On Wednesday 26 May, the Sudanese Government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed a peace agreement ending 21 years of civil war.

This welcome step not only brings an end to the longest war in Africa, but also provides a significant opportunity to end slavery in the country. But raids, abductions and slavery continue.

Over one million people have been displaced as Janjaweed militias -- which are armed and supported by the Government -- have systematically raided Fur, Masaleet and Zaghawa villages, destroying homes, murdering civilians, and abducting and raping women and children -- some as young as seven years old. This pattern is disturbingly similar to the slave raids that have plagued and traumatised southern Sudan for decades and resulted in the enslavement of an estimated 14,000 people.

It is vital that the Government of Sudan immediately disarm and disband the Janjaweed militias in Darfur and withdraw from those parts of the region they have occupied during the recent conflict. It also needs to take immediate and effective measures to enable the voluntary return of refugees and those who have been abducted and displaced to their homes in peace and safety.

For more on this see statement to African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights

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