VZCZCXRO2647
PP RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0940/01 1771001
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251001Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1151
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0247
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000940 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG, S/CRS, SE WILLIAMSON, DRL 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PREF PHUM KPKO SOCI UNSC SU
SUBJECT: UNAMID DARFUR HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT DELAYED 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  UNAMID Acting Human Rights Chief Joanna Oyediran 
told FieldOff June 24 that the first UNAMID human rights report, 
which was due to be published in July, had been delayed until 
September.  The human rights office was "taking a bit more time to 
work out content" for the report, but said that it would be heavily 
focused on accountability and "procedural" issues rather than a 
catalogue or narrative of abuses.  Oyediran noted that such issues 
were timely in light of the establishment of special courts in 
Khartoum to deal with alleged collaborators in the May 10 attack on 
Omdurman, and concerns about due process and fair trials for the 
accused.  Her focus on Sudanese procedures rather than substance, 
and her attempts to highlight Government of Sudan (GoS) progress on 
issues relating to violence against women, may signify that the 
report will contain carefully crafted positive spin on a situation 
that most international and local observers agree is not measurably 
improving. END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Omdurman Attack Raises HR Concerns 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) UNAMID Acting Human Rights Chief Joanna Oyediran, who is 
the Human Rights team leader for Sector West, told FieldOff that the 
first bi-annual human rights report would be delayed from July until 
September.  She noted that UNAMID was taking some time "to work out 
content," but that the report would largely focus on accountability 
for human rights abuses, and government procedures for processing 
allegations of abuses.  She noted that these issues were 
particularly pressing in the wake of the May 10 attack on Omdurman, 
which had resulted in a wave of detentions and the establishment of 
three special courts in Khartoum to prosecute alleged collaborators. 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Although most arrests following the Omdurman attack were 
concentrated in Khartoum, there had been a handful of arrests in 
Darfur as well.  In West Darfur, 13 individuals from both the 
Zaghawa and Massalit tribes have been arrested in connection with 
the attack, including a deputy Umda and a prominent local attorney. 
In North Darfur, Oyediran was only aware of one or two arrests, 
neither of which had resulted in charges.  In South Darfur, she 
reported, 24 or 25 individuals had been detained, and one 47 year 
old detainee died while in custody in Nyala on or around June 10. 
While initial reports suggested foul play, she noted that UNAMID had 
not yet been able to access the results of the autopsy to determine 
the cause of death. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Oyediran said that most of the arrests in Darfur had not 
taken place immediately following the Omdurman attack, which she 
believed indicated that the GoS arrested suspects based on a 
previously-existing "hit list" of individuals to be detained.  "Most 
certainly there are individuals in Darfur who were involved in 
planning and equipping the rebels who attacked the capital," she 
stated, "however the lack of due diligence in producing evidence and 
conducting investigations raises serious questions about the 
potential for a fair trial for these detainees."  Oyediran said that 
UNAMID had been granted access by the GoS to detainees in West 
Darfur, but was denied access to those in custody in South Darfur. 
Therefore the UNAMID human rights report will address the issues of 
access to detainees by families and human rights monitors and due 
process procedures, said Oyediran. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
GoS Making Progress on Violence Against Women... 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Apart from the arrest and due process issues, Oyediran 
pointed out that there had also been some "good news stories" on 
human rights in Darfur over the past months.  For example, in West 
Darfur the State Committee to Eliminate Violence Against Women had 
recently begun meeting.  Established in 2006, the committee had not 
met until the new Minister of Social Welfare took the helm in April 
¶2008.  Since then, the committee had met several times, with UNAMID 
representatives attending as observers.  Oyediran admitted that the 
committee's focus, currently limited to advocacy on individual 
cases, was both narrow and misguided, but noted that "the tone of 
the dialogue is encouraging in a way that we didn't expect only a 
few months ago." 
 
-------- 
Comment 
-------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Oyediran's description of the contents of the upcoming 
human rights report represents a significant departure from previous 
accounts.  UNAMID Human Rights Chief Marie Therese Keita previously 
told FieldOff that the report would feature a detailed account of 
human rights abuses and trends based on investigations and 
 
KHARTOUM 00000940  002 OF 002 
 
 
interviews with victims.  Furthermore, the Human Rights Office's 
upbeat assessment of GoS progress on addressing violence against 
women was particularly baffling, considering statements made on June 
19, when the Security Council adopted resolution 1820 calling for 
the complete halt to acts of sexual violence against civilians in 
combat zones by unanimous vote.  Speaking in support of the 
resolution, delegates repeatedly deplored the situation in Darfur 
and called on the GoS to stop the use of rape as a weapon of war. 
Once again, some international observers seem to be mistaking 
process over results as a measure of progress in Sudan. 
 
¶7. (SBU) UNAMID's delay in releasing the report in order to finalize 
content, together with its focus on Sudanese procedural issues 
rather than substance, suggests that it is not yet ready to confront 
the GoS on the abuses continuing in Darfur.  The attempt to find a 
"good news story" in an area that was just condemned by the Security 
Council also undermines UNAMID's credibility.  There are few human 
rights monitoring organizations operating in Darfur, and those who 
do must walk a fine line in order to continue their work on the 
ground.  UNAMID is unique in that it has a legal right to operate in 
Darfur, and should start exercising it. 
 
FERNANDEZ