More than 14,000 men, women and children were abducted and forced
into slavery in Sudan between 1986 and 2002. The civil war that
raged between the Sudan Government and Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army over 20 years fuelled the conditions that led to
so many people being enslaved.
Who are the victims of abduction into slavery?
The majority of abductees are Dinka from the Bahr el-Ghazal region
in Southern Sudan. Other ethnic groups have also been affected,
such as the Joor.
The first few hundred abductees registered by the Dinka Committee
were about equal numbers of boys and girls. However, a 2003 report
by the Rift Valley Institute's Slavery and Abduction Project indicated
most abductees were male. It also found that over half were under-18
when abducted. The research has established the names and identities
of more than 12,000 people who were violently abducted from northern
Bahr-el-Ghazal and Abyei. Furthermore, thousands of children were
born into slavery to people who had been abducted, and suffer
the same abuse.
Where were they taken?
The Dinka Committee estimates that around 60 per cent of those
abducted were taken to west Kordofan and south Darfur by the Murahaleen
(tribal militia). The rest were taken to other parts of northern
Sudan by the national army, the Popular Defence Force and other
military bodies created by the Government.
What is the nature of this kind of slavery?
The thousands of women and children who were captured in the course
of the raids in Sudan were forced into different kinds of abuse,
including forced labour as domestic workers, cattle herders, agricultural
workers as well as forced marriage and rape. Some were sold or
given to others as presents, or hired out as casual workers, for
example in agriculture. The money that was paid was given to their
masters. In many of these cases, abductees were ill treated including
being subject to physical abuse and having food and drink withheld.
Separation from their home communities to areas where the people,
culture and usually the language are completely unknown, has left
these people extremely vulnerable to abuse, especially those abducted
as children, and raises complex issues for return and family reunification.
What is the situation now?
The last reported case of abduction was on 9 May 2002, in the
Gogirial county of Bahr el Ghazal, but many thousands of people
remain in slavery. There are also reports of more recent abductions
taking place within the context of the conflict
in Darfur.
Challenges and achievements
The Dinka Committee has braved an often extremely hostile environment
to be the first to speak out against abduction and slavery in
Sudan. To date, James and the Dinka Committee have been involved
in the identification and release of over 4,000 people.
The Dinka Committee led negotiations with tribal leaders in Kordofan
and Darfur, the main areas to which abductees were taken. They
persuaded these leaders to accept that abduction had taken place
and that they needed to co-operate in order to set the abductees
free. The Committee also led the campaign within Sudan to free
the abductees, and as a result, the Government accepted abduction
was a problem that needed to be addressed.
In response, the Minister of Justice established the Committee
for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC)
on 15 May 1999 to facilitate the safe return of women and children
to their families. It was mandated to investigate reports of abduction,
and to bring to trial anyone suspected of supporting or participating
in such activities. However, the mandate to prosecute has never
been applied.
In 2002, a Presidential Decree was issued to re-structure CEAWC
limiting its coverage to only two regions: west Kordofan and south
Darfur. All other affected regions were omitted. Moreover, CEAWC
has come under criticism in recent years as the identification
and release process has been extremely slow and only a small percentage
of the total waiting to be released has been freed.
James and his colleagues face numerous difficulties in carrying
out their work. They have faced threats and some have been killed.
James himself has been detained more than 30 times between 1989
and 1999. Funding also continues to be a major obstacle and in
recent months the lack of funding has forced the Committee to
stop reunifications forcing them to focus only on identification
and documentation.
A comprehensive peace agreement was signed in 2005, and a new
interim constitution, which criminalises slavery, was adopted.
However, the abduction issue has still not been fully addressed
and the majority of those enslaved have not been released. Furthermore,
once released, there is no proper support to reintegrate returnees
into their communities and to address their education and health
needs. Many have no option but to live in transit camps for long
periods, experiencing the harsh realities of life in the South
as the region begins to recover from the lengthy war.
The attention on the Darfur conflict has unfortunately had the
effect of sidelining the slavery issue, and it is hoped that James's
receipt of the Anti-Slavery Award will allow the problem to be
raised up the public agenda.
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