A/HRC/45/53 The Rights and Freedoms Charter, contained in chapter 14 of the document, provides for a number of economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to education, health and cultural rights. In accordance with article 66 of the constitutional document, the rights and freedoms set forth under chapter 14 are to be enforced through the Constitutional Court and other competent courts if a violation occurs. While this is a positive development with regard to enhancing justifiability of economic, social and cultural rights in the context of the Sudan, the low level of awareness on those rights among the national rights-holders might hamper enforcement of these rights in the national courts. 21. The Independent Expert expresses concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may compromise the chances of the Sudan to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Throughout the country, 58 per cent of households cannot afford a basic daily food basket. Over 2.7 million children suffer from acute malnutrition.2 Rising destitution is reflected in the number of people needing humanitarian assistance, which has risen from 5.2 million in 2015 to 9.3 million in 2020, an increase of more than 75 per cent. A total of 6.2 million people suffer from extreme poverty, evidenced by severe acute food insecurity. 3 The Independent Expert is concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic will impact food availability and accessibility, thus increasing the threat of hunger and malnutrition. Food insecure populations, including internally displaced persons, refugees, migrants, returnees, host communities, and women and children have limited coping mechanisms to buffer the impact. 22. Well before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s health sector had been weakened by limited resources, with 1.9 medical doctors per 10,000 inhabitants and high levels of out-of-pocket health costs.4 Over 30 per cent of existing health facilities are non-functioning, owing mainly to lack of human resources, medical equipment and financial resources, as well as to weak managerial capacities, particularly at subnational levels. According to a 2019 report, the universal health coverage index for the Sudan was 44 per cent.5 23. With regard to access to water and sanitation, the national average is 68 per cent, with substantial disparities between rural and urban areas, 6 which poses significant challenges in containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. 24. The Independent Expert notes that physical distancing measures have severely hit the service sector, which absorbs over a million workers, mostly in low-income and casual jobs. Consequently, there is a high risk that many businesses will fail if the disruption of normal business operation continues. The informal hospitality sector, notably the work of women tea sellers, is impacted through the general reduction of the economy. If left unaddressed, rising levels of urban poverty could lead to protests again, compromising the democratic transition of the Sudan and creating political instability that could complicate its development trajectory. 25. The Independent Expert notes that the continued listing of the Sudan as a State sponsor of terrorism by the United States affects the ability of the Sudan to fully access international financial system, including the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and the clearance of large arrears to these institutions and other creditors. 26. The Independent Expert welcomes the efforts of the Government of the Sudan towards economic reforms. The national budget for 2020 saw increased spending on health 2 3 4 5 6 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – Sudan. Humanitarian Needs Overview: Sudan (January 2020). United Nations Development Programme. “COVID-19 socio-economic impact assessment for Sudan” (April 2020). World Health Organization, Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, Regional Health Observatory Data Repository statistics. Available at https://rho.emro.who.int/ThemeViz/TermID/142. World Health Organization, Primary Health Care on the Road to Universal Health Coverage: 2019 Global Monitoring Report (2019). United Nations Development Programme. “COVID-19 socio-economic impact assessment for Sudan”. 5