Geneva: Volker Turk, the UN's human rights chief, expressed concern over the tense situation in Sudan and urged all parties to step up their efforts to restore a civilian-led government.
On Thursday, pro-democracy demonstrators in Sudan marched against the military and paramilitaries as the civilian opposition observed a significant anniversary in the long-running conflict against military rule with fresh demonstrations.
The civilian opposition announced nationwide protests in response to a new postponement of the agreement's signing, which was supposed to take place on Thursday and restore the transition to civilian government.
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Turk, the UN's high commissioner for human rights, pleaded with all parties to defuse the situation and avoid using force. The nation is at a pivotal point. All efforts must now be made to get the political transition back on the right track, he said in a statement. "Much work has been done and many positive steps have been taken towards the signature of a final agreement.
For the civilian opposition in Sudan, April 6 is a significant date because it marks the anniversaries of uprisings in 1985 and 2019 that led to the overthrow of two coup-style leaders.
Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who seized control of Sudan in an October 2021 coup, is still in charge, reversing the transition to civilian rule that had been agreed upon following the 2019 overthrow of Gen. Omar Bashir, who had seized power in a 1989 coup.
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Turk called on non-signatories to get involved in the process and urged all parties to cooperate to avoid further postponements of the agreement for a transition to civilian government.
"I urge the authorities to ensure that the people's rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fully respected and that security forces are given clear instructions to deal with protests in accordance with human rights laws and standards," he said.
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"We must not allow the use of disproportionate, unnecessary force to occur again." All parties are under pressure to reach an agreement due to the deteriorating economic situation in Sudan, which is a requirement for the resumption of foreign aid to the nation.