A/HRC/45/53 regime. The Independent Expert notes that negotiations are ongoing and that progress is being made between the Government of the Sudan and the Government of the United States with regard to the delisting process. 15. The state of economic emergency that was declared on 16 April 2020 in the Sudan provided for the establishment of the High Committee for Economic Emergencies in the country that is aimed at endorsing measures that address the economic crisis and develop plans for economic reforms through a national economic conference. The Sudan Partnership Conference, hosted by the Sudan, together with Germany, the United Nations and the European Union, took place remotely by videoconference on 25 June 2020. Participants agreed to support economic reforms in the Sudan and therefore pledged a total of $1.8 billion, to which the World Bank committed an additional pre-arrears clearance grant of up to $400 million. This includes support to improving macroeconomic stabilization and the Sudan Family Support Programme, which will provide vital assistance to millions of vulnerable people, direct help to enhance the country’s capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and, more generally, humanitarian assistance and development cooperation. 16. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government declared a public health emergency on 16 March 2020. It closed all airports, ports and land crossings, schools and universities. The Government also declared a full lockdown in Khartoum, beginning on 18 April, to contain further local transmission. The Independent Expert expresses concern that the COVID-19 pandemic arose as an imminent humanitarian threat to Sudan and compromises the country’s chances of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The pandemic adds to the challenges of internal conflicts, political transition, economic crisis and impunity. 17. On 4 June 2020, the Security Council established the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan for an initial period of 12 months by its resolution 2524 (2020). The topic of human rights strongly permeates the four strategic objectives of the Assistance Mission, including supporting the implementation of the human rights, equality, accountability and rule-of-law provisions of the constitutional document, in particular those provisions that guarantee women’s rights; and future peace agreements, through close cooperation with the OHCHR country office in the Sudan. At the same time, in its resolution 2525 (2020), the Security Council decided to extend the mandate of UNAMID until 31 December 2020, and also decided that UNAMID was to maintain its troop ceiling during the same period. 18. As part of efforts to strengthen protection mechanisms after the completion of the mandate of UNAMID, the Government submitted a strategy for the protection of civilians to the Security Council on 21 May 2020. The strategy is framed around nine main components, including the rule of law and human rights. In its resolution 2525 (2020), the Security Council requested the Secretary-General and the African Union Commission to provide it with a special report that included an assessment of the capacity of the Government to protect civilians in line with its national strategy. IV. Main human rights challenges A. Economic, social and cultural rights 19. Long-standing discrimination and inequality continues to plague Sudanese society, negatively impacting the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights. Disparities in the enjoyment of these rights remain high, with the conflict-affected regions being particularly disadvantaged, as extreme poverty remains widespread and access to food, education, health services and safe drinking water are limited. These disparities have remained root causes of civil unrest and conflicts in the Sudan. 20. The Independent Expert acknowledges that the constitutional document rightly provides a mandate for the Government to resolve economic crisis by stopping economic deterioration and to work on laying the foundations for sustainable development (art. 7.4). 4