Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Sudan (RATIFICATION: 1957)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 - Sudan (RATIFICATION: 2021)

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The Government has provided the following written information in a note verbale.

Elections were successfully held in all parts of Sudan in April 2010. This resulted in the election of the President of the Republic who will form a Government in the next coming days, and of the President of the Government of southern Sudan. In addition to members of the National Assembly, the Legislative Assembly for southern Sudan and legislative councils for all provinces, mayors of the provinces (welayat) were also elected. This demonstrates that the Sudan is seriously on the path towards democracy and sound rule, and that it is moving steadily towards a full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, as already attested by a number of countries, international and regional organizations in 2005. In accordance with this Comprehensive Peace Agreement, it was agreed to hold a referendum next January so as to decide on self-rule for southern Sudan. The Government hoped that the Conference Committee would take this information into account and support and encourage the Sudan in its process towards achieving a comprehensive democracy.

The Government annexed to the note verbale referred to above a document containing information which reflected the exact substance of information already provided by it to the Committee of Experts in November 2008, in response to a communication by the ITUC dated 29 August 2008. This information from the Government was examined by the Committee of Experts in the observation regarding the Sudan on the application of this Convention, which is included in the 2010 report of the Committee of Experts and reproduced in C.App/D.4/Add.2, pp. 149–154.

In addition, before the Committee, a Government representative reaffirmed the full commitment of his Government to comply with its international obligations, and particularly Convention No. 29. He added that his Government appreciated the work of the Committee of Experts and reaffirmed its willingness to cooperate fully with the supervisory system.

With regard to the comments made by the Committee of Experts concerning the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), which had been established in 1999, he indicated that full and detailed replies had been made to all the comments. He recalled that the CEAWC addressed the problems encountered at the tribal level, with particular reference to those of families and children. Although the CEAWC had been established before the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, it had been found to be an appropriate response to the problem and its operation had been continued. He added that the action of the CEAWC had received the endorsement of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

As regards the number of people not returned to their families, he indicated that these people could no longer be called abductees because they had become citizens who had chosen to stay where they had property, and the Government could thus not force them to return.

With regard to the issue of bringing to justice those who were implicated in the abductions, other international bodies had agreed that this would have negative impacts on helping people return or settle. The Government had, however, credited those who wished to submit claims with available information. He stated that the Government had done what it could to bring people to justice, but that it could not force people to bring complaints, just encourage them to do so. It seemed that the abductions and forced labour were only a passing phenomenon, but this phenomenon was now over and had only been part of the civil war.

He further stated that the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), in its various communications, was merely repeating allegations already made and was giving incorrect information in order to keep Sudan on the list of individual cases. He regretted that the process for selecting cases was politicized, which was problematic and would have a negative impact on the credibility of the Conference Committee. He stated that the Government expected the ILO to take into account the fact that it had always been present and had always submitted its reports on time. Finally, he indicated that Sudan was building peace and democracy and had held the most elaborate elections in April 2010 for the southern government, the legislative councils and the provincial council, and he hoped that the ILO would provide support to help the new Government. He also hoped that the Committee would reach a positive result, and that this case would be closed.

The Employer members thanked the Government for the detailed information provided, including the information on the elections that took place in April 2010. The application of this fundamental Convention was being discussed for the 12th time in 21 years. When discussing this case, the humanitarian situation in the country as a result of years of conflict, as well as the fact that Sudan was one of the poorest countries in Africa, had to be taken into account. Combating forced labour was therefore an enormous challenge for the newly elected Government. With regard to the application of Articles 1, 2 and 25 of the Convention, the Employer members could only provide comments on the basis of the last discussion of this case by the Committee in 2008. The prohibition of forced labour was a fundamental pillar of civil society and the free market economy. Violations of the Convention could take different forms, and the existence of extreme poverty, weak state institutions, lack of information and education, and cultural and traditional factors had to be taken into consideration.

