Sudan is an African country located on the shores of the Red Sea, sharing a border with Central African Republic, Chad, Libya, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan. The population of this country is approx 5,04,67,000 with 18,86,068 square kilometers area. Ethnically, 70% Sudanese Arab, 5.9% Beja, 2.5% Nuba, 2% Fur, 2% Egyptian, 1.3% Nubian, 16.3% other ethnic groups live in Sudan. The official languages are Arabic and English. Religiously, 97% are Sunni Muslims and 9% are Christians.
Sudan has a history of bloodshed, civil war, and authoritarian rule. The civil war from 1955 to 1972 was largely due to cultural and religious divisions between the Arab-Muslim regime in the north and the African-approved Christian/animist people of the south. When Sharia law was reintroduced in 1983, the authoritarian rule of the north isolated the south. More than two million people died in the civil war that lasted from 1983 to 2005. South Sudan gained independence in a referendum in 2011. Protests in 2018 and a military coup in 2019 ousted President Omar al-Bashir. This Bashir was in power from 1989 to 2019, a period of 30 years.
After the 2019 change, the country has been operating under an provisional constitution. Important things mentioned in the Constitution: life and human dignity, personal freedom, prohibition of slavery and forced labor, equality before the law, protection from torture, right to litigate, freedom of expression and the press, freedom of assembly and organization, right of ownership, rights of handicapped persons and the elderly, right to health etc. However, the most important article in the entire constitution is Article 66.
These are positive aspects. Now let's discuss the negative aspects.
The worst part is the authorization of qisas and hudud laws in Article 54. These are derived from 1,400-year-old Sharia law. Qisas is an Islamic law that is essentially a legal means of revenge for intentional bodily harm or murder. According to it, the victim or their family can demand the same punishment as the perpetrator, such as "an eye for an eye". While qisas allows for revenge, it also encourages forgiveness and reconciliation. According to Hudud law, there are severe punishments for crimes such as murder, theft and extramarital physical relation - such as public flogging, public stoning to death, amputation of hands, crucifixion etc.
Admirable Articles of Sudan's Constitution
4. Nature of the State
1. The Republic of Sudan is an independent, sovereign, democratic, parliamentary, pluralistic, decentralized state, where rights and duties are based on citizenship without discrimination due to race, religion, culture, sex, color, gender, social or economic status, political opinion, disability, regional affiliation or any other cause.
2. The state is committed to the respect of human dignity and diversity; and is founded on justice, equality and on the guarantee of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
44. Life and Human Dignity
Every person has a fundamental right to life, dignity, and personal safety, which shall be protected by law. No person may be deprived of life arbitrarily.
46. Personal Freedom
1. Every person has the right to freedom and security. No one shall be subjected to arrest or detention, or deprived of freedom or restricted therefrom except for cause in accordance with procedures defined by law.
2. Every person who is deprived of freedom has the right to humane treatment and respect of their human dignity.
47. Prohibition of Slavery and Forced Labor
1. Slavery and human trafficking shall be prohibited in all forms. No person shall be enslaved or subjected to forced labor.
2. No person shall be compelled to perform work by force except as a punishment following conviction by a competent court.
48. Equality before the Law
People are equal before the law, and have the right to the protection of the law without discrimination between them on the basis of ethnicity, color, gender, language, religious faith, political opinion, racial or ethnic origin, or any other reason.
51. Protection from Torture
No one may be subjected to torture or harsh, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment, or debasement of human dignity.
53. Right to Litigate
The right to litigate is guaranteed for all. No one shall be deprived of the right to resort to the justice system.
57. Freedom of Expression and the Press
1. Every citizen has the unrestricted right to freedom of expression, to receive and publish information and publications, and to access the press, without prejudice to public order, safety and morals in accordance with what is determined by law.
2. Every citizen has the right to access the internet, without prejudice to public order, safety, and morals in accordance with what is determined by law.
3. The state guarantees freedom of the press and other media, in accordance with what is determined by law in a democratic, pluralistic society.
4. All media adhere to the profession’s ethics and shall not incite religious, ethnic, racial, or cultural hatred, or call for violence or war.
58. Freedom of Assembly and Organization
1. The right to peaceful assembly is guaranteed. Every individual has the right to free organization with others, including the right to form political parties, associations, organizations, syndicates and professional unions, or to join the same in order to protect their interests.
2. The law regulates the formation and registration of political parties, associations, organizations, syndicates and professional unions, in accordance with what is required by a democratic society.
3. No organization has the right to work as a political party, unless it has:
a. Open membership for all Sudanese, regardless of religion, ethnic origin or place of birth;
b. Democratically elected leadership and institutions;
c. Transparent and declared sources of funding.
61. Right of Ownership
1. Every citizen has the right to acquire and own property in accordance with the law.
2. Private property shall not be appropriated except by virtue of a law and for the public interest, and in return for fair, and immediate compensation. Private funds may only be confiscated by virtue of a court ruling.
64. Rights of Handicapped Persons and the Elderly
1. The state guarantees for handicapped persons all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Charter, in particular respect for their human dignity. It makes available appropriate education and work for them, and guarantee their full participation in society.
2. The state guarantees for the elderly the right to respect for their dignity, and provides them with the necessary medical care and services in accordance with what is regulated by law.
65. Right to health
The state undertakes to provide primary health care and emergency services free of charge for all citizens, to develop public health, and establish, develop and rehabilitate health and basic diagnostic institutions.
66. Ethnic and cultural groups
All ethnic and cultural groups have the right to enjoy their own private culture and develop it freely. The members of such groups have the right to exercise their beliefs, use their languages, observe their religions or customs, and raise their children in the framework of such cultures and customs.
Facts of Sudan's Constitution
54. Restriction on the Death Penalty
1. The death penalty may only be inflicted as retribution (qasas), a hudud punishment, or as a penalty for crimes of extreme gravity, in accordance with the law.
2. The death penalty may not be inflicted on anyone who has not reached eighteen years of age at the time that the crime was committed.
3. The death penalty may not be inflicted on anyone who has reached seventy years of age, except in the case of qasas and hudud crimes.
4. The death penalty may only be inflicted on pregnant women and nursing mothers two years after [they have finished] breastfeeding.
