

Para 70) The State's concern in this regard has led it to create various frameworks as well as seven official national mechanisms to empower women and promote their role in society.

Para 71) The national policy for the empowerment of women - which was adopted by the Council of Ministers in 2007 and has been used as a reference for the Constitution, national laws and regional and international treaties - has been updated for the period 2015-2016, with the help of development partners. Projects included in the policy aim to address issues such as education, health care, the environment, economic empowerment, human rights law, political participation and decision-making, and peace and conflict resolution. A detailed outline of a national policy to empower women has been proposed, incorporated into the second five-year plan (2012-2016) and sent out to districts and provinces.

Para 72) The participation of women in the national legislature in 2015 was as follows. There were 131 female members of the National Assembly which has a total number of seats of 450, and there were 16 female members, out of a total of 56, of the Council of States.

Para 73) Following the 2014 amendments to electoral law, the people of Sudan helped to reinforce the foundations of democracy by participating in the April 2015 elections and the peaceful transfer of power. The proportion of women in parliament went up from 25 to 30 per cent ...

UN Compilation:
Para 5) ... In 2015, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, was concerned by the discriminatory interpretation and implementation of provisions of the Criminal Law Act, the Public Order Act and the Personal Status Act. The Special Rapporteur noted that over 26 laws, including the Personal Status Act, contained provisions that were discriminatory towards women. Proposed changes at the federal level included: an amendment to the minimum age of marriage; the harmonization of domestic substantive and procedural laws with international human rights standards; and the ratification of CEDAW and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 10) JS2 noted Sudan did not accept previous recommendations to reform NSSA (2010) and did not amend its laws on marriage, custody, divorce, property rights, and indecency in compliance with international human rights law and as previously accepted recommendation.

Para 48) JS1 noted that in the first cycle Sudan accepted recommendations on gender equality and women's equal rights, and on steps to amend/repeal all discriminatory provisions in the Sudanese Nationality Act of 1994. However, children can only acquire citizenship from their Sudanese mothers through an application process, whereas children of Sudanese fathers acquire Sudanese citizenship automatically.