June 2024
Mesahat Newsletter June 2024
In This Newsletter:
1. Cairo 52 publishes the report of the Media Observatory for arrests based on sex work from January 2023 to December 2023
2. The war moves to the historical depth of Sudan in “Sinnar”... The armored army advances towards the "Sports City" and the Khartoum Refinery warehouses go out of service
3. Amnesty International: The Egyptian authorities must put an end to the campaign of mass arrests and forced returns of Sudanese refugees
4. More than one air strike now from the Sudanese army on Rapid Support sites
5. Developments in the case of Rahn international school on teaching foreign curricula that contain a representation of sexually diverse individuals.
6. How many minors have been subjected to rape in Sudan as a result of the ongoing armed conflict?
7. Human Rights Watch: Analysis of the legal dynamics used to criminalize same-sex relationships in the Middle East and North Africa
8. A new Rapid Support “massacre” claims the lives of “100” people in Al-Jazira
9. A Sudanese child dies every two hours due to malnutrition in displacement camps. Millions of Sudanese are facing the most dangerous famine in the world in 40 years, amid American accusations against the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces of using access to food as a weapon in the ongoing war
Cairo 52 publishes the report of the Media Observatory for arrests based on sex work from January 2023 to December 2023
Last June, the Cairo 52 Center launched the Media Observatory report on arrests based on sex work from January 2023 to December 2023. The report featured important numbers about the size of these arrests during the past year, where according to the report, the arrest of 154 people on the grounds of sex work was monitored. The highest number was in January, while the lowest was in June 2023. Only 27% of arrests were based on reports submitted by citizens, while 70% were based on investigations carried out by the authorities in the Public Morals Unit of the Ministry of Interior. These numbers reflect the interest of the security agencies in prosecuting sex workers. Sex work in Egypt is criminalized under Law No. 10 of 1960 and its amendments, as the law criminalizes the practice of commercial sex. This law is also used to prosecute people of sexual and gender diversity, as the law contains vague definitions such as fujur (immorality), which Egyptian courts used to interpret as sexual relations between gay men.
More details: https://bit.ly/3zuY6BQ
The war moves to the historical depth of Sudan in “Sinnar”... The armored army advances towards the "Sports City" and the Khartoum Refinery warehouses go out of service
In the midst of the Sudanese war extending for the 15th month in a row, parts of the strategic Sinnar state, located in the southeast of the country, adjacent to the states of: Al-Jazira, Blue Nile, and White Nile, and also adjacent to the state of South Sudan, became a new theater of violent fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The region entered the circle of military operations, starting last Monday, when the Rapid Support Forces attacked the strategic Jabal Muwayya area, before the army confronted them. The next day, the Rapid Support Forces came close to controlling the region, and the battles moved in the evening to the Sennar Gate, one of the oldest and most ancient historical cities in the country, but the army and the forces supporting it were able to expel the “Rapid Support” and control the situation, before a large supply reached them from the White Nile and Blue Nile states, in addition to the visit of the Deputy Army Commander, Shams al-Din al-Kabashi, to the city yesterday.
As for the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, most of its parts are witnessing a tactical war waged by the “Rapid Support” to limit the army’s advance to its cities, as part of its plans to carry out a large-scale attack on it and connect its camps in Khartoum, according to what military sources confirmed to Mada Masr.
With the continuation of the war in Sudan, people of sexual and gender diversity are exposed to great danger due to increasing violence, forcing them to become more displaced in search of safety.
More details: https://bit.ly/3LgQZ2D
Amnesty International: The Egyptian authorities must put an end to the campaign of mass arrests and forced returns of Sudanese refugees
On June 19, 2024, Amnesty International said that the Egyptian authorities must immediately stop the mass arbitrary arrests and illegal deportations of Sudanese refugees who have crossed the border into Egypt in search of safe refuge from the ongoing conflict in Sudan; This came in a new report issued by the organization today, on the eve of World Refugee Day. In its report entitled “Handcuffed like dangerous criminals”: Arbitrary detention and forced returns of Sudanese refugees in Egypt, the report monitored how Sudanese refugees were being arrested and then illegally deported to Sudan - which is witnessing an intense conflict - without following due procedures or providing any opportunity to seek asylum, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law. Evidence shows that thousands of Sudanese refugees have been arbitrarily detained and then deported en masse. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 3,000 people were deported from Egypt to Sudan in September 2023 alone. Reports have also emerged about the deportation of asylum seekers whose interviews were scheduled, as Egyptian law gives all foreigners in Egypt until June 30, 2024 to regularize their status, but a large number of them have had their interviews scheduled at UNHCR until after this date due to the great pressure on the UNHCR. The Egyptian authorities do not take into consideration the message setting the date of the hearing - which is usually sent by phone in a text message - and this also comes in light of the escalation of a wave of anti-foreigner rhetoric in Egypt, specifically refugees and asylum seekers, where calls for the deportation of Sudanese and, to a lesser extent, Syrians from Egypt continue. The impact of these calls appears in the incident of deporting a barbershop owner to Sudan, after claims and reports were submitted against him against the background of his placing a map of Sudan on the front of the shop. This map shows the Halayeb and Shalateen triangle within Sudanese territory, an area subject to a border dispute between Egypt and Sudan. Following this incident, and coinciding with these campaigns calling for the deportation of Sudanese in particular, there was another incident where a Sudanese school in Egypt published a picture of a map of Sudan, showing the triangle of Halayeb and Shalatin. This sparked disapproval and anger among social media users, who demanded the closure of these schools.
