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In recent years, Sudan has undergone significant political and social changes following the April 15 War, along with severe human rights challenges. With these developments, the role of human rights defenders becomes a crucial pillar in protecting fundamental rights and freedoms, and in strengthening human rights principles and values. Human rights defenders play an independent and vital role in monitoring violations and oppression carried out by parties to the conflict against civilians. Human rights defenders, however, face grave danger and tragic conditions, with shrinking spaces for personal safety, difficulties in movement and safe work, and exposure to mutilation, arrests, killings, displacement, and unjust trials.
This report aims to shed light on the situation of human rights defenders in Sudan during the armed conflict that has been ongoing since April 2023, with a focus on the threats and violations faced by activists, volunteers, and humanitarian, health, and human rights workers. The report is based on field reports and direct testimonies from victims and witnesses, as well as information monitored by a documentation team that adheres to confidentiality to ensure the safety of sources.
Several Sudanese states, including Khartoum, Al-Jazeera, White Nile, and Darfur, have seen an increase in violations against human rights defenders, such as arbitrary arrests, harassment, surveillance, threats, hate speech, and defamation through traditional and social media, as well as torture, abductions, and unfair trials that lack due process. This has occurred alongside the collapse of state institutions, security and judicial systems, and the rise of rhetoric involving treason and intimidation in the media, creating a hostile environment for human rights and humanitarian work.
These violations reflect a systematic policy aimed at silencing independent voices and dismantling community solidarity networks during a critical time in Sudan's history. Therefore, the report urges international and regional organizations to take immediate action to protect human rights defenders, conduct independent investigations, and hold perpetrators accountable for these violations.