ICC NOTE: Occuring simultaneously is the African Union Summit, and Sudan is chairing. This has led to alot of opposition with human rights groups and other nations such as Chad, citing the current situation in Darfur, in which the government has been accused of being complicit.
Sudan: USCIRF Delegation to Sudan January 10-21
WASHINGTON ? A delegation from the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom (USCIRF), led by USCIRF Chair Michael Cromartie, is
visiting Sudan January 10-21. The delegation is meeting with a broad range
of individuals, including government officials, religious leaders, civil
society representatives, and international observers, in Khartoum , Southern
Sudan , and Nairobi , Kenya . The Commission’s visit was agreed to by Sudan ‘s
Government of National Unity.
Since its inception in 1998, including after the signing of the Peace
Agreement, USCIRF has determined that Sudan should be designated as a
“country of particular concern,” or CPC. The State Department has
repeatedly adopted this recommendation. In the past, the Commission has
identified Sudan as the world’s most violent abuser of the right to freedom
of religion and belief and has drawn attention to the Sudanese government’s
genocidal atrocities against civilian populations, including in Darfur . As
a result of the government’s policies of Islamization and Arabization, 2
million people, mostly non-Muslims in southern and central Sudan , died in
the now-concluded North-South civil war. With the signing of comprehensive
North-South peace accords during the past year, conditions for religious
freedom in certain parts of the country have changed.
Sudan is in the midst of a historic transition. Among the issues the
Commission will gather information on are the implementation of the human
rights guarantees in the Peace Agreement and the country’s Interim
Constitution. The Commission will be submitting recommendations for U.S.
policy toward Sudan as part of its statutory mandate.
