12/02/2025
Sudan lifts ban on passport issuance after targeting specific individuals on unfounded presumptions of being RSF affiliates.
The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) applauds General Abdul Fatah Abdul Rahman Al-Burhan, the chairperson of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and the high command of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), for lifting the ban on passport applications and renewals. During a meeting held on 08 February 2025, attended by political and civil rights actors in Port Sudan, Red Sea State (the current capital of the Sudanese administration), General Al-Burhan instructed the Passports and Immigration Department of the Interior Ministry to ensure that no Sudanese citizen is denied passports and identification documents. This directive was issued following multiple complaints from Sudanese citizens whose applications for the issuance and renewal of Sudanese passports had been overlooked due to their presumed political affiliations.The ban discriminatively targeted political figures from various groups, including the Freedom for Change Coalition (FCC) and the Uma National Party, as well as other individuals, such as activists, presumed on unfounded grounds to be affiliates of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). For instance, Ms. Sudam Maryam Elsadig Al-mahadi, the former Foreign Affairs Minister, was among those discriminatively targeted by the passport issuing authorities during the ban.
Other developments
Following the outbreak of the ongoing conflict between the SAF and RSF, many civilians have been unlawfully arrested, falsely charged, and subjected to summary trials in special courts that lack fair procedures based on unfounded suspicions of collaborating with or being affiliated with the RSF. These special courts are located in the Red Sea, Kassala, Al-Qadarif, River Nile, Northern Sudan, White Nile, and Blue Nile states. Most victims have faced charges for offenses such as crimes against the state under the Sudanese Penal Code of 1991, which carry severe penalties, including death and life imprisonment.
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