Geneva 6-10 June 2005

Despite strong and repeated censure by the International Labour Organization's supervisory mechanisms between 1997 and 2005, abductions and forced labour remain a reality in Sudan. Thousands of people are still awaiting release and new abductions have taken place in both 2003 and 2004.

The Government has claimed that "abductions have stopped completely" 1. However, information compiled from various sources provides evidence that abductions have continued in 2003 and 2004.

The 2005 ILO Committee of Experts report 2 itself refers to "…the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the practices of abductions and exaction of forced labour".

On 2 January 2004, at least 13 people, the majority of whom were children, were reportedly abducted by Janjaweed militia from Ma'un village near Kornoy, according to Amnesty International. Amnesty International received reports of other abductions of children in West Darfur in the weeks prior to this.

In March 2004, seven UN Special Rapporteurs along with the Secretary General's representative on internally displaced persons issued a joint statement expressing concern over widespread human rights abuses, including reports of abductions, in the Darfur region of Sudan. The UN estimates that since 2003, nearly one million people have been displaced by fighting between the Government and its militias and two armed opposition groups (the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement).

In an interview on 2 April 2004, the UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, Jan Egeland, noted that large numbers of civilians have been killed and "scores of women and children have been abducted, raped and tortured." The UN Co-ordinator said that the Janjaweed militia was primarily responsible for carrying out these attacks and that there was a consistent pattern of grave human violations against the civilian population, which he considered to be ethnic cleansing.

The report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Situation of human rights in the Darfur region of the Sudan, issued on 7 May 2004, also refers to "some specific reports of abductions, particularly by the Janjaweed". In one case an internally displaced woman alleged that her nine-month old twins had been abducted.

In July 2004, Amnesty International released a report on Darfur 3, which also confirmed that the Janjaweed militia has been primarily responsible for the attacks. The report provided evidence, obtained from eyewitness accounts, relating to the abduction of 21 women and children by the Janjaweed militia, with some clear cases of sexual slavery.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan and NGO sources have also reported that abductions continued to take place in and around the oilfields in the Western Upper Nile and Bahr El Ghazal regions during 2003 and that hundreds of children were abducted and forcibly recruited by government allied militias in Unity State and in the Western Upper Nile 4. The latest United States State Department country report on Sudan, released in 2005, also refers to "reports that children were forcibly conscripted".

The UN Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur 5, January 2005, has reported cases of abduction and detention of men and boys to camps where they are used for forced labour. The Commission has credible evidence that the military are in control of these camps and army officers are aware of the illegal detention taking place. In one case a civilian was seized by the Janjaweed after an attack on his village, kept in captivity in a Janjaweed camp and later shifted to a military camp in the area.

The UN report has also documented cases of abductions and sexual slavery, where women were forcibly taken from their villages, held in confinement, repeatedly raped, and tortured to prevent them from escaping from military camps and hideouts by Janjaweed and soldiers. It is reported that in February 2004 around 35 female students were allegedly abducted and raped by the Janjaweed in Tawila and surrounding villages in North Darfur. In March 2004, Janjaweed and 150 soldiers reportedly abducted and raped 16 young girls in Kutum, North Darfur. Further cases of abductions, mass rape and sexual violence have been reported in the areas surrounding El Geneina, Disa, Silea and Mukjar in West Darfur as well as Kailek, South Darfur.

The Commission has evidence of women being abducted on their way to market or in search of water, close to military or Janjaweed camps. In March 2003, women were abducted, held for two or three days and raped by members of the military in Tarne, North Darfur, where the Government of Sudan had established a large military camp in the vicinity. During the Janjaweed attack on Mengarassa village, West Darfur in November 2003, 20 girls were abducted and taken to the 'Ammar' camp. In January 2004, 21 girls were abducted during the joint Government armed forces and Janjaweed attack on Kanjew, West Darfur. The Janjaweed held the women for three months and some of them became pregnant as a result of rape during their confinement.

The Commission believes it has enough credible and verified information that rape and other forms of sexual violence committed by the Janjaweed and Government soldiers in Darfur have been widespread and systematic and amount to crimes against humanity.

