US embassy cable - 05DUBLIN573

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000573 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO AF/SPG (T. SMITH), AF/RSA (D. SIMS) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, UNHRC-1 
SUBJECT: IRELAND HONORS ARRESTED SUDANESE HUMAN RIGHTS 
ACTIVIST 
 
REF: KHARTOUM 00717 
 
Action Request (See Para 4.) 
 
1.  Summary.  On May 13th, President of Ireland Mary McAleese 
presented the inaugural Front Line Human Rights Defender 
Award to the wife and daughter of Sudanese Human Rights 
Activist, Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam.  Per reftel, Dr. Mudawi 
was arrested by GOS authorities on May 8th and was not 
allowed to leave the country to accept the award personally. 
Post requests guidance on current USG initiatives related to 
Dr. Mudawi's arrest.  End Summary. 
 
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Front Line 
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2.  On May 13th, President of Ireland Mary McAleese presented 
the inaugural Front Line Human Rights Defender Award to the 
wife and daughter of Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Chairperson of 
the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO).  Dr. Mudawi 
was selected for the award from a list of nominees, 
including:  Dr. Rajan Hoole and Dr. Kopalasingham Sritharan, 
Sri Lanka; Talib Yakubov, Uzbekistan; and Obtilia Eugenio 
Manuel, Mexico.  Dr. Mudawi was arrested (reftel) while 
taking video footage of Khartoum to provide to Front Line for 
the award ceremony presentation.  The ceremony was attended 
by about 150 people, including the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the 
Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Development 
Cooperation and Human Rights, other government officials, 
resident diplomats, and the press.  Front Line is an Irish 
NGO that supports human rights defenders at risk worldwide. 
 
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Action Request 
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3.  Public and GOI interest in Dr. Mudawi's arrest is running 
high, and Post requests guidance on current USG initiatives 
to release Dr. Mudawi (if any) so that we can brief Irish 
officials and align our efforts.  Thus far, Irish Development 
Minister Conor Lenihan has spoken with his GOS counterpart 
calling for Dr. Mudawi's release.  The Irish Senate adopted 
an all-party motion calling on the GOS to release him 
immediately.  The Irish government is likely to bring Dr. 
Mudawi's arrest to the UN Human Rights Commission as well. 
Front Line informed emboff that the British demarched the GOS 
on Dr. Mudawi's release earlier this week and the Dutch 
requested his release (per reftel) and secured travel to 
Ireland for his wife, Mrs. Sabeh and her daughter Huda. 
 
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Petition 
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4.  Front Line provided the following text as a petition for 
Dr. Mudawi's release to Field Marshal Omar Hassan al-Bashir: 
 
Begin Text: 
 
His Excellency Field Marshal Omar Hassan al-Bashir 
President of the Republic of Sudan 
President's Palace 
P.O. Box 281 
Khartoum 
Sudan 
 
13 May 2005 
 
Your Excellency, 
 
I would like to call for the immediate and unconditional 
release of Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Chairperson of the Sudan 
Social Development Organization (SUDO).  I understand that he 
was arrested on 9 May 2005, the third time in 18 months, as a 
result of his peaceful human rights work in Sudan. 
 
His detention is in violation of international human rights 
standards and contravenes the United Nations Declaration on 
Human Rights Defends, adopted by consensus by the UN General 
Assembly on 9 December 1998, which recognizes the legitimacy 
of the activities of Human Rights Defenders and their right 
to carry out their activities without fear of reprisals, in 
particular Article 12 (2) which states: "The State shall take 
all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the 
competent authorities of everyone, individually and in 
association with others, against any violence, threats, 
retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, 
pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of 
his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in 
the present Declaration". 
 
Yours sincerely, 
 
 
End Text. 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
KENNY