A/HRC/42/63 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 39/22, the Human Rights Council decided to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan for a period of one year or until the operationalization of a country office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), whichever was earlier. The Council requested the Independent Expert to present a report on the implementation of his mandate, including recommendations on technical assistance and capacity-building, for consideration at its forty-second session. 2. In the same resolution, the Human Rights Council requested the Government of the Sudan and OHCHR to engage constructively to agree on the modalities and mandate for the establishment of a country office no later than September 2019, and to present their oral reports on progress towards the opening of a country office during an enhanced interactive dialogue at the forty-first session of the Council. 3. The present report covers the period from 28 September 2018 to 30 June 2019. 1 In compliance with the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate-holders of the Human Rights Council, a draft report was shared with the Government of the Sudan in order to provide it with an opportunity to comment on the observations and findings of the Independent Expert. 4. The report is based on information made available to the Independent Expert by the Government of the Sudan and by other sources, including civil society organizations working in the Sudan. During the period under review, the Independent Expert was unable to conduct a field visit to the Sudan, as permission from the Sudanese authorities was pending. 5. The Independent Expert expresses his gratitude to the Government of Sudan for its continuous engagement with him, and to all others for sharing information and providing the assistance required. II. Methodology and engagement 6. Between 25 January and 16 April 2019, the Independent Expert submitted four written requests to the Government of the Sudan, through its Permanent Mission in Geneva, requesting permission to conduct a field visit. In early April, the Government granted permission for the Independent Expert to conduct a visit from 27 April to 5 May. However, on 23 April, following the removal on 11 April of the President of the Sudan, Omar alBashir, and the then serving Government, the new authorities in the Sudan, through the Permanent Mission of the Sudan to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, informed the Independent Expert of their request to postpone his field visit to a time to be determined later. Upon follow-up, no new official invitation was extended to the Independent Expert. 7. The Independent Expert met with the Chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Mission on 17 June, who explained that permission to conduct a field visit was pending the progress in talks between the Transitional Military Council, a grouping comprised of senior officers of the army, and the Forces for Freedom and Change, an umbrella coalition of opposition parties, professional associations and civil society groups that was formed in early January 2019, to form a new government. The Chargé d’affaires briefed the Independent Expert on actions taken by the Transitional Military Council to investigate reported killings and other incidents that allegedly took place on 3 June 2019, and provided updates on the Government’s response to the implementation of Human Rights Council resolution 39/22 with regard to the establishment of a country office of OHCHR in the Sudan. Additionally, the former Chair of the national commission for human rights in the Sudan had been 1 The Independent Expert will present to the Human Rights Council, at its forty-second session, an oral update on the situation for the period July 2019 to September 2019. 3