FACT
file
Sudan
crisis
Justice
in a state of emergency
Over
the past 21 months Darfur has been the scene of horrific
human rights violations by government forces and allied
militia. A million and a half people have been displaced
in Darfur; they have been attacked, women raped, people
abducted, their relatives killed, villages burnt and looted.
Despite the peoples' cries for help, they still remain
unprotected. They are still being denied justice.
Victims
who speak out face harassment and intimidation at the
hands of the government security forces whilst suspected
perpetrators of extrajudicial executions, killings, rapes
and large-scale attacks remain at large. Darfuris, including
internally displaced persons and town-dwellers, human
rights defenders and lawyers are routine victims of arbitrary
powers of arrest and detention. These powers conferred
upon the security forces, apparently designed to protect
the country, are instead used to torture the population
with impunity.
The
legal system is in need of extensive reform. It is weak
and biased, unable or unwilling to hold government forces
and allied militias accountable for massive violations
of international law. Investigations into human rights
violations committed in Darfur are either deeply flawed
or simply non-existent. Unfair trials are the norm and
special courts handing down summary justice leave little
confidence in the ability of the judiciary to address
the devastation of Darfur.
Governments
must not accept the endless routine of human rights violations
in Sudan. Mediators of the Sudan and Darfur peace talks
must discuss amendments to the emergency laws and ensure
that the millions of victims of grave abuses obtain justice.
Source:
Amnesty International.