The extent of forced labour in Sudan was not clear. However, the Government maintained that it had been eliminated. This contradicted the information on the situation from the ITUC, the United Nations Security Council and the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan. The Employer members did not share the view of the Government that the ILO should not deal with this case because it was already being dealt with by other international organizations. Supervising the application of Convention No. 29 was part of the mandate of the Committee. They also did not agree with the Government that bringing to justice the perpetrators of forced labour would obstruct the national reunification process. The Employer members recognized the difficulties the Government was experiencing in implementing the Convention, due to its lack of influence in certain areas. Against this background, they noted with concern that, despite the Committee of Experts’ request in 2009, the Government had not provided information on the application of the Convention in all parts of the country. They urged the Government to intensify its efforts to combat forced labour and to provide accurate information so as to clarify the current contradictions as to the actual situation.

The Worker members recalled the conclusions of the Committee in 2008, which had taken note of the broad consensus among the various United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of Sudan. While welcoming the results obtained by the CEAWC, the Committee was of the view that it had no verifiable evidence that forced labour was completely eradicated in practice. Since then, in Resolution No. 1881 (2009), the UN Security Council expressed deep concern over the continued seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Darfur and reiterated its condemnation of all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur.

The Worker members were of the view that there were still numerous questions that remained unanswered. Did abductions and recourse to forced labour stop? Were the victims liberated and did they receive assistance on being returned to their region of origin? Were the perpetrators punished? To that effect, they were of the view that although peace was a necessary condition for such practices to cease, it was not sufficient to put an end to violations of human rights. They underlined that even at the present day, there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour was eradicated. With respect to the reintegration of victims, figures seemed contradictory and the information provided by the Government was insufficient. Finally, with respect to knowing whether the perpetrators had been brought to justice or whether they were convicted, the Government had replied negatively, and gave an unconvincing explanation in that regard. Thus, impunity was all the more reinforced. Moreover, the Worker members stressed the fact that a non-application of penal sanctions and a general amnesty could not be efficient unless they were part of a transitional process during which new structures and institutions would ensure that the same violations would not be repeated. In conclusion, they stressed the fact that the Government should accept a technical assistance mission of the ILO, in order to find solutions to such complex problems.

The Worker member of Sudan indicated that this was a difficult question, as demonstrated by the Committee of Experts. The case should be placed in the context of the situation of the country. In 1989, when the case was first discussed by the Committee, under-aged children were abducted during the civil war. This ended after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and a solution was found to the problem. The Committee of Experts did not refer to the resolution of 6,000 out of 14,000 cases in which abducted children were returned home and it also had to be kept in mind that many of the abducted children were now adults. The issue of Darfur was a matter for the UN Security Council and should not be discussed in the Committee. He referred to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan which showed improvement. The Committee should follow-up on the positive efforts that had been made by the Government, instead of punishing it. ILO technical cooperation to the Government needed to continue in order to close this case.

The Employer member of Sudan noted that this case had been discussed by the Committee many times, last in 2008. The Committee of Experts had noted the observation of the ITUC on the situation in Sudan which had taken into account the November 2007 report on the situation of human rights in Darfur by the UN group of experts, and Resolution No. 1881 (2009) of the UN Security Council concerning the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur. He considered that the Committee of Experts sometimes lacked precision in its comments, making allegations without proof. The Committee of Experts referred to conflicts that had taken place during the civil war. Changes had taken place since then. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement had been signed and a general election had taken place, electing women to constitute 25 per cent of the National Assembly. The country was moving towards an open and transparent democratic society. All those who had been abducted had been released and returned home. The laws were applied through consultations with the 14 tribes. These were positive measures leading to stable peace and economic progress. The principle of selfdetermination was guaranteed under the Peace Agreement. He emphasized the importance of ensuring transparency in the effort to tackle problems based on accurate information. He expressed the desire to take on a leading role in eradicating poverty in the country and called on relevant organizations to provide assistance.

