Multiple regimes have used law as an instrument of power in Sudan. The present regime in Sudan has from the very outset used decrees and legislation to entrench and broaden its power. It has also employed the law as a means to pursue its project of building an Islamic state by adopting Shari’a law. This seminar examines the nature, underlying rationale and impact of the use of law in Sudan since 1989, including with reference to the role of the judiciary and other actors. It considers emerging parallels in South Sudan, such as the broad National Security Services Law adopted in 2015. The seminar will also reflect on resistance to the use of law as an instrument of power in the Sudans, and the challenges faced by those advocating legal reforms and greater rights protection.

Speaker: Ali Agab (Sudanese Human Rights Lawyer)-tbc-

Discussant: Mashood Baderin (CAS/ SOAS)

Chair: Lutz Oette (Centre for Human Rights Law, SOAS)

This event is part of the Centre of African Studies’ Sudan & South Sudan Series. Please refer to the CAS event page for information regarding more upcoming events part of this series.