UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
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: … (b) … • Criminalizing and punishing the practice of female genital mutilation (art. 141 (a) of the Criminal Code);
Para 85) In recognition of the efforts the Government has made in this connection, in February 2019 UNESCO awarded its Prize in Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts to the National Council for Child Welfare for the success of the Saleema initiative to end female genital mutilation.
Para 89) Social support is being provided to midwives and they are being given their own projects to run in order to improve their income and encourage them to abandon harmful traditional practices.
Para 93) In order to raise the general level of awareness among security services and the judiciary regarding domestic and sexual violence and female genital mutilation, security and judicial officials have received training, both in Sudan and abroad, on the subject of violence against women and children.
Para 94) (c) The State has adopted a national strategy to prevent child marriage, which is part of its national strategy for children 2018–2030. In addition to this, a national action plan to end child marriage in Sudan, rolled out in November 2017, has been updated for the period 2021–2031. The plan uses as its baseline a regional assessment of child marriage conducted by UNICEF in 2016; (d) A bill to combat violence against women has been drafted, which includes provisions prohibiting early marriage. In addition, a ministerial committee has been set up to review legislation and laws on women and to address any loopholes; (e) Female genital mutilation has been made a criminal offence under article 141 (a) of the Criminal Code as amended in 2020, and the Personal Status Act is being reviewed to bring it into line with international standards concerning age of marriage; (f) A strategy to end female genital mutilation 2021–2030 has been drafted and is currently in the final stages of approval, and a proposal has been made to include that issue in the school curriculum.

UN Compilation:
Para 48) The United Nations country team noted that, despite the recent adoption by the Sudan of a law criminalizing female genital mutilation, the prevalence of that harmful practice was alarming, with over 80 per cent of women nationwide subjected to it, reaching around 90 per cent in 7 of the 18 Sudanese states.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 71) The Helena Kennedy Centre for international Justice noted that Sudan has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world: It is reported that 88% of women aged 15-49 have been cut.
Para 78) The Helena Kennedy Centre for international Justice noted that most women are married young, with the legal age for marriage being 10 years old, when a girl is tamyeez (Mature), with the permission of an elder. In a survey undertaken by Dabanga, it was reported that a third of the female population in Sudan aged between 20 and 24 were married by the age of 18, despite having ratified the CRC.

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 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 ... political participation ... 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 ...

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 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 ... The implementation of the strategy is proceeding as planned.

Para 108) In 2015, the State introduced a national strategy to end child marriage. Sixteen days of activities were organized in November 2015 to stop violence against women and child marriage and to encourage the education of girls. In the same year agreement was reached with the European Union on three projects within the framework of the European Instrument for Democracy & Human Rights. The projects seek to eradicate harmful traditional practices such as child marriage and circumcision, to establish the rights of women in civil status legislation, and to provide psychological, social and legal support for female victims of human rights violations.

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 53) ... Committees have been formed to study the possibility of acceding to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.