"The awareness of the perpetrators that their violent acts were part of a systematic attack on civilians may well be inferred from, among other things, the fact that they were cognizant that they would in fact enjoy impunity. The Commission finds that the crimes of sexual violence committed in Darfur may amount to rape as a crime against humanity, or sexual slavery as a crime against humanity." 6

This information clearly shows that the raids and abductions, which have been well documented in previous years, have continued in 2003 and 2004 and that the Government has failed to take adequate steps to prevent them or punish those responsible. It should be stressed that the practice of abductions and forced labour is, as underlined by the Eminent Persons Group 7, "the product of a counter-insurgency strategy pursued by successive governments in Khartoum". Furthermore, the Sudanese Government "has failed to acknowledge its own responsibility for acts committed by militias and other forces under its authority. The lack of judicial control and appropriate structures of military accountability means that militia members are able to act with impunity".

In April 2005 the UN Commission on Human Rights 8 called upon the Government of Sudan to "bring the perpetrators to justice and end impunity for crimes committed in Darfur" and to "disarm the Janjaweed militias and stop supporting them."

Criticisms made of CEAWC's progress
A report by the Rift Valley Institute's (RVI) Slavery and Abduction Project, issued in July 2003, noted that the RVI research had so far individually identified more than 12,000 people who had been violently abducted from Southern Sudan between 1983 and 2002.9 Over half the abductees were under 18 when abducted and, contrary to expectation, preliminary analysis indicated that the majority of abductees were male.

Interviews with returnees indicate that those abducted are routinely subjected to forced labour and other human rights abuse and RVI confirms the conclusion of the International Eminent Persons Group that "in a significant number of cases, abduction is the first stage in a pattern of abuse that falls under the definition of slavery." The RVI project estimates that over 11,000 of those abducted have still not been accounted for.

According to information from CEAWC and from the Sudanese Government itself, CEAWC (along with other organisations) assisted 2,628 abductees to rejoin their families between 1999 and May 2004. Thus, according to the estimates from CEAWC, the Dinka Chiefs Committee and the Rift Valley Institute, there are still some 10,000 abducted people waiting to be identified and reunited with their families.

The identification and release of abducted women and children has therefore been extremely slow and only a small percentage of the total number waiting to be released has been freed. Yet, according to the January 2003 report 10 referred to above, CEAWC plans "to document and reunify the remaining 11,500 cases, according to the estimates of the Dinka Committee, within one year from availability of funds". Given the limited progress made by CEAWC in recent years, the assessment that CEAWC could identify and reunite more than 11,000 cases in one year seems entirely unrealistic.

UNICEF11 in Southern Sudan has also raised a number of concerns regarding the CEAWC operation. Namely, that some of those being rescued are not genuine former abductees; some are not coming voluntarily or are being given misinformation to encourage them to come; and some families are being split up with children being moved on unaccompanied. The process has also come under criticism as it appears that tracing and documentation is incomplete and that resources and planning for transport, food, water, medical care and shelter are insufficient. UNICEF also reports that CEAWC's returnees operation has been suspended since March 2005.

The Government has failed to prosecute those responsible for abductions
CEAWC's chairperson has the "powers normally enjoyed by the Minister of Justice to prosecute all cases of a criminal nature". However, CEAWC has not pursued prosecutions against those responsible for abductions. In the 2003 document, CEAWC states it will seek to resolve abductions through the Joint Tribal Committees, "but on the understanding that this amicable solution will be for a specific period of time (till the end of 2003 if the necessary funds are provided) and thereafter resort will be to legal action after having cleared the majority of cases".

The Government reported to the Standards Committee (2004), that it had approved the allocation of US$400,000 a month to CEAWC to enable it carry out its action plan within its specified time frame. The Government also reported that CEAWC considers that "legal proceedings were the only means to put an end to abduction".

Despite this commitment Anti-Slavery International is not aware that any prosecutions have been brought to date. The US Country Report on Human Rights Practices (released 25 February 2004) noted that in Sudan "The Government took no action to hold those responsible for the abductions and continued to support tribal militias."

