UN Human Rights Council to hold special Sudan session after call by over 45 nations

The UN Human Rights Council said Tuesday it would on Friday hold a special session to address the "implications of the ongoing situation" in Sudan after a military takeover eight days ago.

The meeting will take place in a hybrid virtual format at Geneva's Palais des Nations, and most interventions will take place online due to COVID-19 restrictions.

After a special request, the UK, US, Norway, and Germany jointly convened the special session.

On Oct. 25, Sudan's ruling military council announced a state of emergency and dissolved the transitional sovereign council and government hours after detaining Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and ministers in his civilian government.

The council also suspended some provisions of the constitutional document outlining the political transition in Sudan.

Deep tensions escalated between the military and the civilian administration in Sudan after a failed military coup in September amid rival protests in Khartoum.

For a special session, the support of one-third of the 47 members of the Council -- 16 or more -- is needed.

The request was supported by the following members of the Human Rights Council: Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Libya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, Ukraine, the UK, and Uruguay.

The following observer members also supported the special session: Albania, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Greek Cypriot administration, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Malawi, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the US.

The meeting will be the 32nd special session of the council and the fourth this year.

Before the military takeover, Sudan was administered by a sovereign council of military and civilian officials, which oversaw the transition period until elections slated for 2023, as part of a precarious power-sharing pact between the military and the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition.