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.

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.

National Report:
Para 38) A memorandum of understanding has been signed with UNICEF on a pilot project under which cash transfers would be made to mothers for the first 1,000 days of their child’s life. The project targets 50,000 mothers in the states of Kassala and Red Sea;
Para 39) A memorandum of understanding on facilitated loans was concluded in July 2019 to enable target groups to gain easy access to funding. In fact, funding has been provided to 7,751 beneficiaries and 135 women’s groups and associations via the Savings and Social Development Bank and the Family Bank. A total of around 250 million Sudanese pounds has been allocated by the two banks for the loans scheme, 100 million by the former and 150 million by the latter.
Para 67) The State has taken positive steps to empower women and enable them to enjoy a greater number of civil and political rights. Under the Constitutional Document, at least 40 per cent of the members of the Legislative Council are to be women.
Para 68) A number of policies, strategies, plans, programmes and projects have been prepared. The most significant of these was the national policy for the empowerment of women, which the Government approved in 2007 then updated in 2017. An action plan for the implementation of the policy at the central level and in the states has also been adopted as part of government plans, in line with the Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Various activities, programmes and projects are run in cooperation with United Nations agencies and with other bodies and institutions, and a national gender equality action plan has been adopted. 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 70) Women’s issues have been integrated into various sectors where they have been given support in the performance of their jobs with capacity-building and skills development. A ministerial committee has been set up to review legislation affecting women.
Para 71) One State initiative in the area of education has been the education strategy 2007– 2031. A five-year educational plan has also been rolled out, which emphasizes the importance of generalizing basic education, increasing rates of completion, reducing dropout, training teachers and creating new classrooms in order to address admission disparities.
Para 72) A strategy has been developed which aims to reduce disparities in quality and to increase the level of education among girls, focusing particularly upon nomads and displaced persons.
Para 73) Public awareness about issues affecting women and their rights is being promoted, in which regard a number of alliances and other bodies have been formed, and community advocacy initiatives on behalf of women have been organized.
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 79) The Government rolled out its national policy for the empowerment of women in 2007 then updated in 2017, making it part of overall development plans.
Para 88) A survey has been conducted into the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and on medium- and small-sized enterprises run by women.
Para 110) A detailed plan regarding the national policy for the empowerment of women was developed and incorporated into the second five-year plan 2012–2017. It was applied in the capital and in the states to women in vulnerable categories and women with disabilities.
Para 116) As part of its efforts in this regard, the State has set up specialized mechanisms to promote the welfare of vulnerable groups such as women. The Ministry of Social Development – as the competent national institution charged with developing policies and strategies for vulnerable categories such as women and persons with disabilities – works as a coordinating body among the relevant authorities in the states.
Para 118) The State has established women and family affairs departments in a number of ministries and government institutions and has set up departmental offices at the state level.

UN Compilation:
Para 33) The Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan noted that physical distancing measures had severely hit the service sector, which absorbed over a million workers, mostly in low-income and casual jobs. Consequently, there was a high risk that many businesses would fail if the disruption of normal business operations continued. The informal hospitality sector, notably the work of women tea sellers, was impacted through the general reduction of the economy.
Para 38) The Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan expressed concern that the COVID-19 pandemic might compromise the chances of the Sudan to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. … Food insecure populations, including internally displaced persons, refugees, migrants, returnees, host communities and women and children, had limited coping mechanisms to buffer the impact.

Stakeholder Summary:
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. JS13 recommended to change the current composition of the Cabinet, and abide by its constitutional obligation to represent women equitably, at a rate of no less than 40% of the Cabinet.

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

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 79) The Government rolled out its national policy for the empowerment of women in 2007 then updated in 2017, making it part of overall development plans.

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 54) The Sudan ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1986 and duly presents reports and holds discussions with international and regional committees in that regard. In fact, it submitted its fourth periodic report under article 40 of the Covenant before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva on 3 and 4 July 2014.

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.