04.06.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Sudanese women and girls are trafficked within the country and to Middle Eastern countries; militia groups in Darfur abduct women for forced labour and sexual exploitation; thousands of Dinka and Nuba children and women have been abducted and enslaved ("Trafficking in Persons Report 2008") [ID 23838]

"Sudanese women and girls are trafficked within the country, as well as possibly to Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar, for domestic servitude.

In 2007, Greek law enforcement authorities identified a female sex trafficking victim from Sudan. [...]

Militia groups in Darfur, some of which are linked to the government, abduct women for short periods of forced labor and to perpetrate sexual violence.

Forcible recruitment of adults and particularly children by virtually all armed groups involved in Sudan's concluded north-south civil war was commonplace; thousands of children still associated with these forces await demobilization and reintegration into their communities of origin.

In addition to the exploitation of children by armed groups during the two decades-long northsouth civil war, thousands of Dinka women and children were abducted and subsequently enslaved by members of the Missiriya and Rezeigat tribes during this time.

An unknown number of children from the Nuba tribe were similarly abducted and enslaved.

A portion of those who were abducted and enslaved remained with their abductors in South Darfur and West Kordofan and experienced varying types of treatment; others were sold or given to third parties, including in other regions of the country; and some ultimately escaped from their captors.

While there have been no known new abductions of Dinka by members of Baggara tribes in the last few years, inter-tribal abductions continue in southern Sudan, especially in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria states."

Document(s): Country Narratives: S through Z
Full Report

04.06.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Government makes only minimal efforts to protect victims of trafficking; in 2007, it did not investigate or prosecute any suspected trafficking cases ("Trafficking in Persons Report 2008") [ID 23850]

"The government's anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts were negligible during the reporting period; it did not investigate or prosecute any suspected trafficking cases.

Sudan is a large country with porous borders and destitute hinterlands; the national government has little ability to establish authority or a law enforcement presence in many regions.

Sudan's criminal code does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, though its Articles 162, 163, and 164, criminalize abduction, luring, and forced labor, respectively.

The Interim National Constitution prohibits slavery and forced labor.

No trafficker has ever been prosecuted under these articles. [...]

Sudan's Government of National Unity (GNU) made only minimal efforts to protect victims of trafficking and focused primarily on the demobilization of child soldiers during the last year.

The government continued to have funding and capacity gaps in its own entities involved in combating trafficking, and the GNU continued to demonstrate extremely low levels of cooperation with humanitarian workers in the Darfur region on a broad spectrum of issues, including human trafficking."

Document(s): Country Narratives: S through Z
Full Report