On Thursday, the Egyptian government closed six Sudanese schools on its territory, for being managed without a license from the relevant authorities and converting housing units to educational facilities that are visited daily by large numbers, without taking into account public safety conditions. Among them is the Friendship School affiliated with the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo. On Friday, the Cairo News Channel - funded by the Egyptian government - quoted an unnamed official source as saying that Egypt adheres to the legal and legislative framework in its dealings with the file of refugees and people of foreign nationalities when it deports any of them outside the country.
The same source said, "Egyptian law enforcement authorities do not distinguish between people of one nationality and another when they deport any of them outside the country if there is a legal reason for their deportation."
These statements come before the end of the June 30 deadline set by the government for foreigners residing illegally in Egypt to regularize their status.
More details: https://bit.ly/4bDqY8y
More than one air strike now from the Sudanese army on Rapid Support sites
More than one air strike now from the Sudanese army on the Rapid Support sites in central and eastern Khartoum and the city of Bahari, and the Rapid Support responds with ground anti-aircraft weapons. The warplane flew in the sky of the capital for an hour. These raids create greater difficulty for people of sexual and gender diversity in accessing basic services such as food, water and shelter, and they may be attacked or killed by armed groups.
More details: https://bit.ly/3Whywtf
Developments in the case of Rahn international school on teaching foreign curricula that contain a representation of sexually diverse individuals.
In his comment on the lawsuit to close Rahn international school on the grounds that it taught foreign curricula that included a representation of sexually diverse individuals, specifically gays and lesbians, Saad Al-Feki, the former Undersecretary of the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments, stated that “what happened at the Rahn German school in the Fifth Settlement in the Egyptian capital, that is teaching the subject of homosexuality to sixth-grade primary school students is a full-fledged crime for which the Minister of Education, the Undersecretary of the Ministry, and the director of special education to which the school corresponds are personally responsible.”
Al-Faqi said, “Egypt is an Islamic country and its constitution is proof of that, and therefore trying to teach and encourage homosexuality contradicts the essence of all divine and man-made religions.” Here we observe a number of exaggerations and misleading information that Al-Faqi relied on in his statement, as there is no such thing as the subject of homosexuality. The complaint was based on the fact that one of the textbooks shows different forms of the family, where a family can consist of a father and a mother, a single father, a single mother, two mothers, or two fathers.
More details: https://bit.ly/4eOx88J
How many minors have been subjected to rape in Sudan as a result of the ongoing armed conflict?
Raped pregnant women are a silent issue in Sudan as the war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support continues. The tragedy worsens with the increase in sexual violations, especially since the systematic rape by fighters has been described by international reports as a distinctive feature of war, and a means of intimidation and revenge. Hundreds of rape cases have been recorded, with estimates of their doubling as the fighting expands to new areas. Victims of sexual and gender diversity may face difficulty accessing health care services, especially in conflict areas. They may also be subjected to discrimination and stigma by medical service providers, which may prevent them from seeking the care they need.
They may lack information about available care options, or may not be able to afford the cost of care.
More details: https://bit.ly/3zwmnHP
Human Rights Watch: Analysis of the legal dynamics used to criminalize same-sex relationships in the Middle East and North Africa
On June 11, a commentary article was published on the Human Rights Watch website about the different legal methods used to criminalize homosexuality in three countries in the region: Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait, where consensual relationships between individuals of the same sex are not explicitly criminalized. The report reviewed the practices followed by the Egyptian authorities to suppress individuals of sexual and gender diversity, as according to the report in Egypt, consensual same-sex relations are not explicitly considered criminal, but “vaguely worded laws related to public morals provide a pretext for discriminatory treatment,” according to the statement.
