HUDO Centre No: H.K/PR/20/019
Date: 20th March 2019
PRESS STATEMENT (For immediate release)
INTIMIDATION OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANISATION (CBO) BY NISS IN DAMAZIN – SUDAN
On 3rd February 2019, soldiers from NISS Damazin raided Shalli Women
Association and stopped their meeting. NISS also threatened to revoke the
association’s license citing reasons of involvement in Christian missionary
activities. Shalli Elfeel Women Association is a community based organization
(CBO) for women established in 2017.Their activities include civic education
and health in Blue Nile State. Shalli is a name of a certain suburb in Kurmuk
town of Blue Nile. On 3rd February 2019 around 11:00 AM, a group of NISS
soldiers came to Shalli Association Office as the board of directors meeting
was going on. NISS soldiers forced the participants to end/stop the meeting and
threatened them not to conduct any other meetings or implement any activities
unless they get permission from the state security/ NISS. If not, NISS promised
to arrest them and revoke their license. NISS accused them of carrying out
Christian missionary work and receiving foreign funds. Since then, the CBO has
frozen their activities and the movement of members is limited.
HUDO is very concerned about the status of Community Based Organizations (CBOs)
in conflict areas and the valid Humanitarian Act and emergency state in Sudan.
HUDO calls upon;
· Sudan government to
respect its international obligations towards civil society.
· Sudan government should
amend the Humanitarian Act in favor of civil society contribution and end the
emergency state.
· NISS in Damazin to stop
intimidating civil society institutions.
End For more information please write to: hudo2009@gmail.com