Abductions and displacements criticised

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said that while Sudan had shown increasing willingness to cooperate with international agencies in the field of human rights, there was continued concern over abductions, displacements and discrimination. It said there were continuous reports and allegations regarding the abduction by armed militia of primarily women and children belonging to different ethnic groups. The Committee said it was “deeply concerned” about allegations of forced relocation of civilians from the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups in the Upper Nile region, involving “significant military force”.
Sudan should do everything in its power to “achieve a peaceful settlement of the war,” said the Committee. It said the on-going civil war was fuelled “by a complexity of issues relating to ethnicity, race, religion and culture, and involving violations of human rights by all parties.” A Sudan official told IRIN the government strongly refuted accusations that the army was involved in a strategy of displacement, and said it was seeking peaceful solutions to the civil war