UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 19) The Government has continued to develop strategies, plans and programmes, which it is seeking to roll out. They include: … Standard national operating procedures for the prevention of gender-based violence 2020;
Para 24) The State has continued to reform and develop domestic legislation by amending existing provisions or passing new ones, in line with obligations arising from international instruments and with a view to promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. Since the submission of its second report, the State has issued the Constitutional Document for the transitional period in addition to a number of pieces of legislation, as follows: … (c) The process of legislative reform also envisages the review and enactment or a number of bills: … • Bill to combat domestic violence;
Para 69) In line with the Constitutional Document, the Government has appointed women to leadership positions, including that of presidency of a state and head of a ministry, as well as to leading roles in the judiciary.
Para 76) The Constitutional Document and the Juba Peace Agreement envisage a political will to uphold freedoms and to provide opportunities for the involvement of women at a level of at least 40 per cent.
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 76) The Constitutional Document and the Juba Peace Agreement envisage a political will to uphold freedoms and to provide opportunities for the involvement of women at a level of at least 40 per cent.
Para 77) The State has developed its national strategy to combat violence against women 2015– 2030.
Para 80) On 17 February 2020, a document was approved containing unified standard working procedures to address and respond to cases of gender-based violence in Sudan.
Para 81) The Unit to Combat Violence against Women has been created, with support from UNFPA. The Unit, which acts as a coordinating mechanism for the implementation of policies intended to prevent anti-female violence, has been running a hotline for women who have suffered violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family and child units in the capital city and in the states also work to combat violence against girls. They include the General Directorate for Women and the Family, the Unit to Combat Violence against Women (which has 18 branches in the capital and in the states), state-level women’s mechanisms and sectoral ministries. Moreover, there are women and family affairs departments in a number of ministries and government institutions, including in their offices at the state level.
Para 82) With a view to ensuring the provision of integrated health services for women and girls who are victims of sexual violence, the Public Prosecutor issued circular No. 6 of 2016 under which women who have suffered violence or serious abuse are to be given priority access to immediate treatment and assistance. Under the order, such cases are given precedence over other cases and are not required to fulfil the requirements of schedule 8 before gaining access to testing, treatment or assistance. They also have the right to pursue legal action on the basis of the medical report, leading to the punishment of the offenders and compensation for the victim.
Para 84) Family and child protection units, which incorporate specialized prosecution offices, have been set up in all states of Sudan.
Para 99) In its efforts to pursue the effective implementation of legislative measures intended to combat violence against women and children, the State has taken steps to protect women and girls, particularly those with disabilities. In terms of legislation, the Criminal Code envisages penalties for crimes, such as sexual harassment, that fall under the definition of violence against women, while the 2014 Anti-Human Trafficking Act, as amended in 2021, envisages harsher penalties for trafficking when the victims are women, children or persons with disabilities.
Para 101) … Moreover, in order to promote gender equality and to empower women and girls with disabilities and help them exercise their human rights, the protection of women with disabilities has been included in the raft of integrated policies envisaged under the national strategy to combat violence against 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 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.
Para 47) The United Nations country team noted that gender-based violence remained hugely underreported and was a critical concern in the Sudan both in humanitarian and conflict settings, exacerbated by the exit of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 70) JS22 noted that, because of the political and economic situation, violence against women and girls, and gender disparities have exacerbated to an extent that required urgent and comprehensive measures to address the problem as a national crisis. JS22 noted the launch of a hotline for domestic and gender-based violence as a positive step …
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 75) JS13 noted that the Juba Agreement stipulates women’s representation in all levels of government and decision-making in a fair and effective manner, with a representation of no less than 40%. Thus, a representation rate of 15.3% in the current cabinet is an explicit violation and contravention of the Constitution.
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.