High Commissioner for Human Rights begins visit to Sudan
The “People of Sudan” initiative organized a protest march under the name of “Dignity” in front of the headquarters of the United Nations mission in Khartoum, against the current political agreement between the military and the opposition coalition “Freedom and Change ‘, as well as some armed factions of the parties to the peace process, as High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk arrives in the country today (Sunday) on a multi-day visit.
Islamists and supporters of the president of the isolated regime, Omar al-Bashir, led by their new organization, the “Broad Islamic Movement”, are throwing their weight behind the initiative of the “people of Sudan” to stop the political agreement, after other initiatives failed to provide a political and social incubator for military leaders. Protesters chanted against what they called “foreign interference” and called for the expulsion of the head of the UN mission in Sudan, Volker Peretz. This is the second time that Al-Bashir’s supporters have demonstrated outside the mission headquarters without objections from the security services.
Amin Hassan Omar, a member of the leadership office of the “National Congress” party led by Al-Bashir, appeared leading the march, accompanied by a number of middle cadres of Islamists and isolated regime supporters. The demonstrations by supporters of the ousted regime came after the joint statement of the “tripartite mechanism” made up of the United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Organization for African Development (IGAD) on Friday, announcing a political agreement soon reached between the parties Sudanese to resolve the current crisis in the country. Last July, the Sufi leader, Sheikh Al-Tayyib Al-Jedd, launched the “Call of the People of Sudan” initiative to resolve the political crisis in the country, around which groups of the Islamic political movement have gathered.
On the other hand, Asharq Al-Awsat learned from opposition sources that the UN “tripartite mechanism” is about to complete consultations with political forces outside the “Freedom and Change” coalition, and he expected to announce the results of the consultations start the dialogue on the political process within a few days.
The same sources reported that there is a great convergence of views between military and civilians on many issues contained in the constituent document proposed by the Order of Lawyers, and that the observations made by the army leaders on the document will be the subject of discussion and dialogue among the civilian forces. The sources, who declined to name themselves, said the political declaration explicitly states that the civilian forces that will participate in the political process are represented by the “Freedom and Change” coalition and other forces that participated in the December 2018 revolution that overthrew the Bashir regime. The “tripartite mechanism” called on all Sudanese and interested parties to remain open to negotiations and agreements reached, noting that these agreements are followed by general elections in the country for the Sudanese people to choose who represents them.
Meanwhile, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, and his accompanying delegation will arrive in Khartoum today (Sunday) for a four-day official visit, during which he will meet officials from the Sovereignty Council, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Interior, and the Governor of Darfur, as well as the Attorney General and the National Human Rights Mechanism. According to Sudan’s official news agency, the meetings will discuss the human rights situation in Sudan and the developments achieved, as well as discuss raising and building capacities in the areas of economic and social human rights, as well as political and civil rights. The United Nations delegation is scheduled to meet in the city of El Fasher, capital of the state of North Darfur, with the regional governor, Minni Arko Minawi, to discuss the obstacles facing the “Juba Peace” agreement.
