A/HRC/42/63 continuously updating the Independent Expert on actions taken by the Government to address the events in the country. 8. The Independent Expert issued a public statement on the situation in the Sudan on 17 May 2019, and attached himself to three joint public statements, issued on 28 December 2018, 11 April 2019, and 12 June 2019, respectively, 2 and issued two joint urgent appeals, on 15 February and 28 March, 3 and one press release, on 8 July, with other special procedures of the Human Rights Council. 4 In the statements, the Independent Expert and other mandate holders condemned the reported excessive use of force by security forces against protesters, reminding the authorities of their primary responsibility to protect civilians and ensure the thorough and independent investigation of alleged human rights violations. The mandate holders also denounced measures taken by the authorities to shut down the Internet in the Sudan, saying it appeared to be part of a larger effort to stifle free expression and association. 9. The Independent Expert was in remote contact with Sudanese civil society groups and members of the national commission for human rights throughout the period under review. In June, he met with several Sudanese human rights defenders in Geneva and discussed the situation in the Sudan with diplomats in Geneva. III. Key developments 10. Protests across the Sudan broke out on 19 December 2018, sparked by soaring food and fuel prices in the context of the country’s profound economic crisis. For years, the Sudan had experienced a loss of oil revenue following the independence of South Sudan in 2011, with its economy further hampered by long-standing international sanctions and reported economic mismanagement and corruption, allegedly involving the leaders of the ruling National Congress Party. The ruling party’s call in 2018 for constitutional reform to allow President al-Bashir to run for another term in the 2020 elections provoked a political crisis. Protesters led by the Forces for Freedom and Change demanded economic relief and a change in government to carry it out. 11. In the lead-up to the economic crisis, the Government of the Sudan had undertaken efforts to enable foreign investment. Following the lifting, effective 17 January 2017, of economic sanctions imposed by the United States of America, the Sudan and the United States began to engage in October 2018 with a view to the United States removing the Sudan from its list of States sponsoring terrorism, which is key to unlocking international development funding. 12. On 1 January, following a wave of protests and allegations of related human rights violations, President al-Bashir established a national fact-finding committee chaired by the Minister of Justice, and the office of the chief prosecutor set up another investigation committee. On 17 January, the High Commissioner stressed the readiness of OHCHR to deploy a team to advise the authorities and help ensure they act in accordance with the country’s international human rights obligations. No response has been received. 5 13. On 22 February, President al-Bashir declared a state of emergency, which was endorsed by the National Legislature on 11 March for a period of six months. The Government then issued a series of decrees prohibiting the holding of public gatherings, processions, strikes and similar activities without previous permission of the competent authority, and giving security forces sweeping powers of arrest, search and restriction of movement. Emergency courts were established to try arrested protesters. 2 3 4 5 4 Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/CountriesMandates/SD/Pages/IESudan.aspx. For details of all communications sent and responses received under the mandate, see https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments. For the joint urgent appeals mentioned here, see SDN 1/2019 and SDN 2/2019. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24803&LangID=E See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24080&LangID=E.