20 March, 2009 -  We, the undersigned organisations, deplore the grave humanitarian situation in Darfur, which is poised to deteriorate  dramatically with the government of Sudan's recent decision to expel 13 international humanitarian organisations. In making this decision, the  government of Sudan has shown callous disregard for the well-being of its citizens. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of  Humanitarian Affairs has estimated that more than 1.1 million people may  be left without food, more than 1 million without potable water and more than 1.5 million without healthcare. In addition, it is estimated that  250,000 children will be affected by the closure of schools.

Moreover, we condemn the closure of three national human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development, Amal Centre for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture, and Sudan Development Organisation), as well as the continuing harassment and targeting of human rights defenders. In all three cases, the organisations' registration was revoked and all organisational assets were seized and bank accounts were frozen. This decision was taken in a manner inconsistent with Sudanese constitutional and national laws. These actions were taken by the security forces and the Humanitarian Affairs Commission without the necessary judicial approval. These closures will severely impact the  capacity to monitor, and report on, continuing human rights violations in Darfur. These decisions put also strongly at risk the security of those human rights defenders.

In addition, we deplore the continuing state of impunity in Darfur and in Sudan as a whole. Since the conflict started, six years ago, the government of Sudan has not made any credible effort to bring the perpetrators of serious international crimes to justice. In this context, the decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of 4 March 2009 to issue a warrant of arrest for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir together with previous warrants of arrest issued against Ahmed Harun and Ali Kushayb, as well as the request made by the Prosecutor for arrest warrants to be issued for rebel leaders responsible for the killing of African peacekeepers during the Haskanita attack, represent an essential step forward in the fight against impunity and for peace in Darfur.

This historic step is also possible because of strong international, including  African and Arab, support for the cause of international justice. The Court's functioning is made possible by  the support of its 108 state parties, 30 of which are also members of the African Union. Members of the Arab League participated actively in Rome Conference, which drafted and adopted the ICC Statute. The Court's investigations in Darfur was opened after the United Nations Security Council referred the situation to the ICC in its Resolution 1593, which also poses an obligation on the government of Sudan to cooperate with the Court.

We call upon the international community to show solidarity with the victims of the conflict in Darfur. The conflict has already claimed 300,000 lives and forced more than 2.5 million people from their homes. Yet, the victims have not seen any effective response to their repeated call for peace and justice.

Our organisations:

• Urge the Sudanese authorities to reverse their decisions regarding the expulsion of international humanitarian organisations and the closure of national human rights NGOs, in conformity with international instruments, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, as well as the Security Council's resolution and presidential statement imposing an obligation on Sudan to cooperate with the ICC.

• Urge all parties to the conflict to engage in a genuine and inclusive political process.

• Urge the international community to strongly condemn the decisions of the Sudanese government.

• Support the fighting against impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes committed in Darfur, thus opposing any suspension of the ICC proceedings.

Signatory organisations:

• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Africa

• Mouvement burquinabe des droits de l'Homme et des peuples (MBDHP), Burkina Faso

• Maison des droits de l' Homme (MDH), Cameroon

• Organisation pour la Compassion et le Developpement des familles en detresse (OCODEFAD), Central African Republic

• Mouvement ivoirien des droits humains (MIDH), Cote d' Ivoire

• Association tchandienne pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'Homme (ATPDH), Chad

• Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'Homme (LTDH), Chad

• Association africaine des droits de l'Homme (ASADHO), Democratic Republic of Congo

• Groupe Lotus, Democratic Republic of Congo

• Ligue djiboutienne des DH (LDDH), Djibouti

• Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), Ethiopia

• Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Kenya

• Liberia Watch for Human Rights, Liberia

• Association nigerienne des droits de l'Homme (ANDDH), Niger

• Association Malienne des droits de l'Homme (AMDH), Mali

• Civil Liberties organisation (CLO), Nigeria

• Observatoire congolais des droits humains (OCDH), Republic of Congo

• Ligue rwandaise pour la promotion et la defense des droits de l'Homme (LIPRODHOR), Rwanda

• Rencontre africaine pour la defense des droits de l'Homme (RADDHO), Senegal

• Khartoum Centre for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED), Suda

• Ligue des electeurs, DRC

• Ligue togolaise des droits de l'Homme, Togo

• Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), Uganda

Americas

• Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS), Argentina

• Comite de Accion Juridica (CAJ), Argentina

• Asamblea Permanente de los Derechos Humanos de Bolivia (APDHB), Bolivia

• Justica Global (JG), Brazil

• Instituto Latinoamericano de Servicios Legales Alternativos (ILSA), Colombia

• Comision Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH), Dominican Republic

• Comision Ecumenica de Derechos Humanos (CEDHU), Ecuador

• Fundacion Nacional de Asesoria Juridica en Derechos Humanos (INREDH), Ecuador

• Comision de Derechos Humanos de El Salvador (CDHES), El Salvador

• Centro para la Accion Legal en Derechos Humanos (CALDH), Guatemala

• Comision de Derechos Humanos de Guatemala (CDHG), Guatemala

• Comision Mexicana de Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos (CMDPDH), Mexico

• Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos(LIMEDDH), Mexico

• Centro Nicaraguense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH), Nicaragua

• Centro de Capacitacion Social (CCS), Panama

• Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos (APRODEH), Peru

• Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), USA

Asia

• Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Cambodia

• Altsean-Burma, based in Thailand

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

• Human Rights Centre of Azerbaijan (HRCA), Azerbaijan

• Human Rights Centre Viasna, Belarus

• Kyrgyz Committee for Human Rights (KCHR), Kyrgyzstan

• Centre for Peace and Democracy Development, Serbia

• Citizen's Watch, Russia

North Africa and Middle East

• Egyptian Organisations for Human Rights (EOHR), Egypt

• Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), Egypt

• Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Egypt

• Damascus Centre for Human Rights Studies (DCHRS), Syria

• Committee for the Defence of Democracy Freedoms and Human Rights (CDF), Syria

• Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain

• Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), Bahrain

Press contact : Karine Appy + 33 1 43 55 14 12 / + 33 6 48 05 91 57

--   Karine Appy  Attachee de presse  Press Officer   FIDH  17 passage de la main d'or  75011 Paris  France  Tel : 00 33 1 43 55 14 12 / 00 33 6 48 05 91 57  Fax : 00 33 1 43 55 18 80  http://www.fidh.org