IRELAND HONORS ARRESTED SUDANESE HUMAN RIGHTS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000573 SIPDIS STATE PASS TO AF/SPG (T. SMITH),AF/RSA (D. SIMS) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV UNHRC SUBJECT: IRELAND HONORS ARRESTED SUDANESE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST REF: KHARTOUM 00717 Action Request (See Para 4.) ¶1. Summary. On May 13th, President of Ireland Mary McAleese presented the inaugural Front Line Human Rights Defender Award to the wife and daughter of Sudanese Human Rights Activist, Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam. Per reftel, Dr. Mudawi was arrested by GOS authorities on May 8th and was not allowed to leave the country to accept the award personally. Post requests guidance on current USG initiatives related to Dr. Mudawi's arrest. End Summary. -------------- Front Line -------------- ¶2. On May 13th, President of Ireland Mary McAleese presented the inaugural Front Line Human Rights Defender Award to the wife and daughter of Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Chairperson of the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO). Dr. Mudawi was selected for the award from a list of nominees, including: Dr. Rajan Hoole and Dr. Kopalasingham Sritharan, Sri Lanka; Talib Yakubov, Uzbekistan; and Obtilia Eugenio Manuel, Mexico. Dr. Mudawi was arrested (reftel) while taking video footage of Khartoum to provide to Front Line for the award ceremony presentation. The ceremony was attended by about 150 people, including the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Development Cooperation and Human Rights, other government officials, resident diplomats, and the press. Front Line is an Irish NGO that supports human rights defenders at risk worldwide. -------------- Action Request -------------- ¶3. Public and GOI interest in Dr. Mudawi's arrest is running high, and Post requests guidance on current USG initiatives to release Dr. Mudawi (if any) so that we can brief Irish officials and align our efforts. Thus far, Irish Development Minister Conor Lenihan has spoken with his GOS counterpart calling for Dr. Mudawi's release. The Irish Senate adopted an all-party motion calling on the GOS to release him immediately. The Irish government is likely to bring Dr. Mudawi's arrest to the UN Human Rights Commission as well. Front Line informed emboff that the British demarched the GOS on Dr. Mudawi's release earlier this week and the Dutch requested his release (per reftel) and secured travel to Ireland for his wife, Mrs. Sabeh and her daughter Huda. -------------- Petition -------------- ¶4. Front Line provided the following text as a petition for Dr. Mudawi's release to Field Marshal Omar Hassan al-Bashir: Begin Text: His Excellency Field Marshal Omar Hassan al-Bashir President of the Republic of Sudan President's Palace P.O. Box 281 Khartoum Sudan 13 May 2005 Your Excellency, I would like to call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Chairperson of the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO). I understand that he was arrested on 9 May 2005, the third time in 18 months, as a result of his peaceful human rights work in Sudan. His detention is in violation of international human rights standards and contravenes the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defends, adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1998, which recognizes the legitimacy of the activities of Human Rights Defenders and their right to carry out their activities without fear of reprisals, in particular Article 12 (2) which states: "The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration". Yours sincerely, End Text. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED KENNY