Statement by the Darfur Initiative for Justice and Peace on the Displacement of Khartoum Residents Under the Pretext of Informal Settlements
Darfur Initiative for Justice and Peace
Statement No. (275)
Displacement of Khartoum Residents Under the Pretext of Removing Informal Settlements
Forced displacement of Sudanese citizens in Khartoum State continues under the pretext of removing informal settlements. This is not the first time; rather, it is an extension of brutal campaigns against innocent people who have lived in Khartoum State for many years as Sudanese, just like any other Sudanese guaranteed the right to housing and property by law and international conventions.
However, what explains this action is, in essence, not the removal of informal settlements as they claim, because there are statements from some citizens that they have documents from local authorities proving their right to the land on which they built their homes. but this action came as an extension of the social sorting process, one of the weapons used by the Muslim Brotherhood government in Port Sudan against citizens hailing from the broader periphery, western Sudan, the Nuba Mountains, and the Blue Nile region specifically—what they refer to as the “Black Belt.”
This scheme to drive the country and its people toward division and the fragmentation of the homeland is extremely dangerous. The displacement process constitutes a clear violation of international human rights law, especially since those currently inside Sudan amid this war are the most vulnerable and needy; most citizens have lost their jobs and sources of livelihood.
Now that others have become displaced persons and refugees, and still others have been forcibly displaced under what is known as the “Strange Faces Law” and now the “Strange Homes Law,” it is as if the Muslim Brotherhood—who ignited this war—wish to reveal that their goal and purpose in waging this war is total destruction and bloodshed.
We, at the Darfur Initiative for Justice and Peace,
We declare our full solidarity with those harmed by this barbaric behavior, and we affirm that these measures constitute a clear violation and a flagrant infringement of the right to safe housing and a dignified life, as guaranteed by international conventions, customs, traditions, and laws.
We therefore call upon human rights and humanitarian organizations to exert pressure by all possible means on the de facto authorities in Port Sudan to halt these violations against civilians living in extremely dire humanitarian conditions.
We also appeal to all Sudanese stakeholders committed to the unity of Sudan and the integrity of its territory not to succumb to the reactions to these practices, which aim to tear the country apart through the perpetuation of wars, hate speech, and social segregation.
