Mr. President, Mr. Special Rapporteur, Stakeholders, 

We thank you for your updates. Last July, this Council did the right thing by extending the Special Rapporteur’s mandate. It was im­portant to do so, in line with civil society expectations, to cover the entirety of Eritrea’s membership in the Council (2019-2024). For Eritrea, six years of membership meant six years of scrutiny. 

It was also important to do so to send a message to all states that seek to join the HRC to evade scrutiny. As we highlighted: “Eritrea joined the Council to cover up its abuses, but its manoeuvre fail­ed as a majority of states made clear that membership is not a shield against scru­tiny.” 

In the country, violations continue with impunity. They include arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, forced labour, sexual and gender-based violence, severe restrictions to civic space, and indefinite conscription into na­tional/military service. 

Three years after the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement regarding Tigray, fears are gro­wing over ano­ther round of armed conflict in the Horn of Africa. Eritrean authorities have recently issued a directive to all regional ad­ministrations to register and mobilise citizens under the age of 60 for military re-training. Indivi­duals under 50 are prohibited from leaving the country. Reports indicate that regional adminis­tra­tions have begun the process of informing, registering, and mobilising rele­vant citizens. We call on states to urge Eritrea and other regional actors to halt any escalation towards war. 

Mr. President, 

At its next session, the Council should further move away from the approach that has prevailed since 2019, which rests upon an annual resolution that is short and procedural. The next Eritrea-focused resolution should be strong and substantive. It should fully and accurately reflect the country’s hu­man rights situation, including the domestic situation and its impact abroad, including extra­ter­ri­to­rial attacks against the Eritrean diaspora.  

Thank you for your attention.

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Mr. President, Mr. High Commissioner,

We thank you for your report. DefendDefenders welcomes your efforts to docu­ment and report on the situation in Sudan. We stress the value of each mechanism on Sudan, namely your Office and its global mandate, your Expert on human rights in Sudan, the OHCHR coun­try office, and the Fact-Fin­ding Mission (FFM) for Sudan. 

As your report highlights, Sudan’s situation remains catastrophic. Sudan currently is the world’s lar­gest humani­tarian and displacement crisis. We sha­re your assessment that “parties to the conflict [continue] to show utter disregard for inter­na­tio­nal law and for the protection of civilians.” The con­flict, which shows no sign of abating, threatens the country’s unity and the stability of the Horn of Africa, with grave implications for international peace and se­cu­rity.

We welcome the Expert’s advocacy priorities, expressed on the occasion of his July 2024 visit to Port Sudan, namely the protection of civilians, unhindered humanitarian access, the removal of restric­tions to civil society’s work, and accountability. Authorities can take immediate steps, which do not have financial implications, to facilitate the work of civil society organisations, humanitarians and human rights defen­ders (HRDs). For instance, they must urgently facilitate delivery of visas. They, and RSF forces, must stop the practice of labelling independent civil society, medical and humani­tarian actors “collaborators” – and they must ensure due process and fair trials. We also urge au­­thorities in Port Sudan to cooperate with all UN and African human rights mechanisms, without selectivity or cherry-picking.

Mr. President,

We stress the need for more international attention to Sudan’s crisis, for more support to Sudanese HRDs and civic actors, and for a coherent global policy response. Sudan must be re-prioritised to pre­vent more atrocities, more human suf­fer­ing, and the dis­location of the country.

Thank you for your attention. 

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Mr. President, Commissioners, 

We thank you for your report.

Ahead of this session, over 100 organisations urged the Council to adopt a resolution on the human rights situation in South Sudan. Beyond the specific asks they formulated, including exten­ding the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan (CHRSS) in full for two years, they stressed the need for the Council to send a strong message to all South Sudanese parties after a new extension of the transitional period and a new postponement of the country’s national elections.

These delays reflect South Sudanese leaders’ failure to implement the 2018 revitalised peace agree­ment and to deliver on their commitment to usher in a new era for the country. They confirm the au­tho­rities’ flagrant disregard for the condition of South Sudanese citizens.

South Sudan stands at a critical moment. It is facing a political, institutional, security, humanitarian, economic, and human rights crisis. Among the issues highlighted in the civil society letter, we stress the need for maximum pressure over the National Security Service (NSS), an abusive agency directly under the authority of the President, which saw its unchecked arbitrary powers confirmed in 2024. The NSS’s authority to arrest and detain anyone with or without a warrant on the basis of va­gue­ly-defined national security offences presents a formidable obstacle to an open civic and demo­cra­tic space and to free, fair, secure, and credible elections. 

Commissioners:

At this juncture, as risk factors of further violence and atrocities multiply, we stress the im­por­tance of your mandate not only with regard to accountability, but also in relation to the Council’s prevention mandate. Your work is truly vital.

What strategy can be used to ensure that the mechanisms envi­sioned in Chapter V of the revi­ta­lised agreement, namely the Commission for Truth, Recon­ci­liation and Healing (CTRH), the Compen­sa­tion and Reparation Authority (CRA) and the Hybrid Court for South Sudan (HCSS), are all esta­blished and operationalised at the same time, as part of a holistic transitional justice effort? 

Thank you. 

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