22 March 2024
Dear Minister of Interior,
I am writing to you on from the Global Detention Project, a research organisation based in Switzerland that studies the laws and policies concerning the detention of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees in every country. We are currently conducting a study of policies in the countries of East Africa, including Sudan, because of the challenges facing the entire region in managing migration, ensuring security, and upholding the rights of all people.
Accordingtoinformationthat we have received, Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have held non-combatant foreigners incommunicado, denied them access to lawyers, and subjected them to ill-treatment. The RSF’s actions have been deemed unlawful, prompting calls for investigations into arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and abuse in custody.
We have also received reports that from August 2022 to March 2023 in particular, some Sudanese security services have also “intensified immigration control operations” targeting Eritreans in Khartoum.
In light of this, we kindly request detailed information on the following:
- A list of detention facilities where migrants, asylum seekers, and non-citizens are currently being detained because of their non-citizen or immigration status.
- The number of people placed in any form of immigration-related detention in 2023 as well as for any other years for which data is available, in addition to data about the numbers of women and children placed in this form of detention.
- Information about the numbers of people deported from the country in 2023 as well as for any other year for which data is available.
- Information about the legal framework governing immigration-related detention, including relevant procedures and safeguards in place to protect their rights.
- Information about conditions and operations in detention facilities, including with respect to access to healthcare and visits by family members, legal representatives, or detention monitoring bodies.
- Any measures your office is taking to implement relevant recommendations made during Sudan’s appraisal at the Universal Periodic Review in 2022, including:
137.17 5 Continue its efforts to promote and protect the rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced persons and to combat human trafficking (Viet Nam );
137.28 1 Ensure the proper treatment of refugees and asylum seekers through the application of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Asylum Regulations Act (Afghanistan);
137.28 3 Take legislative and administrative measures to combat statelessness (Angola)
We would greatly appreciate your cooperation in providing us with the requested information, which will be invaluable to our research efforts. Please let us know if there are any protocols to follow or specific channels through which we should direct our inquiry.
Thank you for considering our request.
Sincerely,
Michael Flynn
Executive Director, Global Detention Project (Geneva, Switzerland)
