th 12 June 2017 Sudan: Query Response The situation in Khartoum and Omdurman – An update (3rd version) 5 February 2020 (COI between 10 July 2018 and 10 December 2019) 1 Commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Division of International Protection. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the authors. © Asylum Research Centre (ARC), 2020 ARC publications are covered by the Create Commons License allowing for limited use of ARC publications provided the work is properly credited to ARC and it is for non-commercial use. ARC does not hold the copyright to the content of third party material included in this report. Reproduction or any use of the images/maps/infographics included in this report is prohibited and permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder(s). Feedback and comments Please help us to improve and to measure the impact of our publications. 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Thank you. https://asylumresearchcentre.org/feedback/ Please direct any questions to [email protected] Cover photo: © Jarretera/shutterstock.com 2 CONTENTS Explanatory Note .................................................................................................................................... 6 Sources and databases consulted ........................................................................................................... 9 List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... 14 Preface: Protests in Sudan, particularly Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman from December 2018......... ............................................................................................................................................. 15 1. Security situation, including evidence of attacks and other forms of ill-treatment of specific groups... ................................................................................................................................................ 19 1.1. Violence against members of specific groups ................................................................................ 19 1.1.1. Darfuri ......................................................................................................................................... 19 1.1.2. Nuba ............................................................................................................................................ 23 1.1.3. Other ethnic and/or religious minorities .................................................................................... 24 1.1.4. Students, political activists, human rights activists and journalists who are not originally from these cities or who support persons not originally from there ............................................................ 27 1.1.5. IDPs ............................................................................................................................................. 33 1.1.6. Returnees .................................................................................................................................. 33 1.1.7. Women ...................................................................................................................................... 33 1.1.8. Children ..................................................................................................................................... 39 1.1.9. Individuals of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity .................................................... 41 1.2. Arbitrary arrest and detention .................................................................................................. 42 1.2.1. Darfuri ......................................................................................................................................... 42 1.2.2. Nuba ............................................................................................................................................ 46 1.2.3. Other ethnic and/or religious minorities .................................................................................... 49 1.2.4. Students, political activists, human rights activists and journalists who are not originally from these cities or who support persons not originally from there ............................................................ 52 1.2.5. IDPs ........................................................................................................................................... 61 1.2.6. Returnees .................................................................................................................................. 62 1.2.7. Women ...................................................................................................................................... 62 1.2.8. Children ..................................................................................................................................... 68 1.2.9. Individuals of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity .................................................... 68 1.3. Prison conditions ....................................................................................................................... 68 1.3.1. Darfuri ....................................................................................................................................... 72 1.3.2. Nuba .......................................................................................................................................... 74 1.3.3. Other ethnic and/or religious minorities .................................................................................. 74 3 1.3.4. Students, political activists, human rights activists and journalists who are not originally from these cities or who support persons not originally from there ............................................................ 75 1.3.5. IDPs ........................................................................................................................................... 80 1.3.6. Returnees .................................................................................................................................. 80 1.3.7. Women ...................................................................................................................................... 81 1.3.8. Children ..................................................................................................................................... 85 1.3.9. Individuals of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity .................................................... 86 1.4. Violence and discrimination against family members of (perceived) political opponents ...... 86 2. Forced recruitment in Omdurman and Khartoum by the Sudanese government ..................... 88 2.1. Overview of Military service (legal framework, unlawful or disproportionate punishment for refusal to serve, Desertion) .................................................................................................................. 88 2.2. Darfuri ............................................................................................................................................ 90 2.3. Nuba ............................................................................................................................................... 91 2.4. Other ethnic and/or religious minorities ....................................................................................... 92 2.5. Students, political activists, human rights activists and journalists who are not originally from these cities or who support persons not originally from there ............................................................ 92 2.6. IDPs ................................................................................................................................................ 92 2.7. Returnees ....................................................................................................................................... 92 2.8. Women ........................................................................................................................................... 93 2.9. Children .......................................................................................................................................... 93 2.10. Individuals of diverse sexual orientation or gender identity .................................................... 95 3. Access to justice, including follow-up by State law enforcement agencies in cases of violence and other abuses against members of specific groups ......................................................................... 95 Protests in Sudan: Emergency Courts ................................................................................................... 95 Access to justice – General situation in Sudan, particularly post-protests ........................................... 96 3.1. Darfuri .......................................................................................................................................... 101 3.2. Nuba ............................................................................................................................................. 102 3.3. Other ethnic and/or religious minorities