The Worker member of Brazil recalled that for the past 20 years Sudan had almost always been on the list of individual cases of the Committee, invariably because of the problem of forced labour and abductions in the Darfur region. The region, like southern Sudan, had vast and as yet unexploited reserves of petroleum and it was where separatist conflicts financed by the major powers had been encouraged. In 2005 the Committee of Experts had based its findings on information from the United States State Department and this year they were based on unidentified sources. The real reason why Sudan was on the list of individual cases again was because the country was using its petroleum to develop its economy independently. Instead of echoing the propaganda campaign of some countries, orchestrated by the major powers, that sought to divide nations and create conflicts so that they could pillage their resources, the Committee should insist on discussing the murder of trade union officials in Colombia, the crimes committed against the workers and the Palestinian people and the right to strike in the United Kingdom.

The Government member of Kenya noted with encouragement the information provided by the Government concerning the measures it had taken and its commitment for further efforts in ensuring the application of Convention No. 29. He regretted that the circumstances, as explained by the Government of Sudan, had impacted the progress on the application of the Convention. His Government, however, remained hopeful that the Government of Sudan would continue its efforts in this regard. He indicated his Government’s support for the request made by the Government of Sudan for continued technical assistance of the ILO to help overcome the challenges, and requested the Office to provide such assistance.

The Worker member of Mauritania indicated that the case of Sudan on forced labour was a recurring one, and that although many problems mentioned were documented and denounced, the Government was not fully aware of the magnitude of the phenomenon. In its 2009 report, the UN Security Council had recognized the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Darfur. Despite positive steps made in the area of human rights, hundreds of civilians had been killed in attacks by the Lords Resistance Army and many women and children had been abducted. In addition, this report had denounced the impunity, the absence of investigation and judicial proceedings, and the lack of compensation for victims. Contrary to the Government’s statements that there were no longer cases of abductions and forced labour within the country, many reports continued to report these problems. He acknowledged the efforts by the Government to reunite the abductees and their families, although there was no further information in this regard since 2008. He also stressed that because information on the number of victims remained disputed, it was important to establish the facts. In conclusion, he indicated that to solve issues of forced labour it was important to ensure the implementation of relevant legislation.

Another Government representative indicated that he would respond to the legitimate questions asked during the debate. It was most unfortunate that abductions of women and children had taken place during the civil war, but as a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 such abductions no longer occurred. The government of southern Sudan controlled its territory and had a strong army and police force, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, which had prevented abductions from taking place since October 2005. The Government of National Unity had established the CEAWC which, with the help of the United Nations, had determined the number of people that had been abducted and had managed to return some people home. In Sudan, people still lived in tribes and this had caused problems in bringing the perpetrators to justice. There was not a police force in every village; instead the youth performed the function of the police and the elderly the function of judges. In the interest of all parties to the peace and national reconciliation process, it was important to leave the issue in abeyance for a while. The repeated discussion of the case in the Committee was difficult, and it was better to let the issue rest with the Government for some time. The Government took a high stance on this issue and he promised to provide detailed statistics at the next session of the Conference so that this case could be closed. He asked the Committee to refer to the latest report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan of May 2010, which had indicated that Sudan had met all the criteria through laws adopted and action taken. The Government had worked hard to prevent the reoccurrence of abductions. He informed the Committee that the Interim Constitution had in fact criminalized abductions.

The Employer members thanked the Government for the information, in particular relating to the new provisions in the Constitution. They reiterated that problems in the implementation of Convention No. 29 mostly occurred in countries without a market economy, where poverty prevailed and where the functioning of the market was hampered by conflict. While recognizing the difficulties in the country, the Employer members encouraged the Government: (1) to cooperate closely with all relevant international organizations to combat forced labour; (2) to bring to justice the perpetrators of forced labour and provide information on the application of penalties in practice; (3) to support the work of the Office in combating the abduction of women and children; and (4) to request the ILO’s technical assistance to ensure full respect of Convention No. 29 in practice.

