Arab Coalition for Sudan condemns closure of women’s centre

01/07/2014 22:09

The Cairo-based Arab Coalition for Sudan (ACS) issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the closure of Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. On Tuesday 24 June, Fahima Hashim, founder and chairwoman of Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre, was presented with a letter from the Ministry of Justice, and an order revoking the Centre’s registration license as a non-profit company, its immediate liquidation, and the appointment of a five-person committee to oversee the dissolution process.  All properties found in possession of the Centre, including personal belongings of the staff, were taken. The order did not mention any reason behind this decision. Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre is registered as a ‘non-profit company’, in accordance with the Sudanese Companies Act of 1925, which gives the Minister of Justice the power to close-down any organisatin deemed ‘harmful to the interests of the country’. Non-Profit companiesIn Sudan, many civil society organisations register as companies that work for non-profit purposes, due to harassment practiced by the Humanitarian Aid Commission of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in granting registration for organisations to exercise their activities, the AACS explained in its statement. “The ACS condemns the decision to cancel Salmmah Centre’s license, and expresses its full solidarity with its administration, and emphasises the significant role played by that Centre in documenting and conducting researches related to women’s issues and rights. “The ACS deplores the arbitrary measures taken by Ministry of Justice. Regardless of the agency that issued that decision and its legality, it is a violation to the Sudan Constitution of 2005, which stipulates the freedom of association, and the right to establish organisations and trade unions.” In the statement, the ACS also expresses its deep concern over the continued closing and confiscating the premises of civil society organisations in Sudan, among them the Sudanese Studies Centre, and El Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development in Khartoum. File photo: Fahima Hashim, director of Salmmah Women’s Resource Cente (YouTube)

The Cairo-based Arab Coalition for Sudan (ACS) issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the closure of Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

On Tuesday 24 June, Fahima Hashim, founder and chairwoman of Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre, was presented with a letter from the Ministry of Justice, and an order revoking the Centre’s registration license as a non-profit company, its immediate liquidation, and the appointment of a five-person committee to oversee the dissolution process.  

All properties found in possession of the Centre, including personal belongings of the staff, were taken. The order did not mention any reason behind this decision.

Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre is registered as a ‘non-profit company’, in accordance with the Sudanese Companies Act of 1925, which gives the Minister of Justice the power to close-down any organisatin deemed ‘harmful to the interests of the country’.

Non-Profit companies

In Sudan, many civil society organisations register as companies that work for non-profit purposes, due to harassment practiced by the Humanitarian Aid Commission of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs in granting registration for organisations to exercise their activities, the AACS explained in its statement.

“The ACS condemns the decision to cancel Salmmah Centre’s license, and expresses its full solidarity with its administration, and emphasises the significant role played by that Centre in documenting and conducting researches related to women’s issues and rights.

“The ACS deplores the arbitrary measures taken by Ministry of Justice. Regardless of the agency that issued that decision and its legality, it is a violation to the Sudan Constitution of 2005, which stipulates the freedom of association, and the right to establish organisations and trade unions.”

In the statement, the ACS also expresses its deep concern over the continued closing and confiscating the premises of civil society organisations in Sudan, among them the Sudanese Studies Centre, and El Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development in Khartoum.

File photo: Fahima Hashim, director of Salmmah Women’s Resource Cente (YouTube)