UNITED NATIONS A General Assembly Distr. Distr. \* MERGEFORMAT LIMITED A/HRC/9/L.2 16 September 2008 Original: Orig. Lang. \* MERGEFORMAT ENGLISH HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Ninth session Agenda item 4 HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE THE COUNCIL’S ATTENTION France (on behalf of the European Union): draft resolution 9/… Situation of human rights in Sudan The Human Rights Council, Guided by the principles and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights, Reaffirming that all Members States have an obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms as stated in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other applicable international human rights instruments, Reaffirming also Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/82 of 21 April 2005, and Human Rights Council resolutions 6/34 and 6/35 of 13 December 2007 and 7/16 of 27 March 2008, Bearing in mind the report A/62/354 on the situation of human rights in all regions of Sudan Presented by the Special Rapporteur and urging the implementation of the recommendations contained therein, Recalling the resolutions 5/1 “Institution-building of the United Nations Human Rights Council” and 5/2 “Code of Conduct for Special Procedures mandate-holders of the Human Rights Council” of 18 June 2007 and stressing that the mandate-holder shall discharge his/her duties in accordance with these resolutions and the annexes thereto, 1. Takes note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan (A/HRC/9/13) and its annex on the status of implementation of recommendations compiled by the Group of experts on Darfur (A/HRC/9/13.Add1); 2. Acknowledges the steps taken by the Government of Sudan to strengthen the human rights legal and institutional framework, principally in the law reform, but expresses concern that significant portions of the Comprehensive peace agreement have yet not been implemented; 3. Expresses deep concern at the overall grim situation of human rights in all parts of the Sudan, including arbitrary arrests and detention, exacerbated restrictions on freedom of expression, association, assembly and movement accross the country, and lack of justice and accountablity for serious crimes ; 4. Calls upon the Government of Sudan to accelerate the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and establish the remaining commissions, in particular the finalisation of the establishment of the national human rights commission, in accordance with Paris Principles; 5. Calls on the Government of Sudan to continue and intensify its efforts for the promotion and protection of human rights, by taking all possible concrete steps to improve the human rights situation, 6. Takes note of initial measures taken by the Government to implement the recommendations of the Group of Experts and address human rights concerns, including deployment of police personals in Darfur and sentencing of several perpetrators of serious violations of human rights, but notes that most of the recommendations have not yet been implemented; 7. Urges the Government of Sudan to continue and intensify efforts to implement the recommendations compiled by the Group of Experts on the situation of human rights in Darfur, in accordance with the specified time frames and indicators; 8. Expresses its deep concern regarding the seriousness of the ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur, including land and air attacks by Government forces on civilians, killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions of civilians, violence and sexual abuse of women and children, and destruction of civilian objects, as well as attacks by armed groups on humanitarian aid convoys, including killings and abductions of humanitarian aid personnel and diversion of humanitarian aid ; 9. Calls on all parties to respect obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, in particular with regard to the protection of civilians, and to end all attacks on civilians, with special focus on vulnerable groups, including women, children and internally displaced persons, as well as human rights defenders and humanitarian workers; 10. Stresses the primary responsibility of the Government of Sudan to protect all its citizens, including all vulnerable groups; 11. Reiterates its call upon the signatories of the DPA to comply with their obligations under the agreement and calls upon non-signatory parties to join in and to commit themselves to the peace agreement in compliance with the relevant UN resolutions; 12. Urges the Government of Sudan to address the prevailing impunity and ensure that all allegations of past and ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are duly investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice promptly, in particular those with command responsibility; 13. Calls on the Government of Sudan to strictly observe due judicial process, in particular for those accused of serious crimes, and to hold impartial, transparent and comprehensive inquiries to investigate allegations, identify perpetrators and hold them accountable; 14. Urges all parties to the conflit to fully cooperate with UNMIS and UNAMID, in particular within their mandate to protect civilians and prevent violations of international human rights law, and to allow humanitarian agencies to move freely and safely throughout Darfur and Sudan to carry out their vital work; 15. Decides to extend for one year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 6/35; 16. Urges the Government of Sudan to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur and respond favourably to her requests to visit Sudan and to provide her with all necessary information so as to enable her to fulfil her mandate even more effectively; 17. Requests the Special Rapporteur to assess the needs of Sudan in the context of her mandate and mobilize the necessary international technical and financial support to Sudan in the field of human rights and invites relevant UN bodies and agencies, including the OHCHR, to continue providing support and technical assistance to Sudan in the field of human rights, in accordance with assessed needs, and calls upon donours to also continue providing financial and technical assistance and required equipments for the improvement of the human rights situation in Sudan; 18. Requests the Special Rapporteur to further ensure the effective follow-up and to foster the implementation of the remaining recommendations identified by the Group of Experts, through an open and constructive dialogue with the Government of Sudan, and to include information in this regard in her next report; 19. Requests the Special Rapporteur to present to the Council her outstanding annual report in its 10th session in March 2009 and her following report in its 12th session in September 2009; 20. Calls upon the Secretary-General to provide the Special Rapporteur with all necessary assistance to enable her to discharge her mandate fully, including by enabling any required consultations in this regard; 21. Decides to pursue consideration of the matter in accordance with its annual programme of work. ----- A/HRC/9/L.2 page \* MERGEFORMAT 2 A/HRC/9/L.2 page \* MERGEFORMAT 3 Word.Picture.8