Article 178 of the Egyptian penal code sanctions the creation or promotion of material deemed contrary to public morals, enabling the unjust targeting of people of sexual and gender diversity. It is worth noting that the judicial authorities in Egypt are expanding the use of different legal texts to target individuals of sexual and gender diversity, as they are using the law against “prostitution” (commercial sex work) to prosecute homosexual individuals on charges of practicing or habitual immorality and inciting it, and the use of Cybercrime law to prosecute them on charges of using digital platforms to incite immorality. This article was followed by another entitled “Treacherous Internet: Cyber-Criminalization of LGBT People,” where the researcher presented the incident of Yamen, a young man in Jordan who was blackmailed by a man on the basis of his sexual identity. When he went to the authorities, the blackmailer was not punished, but a Jordanian court sentenced Yamen to six months in prison. He was charged with “promoting prostitution on the Internet,” based on the country’s 2015 cybercrime law. The report reviews how different countries in the Middle East and North Africa region use cybercrime laws to target and punish individuals of sexual and gender diversity, as cybercrime laws often create new investigative powers, including allowing authorities to intercept, retain, and access people’s data. Obtaining data from online services, such as social media platforms, may be necessary to prosecute cybercrimes, but only when these powers respect due process. These laws, along with existing laws criminalizing same-sex behavior, “morality” clauses and prostitution laws, have also created a dangerous climate in which queer people may be prosecuted simply for expressing themselves online. The article goes on to review various models of digital oppression and discrimination against individuals of sexual and gender diversity in the Middle East and North Africa region. The report, as well as several other reports, noted that a number of social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, which are owned by Meta, do not deal seriously with individuals’ reports of offensive or violent content that harasses individuals of sexual and gender diversity. This content includes revealing the gender identity or sexual orientation of queer individuals without their consent, publishing identifying information about them, and death threats, which in many cases has led to serious offline consequences for queer individuals. In addition to Meta's moderation systems not detecting this content, Meta has not been effective in removing harmful content when reported. A timely response can mitigate offline damage. The article continued, “Social media companies, including major companies like Meta, should prioritize the security and rights of all users, and ensure that their platforms do not become tools of persecution.”
More details: https://bit.ly/3VZdMoN
https://bit.ly/3So9C91
A new Rapid Support “massacre” claims the lives of “100” people in Al-Jazira
Madani Resistance Committees said, on Wednesday, that about a hundred people were killed in the village of Wad Al-Noura in 24 Al-Qurashi locality in Al-Jazeera state in central Sudan in an attack launched by the Rapid Support Forces on the area. Since the end of last year, Al-Jazeera State, south of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, has been under the weight of Rapid Support violations, with hundreds killed, thousands of cars looted, and infrastructure destroyed. The committees added in a statement that they are awaiting the actual number of victims, including dead and injured, describing what happened in the village of Wad Al-Noura as a massacre and a full-fledged crime. The events in the village of Wad Al-Noura began, according to Madani Resistance Committees, when the Rapid Support Forces imposed a tight siege on the area west of the city of Al-Manaqil, which the army has controlled since this morning. The statement of Madani Resistance Committees criticized the Sudanese army, indicating that it is still stubborn within Al-Manaqil locality, according to the statement.
Madani Resistance Committees also posted a video clip of dozens of victims on their Facebook page, saying they were buried in a public square.
On December 18, the Rapid Support Forces captured the city of Wad Madani without a fight after the army withdrew from it, before expanding into large parts of the state, which is one of the largest economic centers in the country. Starting last April, the army began military operations in Al-Jazira State from three axes in an attempt to reclaim the city of Wad Madani from the control of the Rapid Support, but no results have been achieved so far, amid the continuing violations of the Rapid Support.
The army is active in the Al-Manaqil axis to the west, Sennar to the south, and Al-Faw to the east. Its forces advanced about 25 kilometers east of Madani and clashed with the Rapid Support Forces on the outskirts of the town of Al-Shabarqa, before retreating again.
People of sexual and gender diversity may face increased harassment and violence, and may be particularly targeted because of their sexual identity or gender expression. The community continues to lose access to basic services such as education and health care due to the increasing frequency of incidents.
More details: https://bit.ly/4eYdh78
A Sudanese child dies every two hours due to malnutrition in displacement camps. Millions of Sudanese are facing the most dangerous famine in the world in 40 years, amid American accusations against the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces of using access to food as a weapon in the ongoing war
American officials have warned that Sudan is facing a famine that may become the worst in the world in 40 years, as about 18 million Sudanese, or a third of the population, suffer from food insecurity, and a child dies every two hours due to malnutrition in camps for the displaced, amid international warnings of the death of about 222,000 children of malnutrition in the coming months if the necessary funding is not provided. The humanitarian appeal launched by the United Nations for relief in Sudan received only 16% of the necessary funds. The warring parties prevent humanitarian aid from arriving, despite the flow of arms supplies to both sides.
The Rapid Support Forces are systematically looting humanitarian warehouses, stealing food and livestock, and destroying grain storage facilities and wells in the most vulnerable Sudanese communities. The Sudanese Armed Forces are also violating their obligations and responsibilities towards the Sudanese people by closing the Adre border crossing with Chad, which is the main route for aid entry in Darfur, according to the US Agency for International Development.
People of sexual and gender diversity may experience greater food insecurity than the rest of the population due to discrimination, especially in light of the lack of humanitarian assistance. This may force them to sell their property or have sex in exchange for food and basic necessities. They may also suffer from hunger and malnutrition, which may lead to serious health complications.
More details: https://bit.ly/3XVf3jh