The Worker members said that it was clear from the information provided by the Government representative that the application of Convention No. 29 still posed problems and that the information provided was insufficient, especially given the magnitude of the problem. They noted with grave concern that abductors continued to enjoy impunity. They requested the Government to redouble its efforts in order to totally eradicate forced labour practices; resolve cases of abduction, which had afflicted the whole country; provide the means for victims of abduction to return to their families; adopt measures to put an end to impunity including non-application of penal sanctions; and to urgently take the measures set out in the recommendations of the relevant international organizations and agencies with a view to ending all human rights violations, thus contributing to establishing the conditions for the full respect for the Conventions on forced labour. Noting that the Government had not shown the will to request ILO technical assistance, they urged the Government to do so.

The representative of the Secretary-General read a statement provided by the Government representative of Sudan informing the Committee that the Government would accept technical assistance for a Decent Work Country Programme and for the effective implementation of Convention No. 29.

Conclusions

The Committee took note of the oral and written information provided by the Government representative and of the detailed discussion which followed. The Committee recalled that it was an extremely serious case affecting fundamental human rights, which had been discussed in this Committee on numerous occasions during more than 20 years, and several times it was included in a special paragraph. The Committee noted that, for many years, the Committee of Experts had been referring to the existence of the practices of abduction and forced labour, which affected thousands of women and children in a situation of civil war that took place in the country.

The Committee noted the statement of the Government representative concerning the recent elections in his country in April 2010. The Government confirmed its strong commitment to completely eradicate abductions, by providing continued support to the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). The Government indicated that, as regards the persons not returned, they could no longer be called “abductees”, since they had become citizens who had chosen to stay in particular regions of the country, and the Government therefore could not force them to return. Regarding the prosecution of perpetrators, the Government stated that it could have a negative impact, since it could not build peace among the tribes and did not correspond to the spirit of national reconciliation. The Government indicated that, while this opinion was also shared by the Joint Tribal Committee and the UNICEF, it had nonetheless encouraged those who would like to file complaints and provided the necessary assistance, although it could not force people to bring complaints. The Government representative also stated that his Government always complied with its reporting obligations and provided on time all the information requested by the ILO supervisory bodies. He also referred to a mistake committed by the Office in 2008 as regards the processing of the information received from the Government, which prevented the timely examination of this information by the Committee of Experts.

The Committee noted the Government’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country, and in particular, information about the recent elections which were held in the country, which were considered as a new step towards the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. While noting these positive developments, as well as the Government’s renewed statement that after the end of the civil war abductions had stopped completely, the Committee observed that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour had been completely eradicated in practice. In this regard, the Committee noted with regret that the latest statistics concerning CEAWC activities (showing the numbers of cases of victim identification and reunification with their families) dated back to May 2008, and that no updated information of this kind had been provided by the Government. The Committee noted once again the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. It also noted with concern that there was a lack of accountability of perpetrators and that victim rehabilitation measures were not sufficient.

The Committee fully supported the observations of the Committee of Experts and strongly urged the Government to pursue its efforts, including through the CEAWC, in order to ensure the full application of the Convention, both in law and in practice. It expressed the firm hope that the Government would provide detailed information in its next report for the examination by the Committee of Experts, indicating, in particular, whether the cases of the exaction of forced labour had stopped completely, whether the victims had been reunified with their families and received adequate compensation and rehabilitation, and whether perpetrators had been punished, particularly those unwilling to cooperate. Noting the Government’s request for technical assistance from the Office, the Committee invited the ILO to provide the necessary assistance, including as regards an independent verification of the situation in the country, so that the Committee of Experts could record the progress made by the Government in the near future to comply with its obligations under Convention No. 29 and to ensure that forced labour practices were completely eradicated. The Committee requested the Government to provide a full report for the examination by the Committee of Experts at its forthcoming session.

