Slavery, otherwise referred to as abductions and forced labour, remains a reality in Sudan with thousands of people awaiting release and new abductions still taking place.

In a communication from the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) Chairman to Anti-Slavery on 30 August 2001, it was noted that the number of abductees documented by CEAWC remained at only 1,200. This figure represents only a small percentage of the total number waiting to be released, which is generally
considered to be between 5,000 and 14,000.1 It also indicates that CEAWC has not make
any significant progress during 2001 in terms of identifying and releasing victims of abduction and forced labour.

Furthermore, in October and November 2001, NGOs in Sudan reported that new raids had again occurred into North Bahr El Ghaza and that women and children were missing as a result. On 28 March 2002, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan, Gerhart Baum, noted "I continue to receive cases of raids followed by abductions…" The Special Rapporteur supported the idea of permanent monitoring in Bahr El Ghazal as a measure to stop "this heinous practice which, as of yet, is still going on."

This information confirms fears that the Government has not taken adequate steps to end raiding and slavery.

However, in January 2002, the Sudanese Government issued Decree 14/2002 which included measures aimed at strengthening CEAWC, including putting CEAWC directly under the supervision of the President's Office, providing it with full-time chairmanship and appropriate resources. The former head of the CEAWC, Dr Ahmed El-Mufti, was reappointed as head the CEAWC.

According to information provided to the UN Special Rapporteur, CEAWC is intending to accomplish its mandate and deliver concrete results in a one year timeframe. Two reconciliation conferences have been arranged in Kordofan and Darfur to resolve the issue of abductions in a traditional manner. Legal proceedings are foreseen only as a last resort measure upon completion of a one year period.

This does not appear to be a major policy departure for CEAWC which has not pursued its mandate by prosecutions. Anti-Slavery believes that it is time that the Government took urgent steps to end the de facto amnesty for those responsible for abductions or for holding victims of abduction.

Clear condemnation is needed, not only of abductions, kidnapping and forced labour, but also of "false adoption", debt bondage, employing children away from home and without the consent of their parents or guardian, and coercing or persuading girls or women into marriage while keeping them ignorant of their own origins or their rights.

The Government should also introduce or amend legislation to ensure that all these practices are prohibited and that the penalties are commensurate with the human rights violations committed. While the Government rightly points out that under Article 162 of the Criminal Code abduction is punishable by 10 years' imprisonment, the penalty for the exaction of forced labour is currently only one year of imprisonment. There must be adequate penalties against the use of forced labour which are strictly enforced, a failure to do so will have the effect of encouraging more abductions.

Statements by President al Bashir dismissing reports of slavery in Sudan as "mere media propaganda" (January 2002) and Dr El-Mufti describing slavery in Sudan as "an unfounded allegation" (April 2002) have the unfortunate effect of indicating that the Government does not regard the practice of abductions and forced labour as a serious problem in Sudan, let alone a priority for action.

Linked to this, was the arrest on 15 January 2002 of Nhial Bol, the managing editor for the independent daily newspaper, Khartoum Monitor. Bol was subsequently convicted for the "propagation of false news" and sentenced to six months imprisonment unless he paid a fine of five million Sudanese pounds (US$1,933). Bol was released on 17 January after colleagues from Khartoum Monitor paid the fine. The Khartoum Monitor itself has been fined 15 million Sudanese pounds (US$ 5,799) with the threat of asset seizure if the fine is not paid.

The article concerned accused the Government of facilitating slavery by not preventing raiders, who it said were enslaving women and children in the south, from travelling on government-owned trains. The fact that the armed train running between Wau and Babanusa has been used by government supported militia to carry out raids and abductions over a number of years is a matter of public record. For example, in April 2002 United Nations resolution on the situation of human rights in Sudan (E/CN.4/2002/L.27) called on the Government of Sudan "to take further measures to eradicate the practice (of abductions), in particular those cases connected with the passage of the government train through Bahr al Ghazal".

Consequently, Anti-Slavery is shocked by this journalist's arrest and conviction for publishing information which is already in the public domain and well known to the authorities. The punishment of Nhial Bol and Khartoum Monitor is a clear infringement of the right to freedom of expression and indicates that the Government is more interested in prosecuting those who express concern over the practice of slavery than those who are responsible for the abductions themselves.

In the same month that Bol was being prosecuted, the Sudanese Government agreed with US Senator John Danforth that the issue of "slavery, abductions and forced servitude" should be one of four main issues that should be the subject of "confidence building" measures in Sudan in advance of any peace negotiations.

The US initiative to investigate slavery, abductions and forced servitude will see the deployment of a technical team to support field visits conducted by monitoring commissioners. On 8 April 2002, a US-led international commission of inquiry arrived in Khartoum to begin the investigation.

The Sudanese Government's support for these US initiatives is to be welcomed as is its commitment to strengthening and supporting the work of CEAWC. However, it should be stressed that, up till now, CEAWC has not been part of a systematic policy to prevent further incidences of abduction taking place or to ensure the prosecution of those responsible for these human rights violations. Anti-Slavery International therefore recommends that the Government of Sudan:

1. Publicly state that abductions and all associated practices are illegal, make the appropriate legislative amendments and effectively enforce the law. Priority should be given to prosecuting all those responsible for new abductions.

2. Provide the Working Group with detailed information on measures taken to prevent further abductions and details of the number of people charged and prosecuted, with the sentences given, for carrying out abductions and exacting forced labour.

3. Ensure that abducted women who have subsequently married are given full information about their options in a neutral setting, enabling them to decide freely to remain with their husbands or to leave. In the case of children who have been absorbed into households, the best interests of the child should be principal criterion for deciding what should happened to them.

4. Provide CEAWC with the appropriate funding, resources, staff and political support to ensure that it can carry out its work effectively.