~"}\ACHPR Q ., Commission on M(m:rr!j.. ' African Human and Peoples' Rights Human Rights our Collective Responsibility during the war in Nuba Mountains in the early 1990s, and in particular slavery] have a pronounced racial aspect, as the victims are exclusively southerners and persons belonging to the indigenous tribes of the Nuba Mountains." 242. The Complainants submitted that many Nuba were forced into "peace camps in government-controlled areas, and large tracts of emptied land were rapidly incorporated into new commercial agricultural schemes." And that by the time the warring parties agreed to a ceasefire in 2002, [T]he Nuba Mountains were largely emptied of their population." /I 243. The Complainants further submitted that eye-witness accounts show that militias and government forces in South Kordofan killed individuals because they belonged to the Nuba and, in the process, denied membe~s of the Nuba their fundamental rights enshrined in the African Charter. For this reason, the Complainants submitted that the Nuba cannot enjoy the same respect and the same rights as others in Sudan in violation of Article 19. 244. The Commission finds that, with regard to the alleged violation of Article 19 of the African Charter, the historical record of-the civil wars in Sudan and the specific experience of the Nuba people in particular are such that discrimination and violation of rights were perpetrated targeting specific group of people. Nuba people as historically marginalized people and as one of the communities in Sudan who were subjected to discrimination and violations including through state policies have been deprived of their right under Article 19 to be equal, to enjoy the same respect and to have the same rights. The Respondent State continues to commit violations against the Nuba during the more recent conflict in South Kordofan where serious and massive human rights violations have specifically targeted the Nuba people. The Commission thus finds a violation of Article 19 of the African Charter. Alleged violation of Articles 20 the African Charter 245. The complainants also submitted that the acts of violence to which they were subjected violated their rights to existence and self-determination under Article 20 of the Charter. Article 20(1) of the African Charter states that: All peoples shall have right to existence. They shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to self-determination. They shall freely determine their political status and shall pursue their economic and social development according to the policy they have freely chosen. 50 https:/achpr.au.intiO 0 a