Sudan’s legal framework includes robust laws to combat crimes against humanity, but laws alone are not enough. Article 186 of the Criminal Act 1991 outlines a comprehensive list of acts that are punishable by severe penalties, signaling Sudan’s commitment to upholding human rights and protecting civilians. However, despite the presence of these laws, the harsh reality is that they are not consistently enforced. For Sudan to move toward true justice and accountability, we need both the strength of legal institutions and unwavering political will.

Article 186 states: “Anyone who commits, participates in, encourages, or promotes a widespread or systematic attack against any group of civilians, knowing about the attack, and performs any of the following acts in the same context, shall be punished with death, life imprisonment, or a lesser penalty:

(a) Intentionally kills one or more persons, (b) Intentionally imposes harsh living conditions with the intent to destroy part of the population, (c) Exercises ownership rights over one or more persons or imposes a similar deprivation of freedom on them, including exercising these rights in the trafficking of persons, particularly women and children, (d) Deports or forcibly transfers a person or group of protected persons from their lawful area to another country or place, in violation of international humanitarian law, (e) Imprisons one or more persons or severely deprives them of physical liberty in violation of the basic rules of international humanitarian law, (f) Intentionally inflicts severe physical or mental pain or suffering on one or more persons under their custody or control, not including pain or suffering resulting from legal punishment, (g) Coerces a female into sexual intercourse or a male into sodomy, or commits an act of sexual assault involving penetration, with coercion presumed if the victim is incapable of consent, (h) Exercises ownership rights over one or more persons to compel them into a sexual act or imposes a similar deprivation of freedom, (i) Coerces one or more persons into committing a sexual act for monetary or other benefits, (j) Detains one or more women with the intent to coerce them into pregnancy to affect the racial composition of any group, (k) Deprives one or more persons of their biological capacity to reproduce without medical justification or their true consent, (l) Commits or forces one or more persons into a sexual act by use or threat of force, (m) Intentionally denies one or more persons their fundamental rights based on their membership in a specific group, targeting the group for political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender-related, or other reasons not recognized by international humanitarian law, (n) Arrests, kidnaps, or detains one or more persons in the name of a state or political organization, knowing that this act will likely lead to denial of acknowledgment of their fate or whereabouts, aiming to deprive them of protection under the law, (o) Commits inhumane acts against one or more persons as part of a systematic repression by one ethnic group over another, intending to maintain such a system, (p) Deliberately commits any other inhumane act similar in nature to those previously mentioned, causing severe suffering or harm to the body or mental health of the victim.”

The existence of Article 186 reflects a serious commitment to protecting Sudan’s citizens, but without effective enforcement, it remains a promise unfulfilled. We need a solid legal framework supported by impartial institutions and a government dedicated to justice. Only through institutional integrity and accountability can Sudanese law serve its intended purpose: to protect and defend human rights and uphold justice for all.