Clive Chua
09 June 2022
A total of twenty-two countries have submitted a common resolution to mitigate Sudan’s Human Right issues after three consecutive days of debate by the Human Rights council (HRC).
The resolution proposed aims to resolve pressing issues which includes food in-security, healthcare and political disparities through providing international funding.
While the majority of the council agrees on the dire needs to resolve political disparities in Sudan, Sudan disagrees. The resolution was hence slanted to suggesting international financial and United Nation’s military assistance which deviates from the issue of political mess in the country.
Armenia was the country that brought up the cruciality on Sudan’s political transition to democracy on the first day of debate. Saying that, “Armenia believes that Sudan needs to transition to a more democratic form of government to have a significant improvement for the country", he explained that it will not only resolve Armenia’s corruption issue but social unrest and violence. This makes the bulk and root of Sudan’s issue which the council fails to propose a long-term resolution.
The debate on Sudan’s political reform was dropped soon after as Armenia decides on a passive stance on the Sudan’s sovereignty and feels that providing humanitarian aid is more important.
Armenia pointed that Sudan is likely to decline on the political resolution if proposed and deemed “not the right time,” which Sudan agrees. However, the military coup in Sudan is causing violence, breaching human rights safety which urgently needs to be addressed.
By postponing the political reform in Sudan would mean reliance on gathering international funds to continue providing help for the Sudanese. And that does not complement the international efforts to improving Sudan’s human rights. This has been going on for years and has proven unsustainable, yet the Sudanese government chooses to continue avoiding the issue.
South Korea said that international assistance provided to Sudan should not just be in terms of financial but also machinery. The tailored assistance should encourage the change in Sudan’s governance for a long-term resolution. This was not accepted.
The council has explicitly voiced Sudan’s corruption issue and calls for a need on political reform in Sudan, which Sudan does not acknowledge. Sudan agrees that social media as an outreach tool for the government but shuts down internet in Sudanese when the military coup takes over the countries governing to prevent likely spread of anti-government sentiments. Sudan denies and blames the lack of funds for prolonged outage of internet usage. Sudan has been receiving international monetary fund assistance in the past few years.
Profit from Sudan is what inspires: China
Profits are what China is after as it urges Sudan for more transparency in its country, the first country to propose such. “China wants to ensure Sudan is safe and stable, so that China can profit from its stable economic venture in the region.”
“China loves to promote human rights and that is the only way to maintain stability in the country,” says China in a response to the missing practice of transparency in its country. As contradictory, China deprives its citizens of their rights and speech freedoms, whilst calling Sudan to conform with the international human right standards.
Sudan is China’s second biggest trading partner in the world. By reducing corruptions in Sudan leads to political stability which China can eventually further profit economically from its investments and trades with Sudan.
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