Anti-Slavery International does not consider that existing punishments for the crimes of slavery and abduction are being enforced, as witnessed by the evidence from the Eminent Persons Report that no prosecutions have taken place in the last 16 years. Anti-Slavery International believes that ending the impunity, which those responsible for enslaving people or using forced labour currently enjoy, is an important factor in ending the continuing cycle of abductions and therefore considers that legal action should be initiated against all those responsible for abductions and those who refuse to co-operate with CEAWC.

Anti-Slavery International believes that if legal proceedings are considered too lengthy, then it is the Government's responsibility to ensure that the system is expedited. Similarly, if an individual may be endangered by a prosecution then the Government should provide victim and witness protection mechanisms to ensure their safety. It should also be stressed that while reuniting families should be a central aim, this may not always be possible (for example where women have been abducted and used as sex slaves some husbands will disown their wives 12) and should not be seen as an alternative to prosecutions.

Legal action should be initiated without delay against all those responsible for abductions. This will end the impunity that those responsible for abductions currently enjoy and is clearly required by Article 25 of ILO Convention No. 29, which specifies that States must ensure that "penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced". Anti-Slavery International does not consider a one year prison sentence (which is currently the penalty for the exaction of forced labour) to be adequate. Nor do we think that existing punishments, including for the crime of abduction (punishable by 10 years' imprisonment), are being enforced as witnessed by the evidence from the Eminent Person's Report that no prosecutions have taken place in the last 16 years.

Challenging this kind of impunity is made particularly difficult when the Sudanese Justice Minister himself describes accusations that slavery is being practised in Sudan as "baseless" (reported by the BBC on 21 July 2003). Statements like this13 give the impression 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.

Conclusion and recommendations
It must be stressed that the Government has not publicly acknowledged that forces under its control continue to be responsible for abductions and forced labour. The Government has also failed to take action to prevent further abductions taking place and has not prosecuted those responsible for these human rights violations. In view of this, Anti-Slavery International urges the Government of Sudan to:

1. Publicly state that abductions and all associated practices are illegal, make the appropriate legislative amendments and fully enforce the law. Details of those prosecuted and sentences passed should be made publicly available.
2. Disarm and control the militias that have been responsible for abductions and other human rights violations against civilians.
3. Accept and fully implement the recommendations from the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Situation of human rights in the Darfur region of the Sudan (E/CN.4/2005/3, 7 May 2004).
4. To grant the Special Rapporteur unrestricted access to all relevant areas in undertaking their work.
5. To consider abductions and slavery as serious human rights violations to be addressed by the new, rewritten constitution.
6. We would also urge the Special Rapporteur to review the extent to which the recommendations made by the Eminent Persons Group have been implemented.
   

1 ILO Committee of Experts Report, 2004, p. 166.
2 ILO Committee of Experts Report, 2005, p. 185.
3 Amnesty International, Sudan, Darfur: Rape as a weapon of war, 19 July 2004, AFR 54/076/2004.
4 Referred to in the UN Special Rapporteur on Sudan's 2003 report to the UNCHR and by the International Crisis Group report, 10 February 2003.
5 Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, Geneva, 25 January 2005.
6 See the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General, Geneva, 25 January 2005, op. cit. p. 159.
7 The Report of the International Eminent Persons Group (with members from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Norway and France), Slavery, Abduction and Forced Servitude in Sudan was published on 22 May 2002 after a fact finding mission to Sudan.
8 The Commission on Human Rights, Human Rights Resolution 2005/82.
9 This is in line with three estimates cited in the Report of the International Eminent Persons Group (22 May 2002), which put the total number of people abducted at approximately 14,000.
10 Dr. Ahmed El Mufti, The Experience of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) -- Sudan: Gathering information, documentation, tracing and reunification of persons abducted during armed conflicts, January 2003, p 5.
11 See the Monthly Report, February 2005, UNICEF Southern Sudan.
12 See testimony in Amnesty International, Sudan, Darfur: Rape as a weapon of war, op. cit. p. 13.
13 Another example would be the Government of Sudan's claim that the "figures in the report of the Committee of Experts of about 5,000-14,000 abducted persons were extremely exaggerated and had no resemblance to reality". ILO Committee on the Application of Standards, June 2002.