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A Government representative reaffirmed the full commitment of his Government to comply with its international commitments, and particularly Convention No. 29, which had been ratified by his country only one year after independence. This illustrated the importance attached by the Government to the eradication of forced labour. He added that his Government fully appreciated the work of the Committee of Experts and reaffirmed its willingness to cooperate fully with the supervisory system. He recalled that his Government had provided a detailed report to the Office on 27 April 2008.

With regard to the comments made by the Committee of Experts concerning the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), which had been established in 1999, he indicated that full and detailed replies had been made to all the comments of the Committee of Experts. He recalled that the CEAWC addressed the problems encountered at the tribal level, with particular reference to those of families and children. Though the CEAWC had been established before the signature of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, it had been found to be an appropriate response to the problem and its operation had been continued. He indicated that many abductions occurred when nomadic tribes moved to seek new pastures and came into confrontation with sedentary tribes. He recalled that the crimes of forced labour and abduction had been punishable by law even before the ratification of the Convention. However, one of the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the legal system in this respect was the prevalence of tribal traditions and customs which meant that victims were unwilling to go to the courts. This was not because they accepted abductions, but because they had their own methods of handling problems which arose. He added that the action of the CEAWC had received the approval of the Human Rights Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in the United Kingdom. He noted that 11,300 of the 14,000 identified cases of the abduction of children had been resolved, as appreciated by the Committee of Experts.

He said that it was however regrettable that the Committee of Experts had not taken into account the detailed report submitted by the Government in May 2007 in which all the information requested by the Committee of Experts had been provided, including responses to the observations made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) up to October 2006. He noted that a letter of acknowledgement of receipt of the report by the Office had been sent to the Government and he cited the reference number of the letter (SM9/3A/99.7). It was understandable that the report of the Committee of Experts could not take into account the very latest report provided in April 2008, but the discussion of the situation would have been much more valid if the information provided by the Government one year earlier had been taken into account. The lack of recent information meant that the Committee of Experts had had to repeat its previous conclusions and observations, for example with reference to the situation in Darfur. He recalled that the Darfur situation was currently under consideration by the UN Security Council and had been discussed at length by the African Union and the Government. He emphasized that it was totally unrelated to the matters dealt with in the Convention. Moreover, there was no reference to the Convention in the Security Council resolution that was considered by the Committee of Experts.

He recalled that forced labour dated back hundreds of years and referred to the two appeals made by the Committee of Experts. The first was to hasten action to deal with the remaining cases of abductions. He recalled that the CEAWC had achieved a large measure of success in dealing with cases of abductions until the end of 2006, but had ceased its activity in response to the call by the Committee of Experts to treat cases through legal measures, rather than on the basis of tribal customs. With a view to giving effect to legal procedures, four prosecutors had been appointed covering all the regions addressed by the CEAWC, with a view to bringing the legal procedures closer to the victims. However, not a single victim had made use of these legal procedures and so, as of January 2008, it had been necessary for the CEAWC to recommence its work with a view to continuing the methods that had been applied previously. Since the beginning of the year, the CEAWC had dealt with over 350 new cases. With a view to ensuring that these cases were being handled in accordance with international standards, collaboration had been agreed upon with international partners, and particularly UNICEF. He therefore believed that the Government was in full compliance with its obligations under Article 25 of the Convention, as all the necessary legal procedures had been established. Nevertheless, the logical option was for the most effective measure of action, namely the CEAWC, to continue its efforts to eliminate abduction and forced labour by resolving the remaining cases.

With reference to the appeal made by the Committee of Experts that the necessary measures be taken to ensure that legal proceedings were instituted against the perpetrators of abductions and forced labour and to resolve all cases of violations of human rights, he recalled that the Government had made great efforts in that respect. However, he did not wish to go into detail on a matter that was currently under consideration by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Moreover, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan had noted the full cooperation of the Government during her visit to the country and her examination of the measures adopted, including the work of the CEAWC. In this respect, he hoped that the information provided by the Government in its reports would be sufficient to bring the examination of the case to a conclusion.

Finally, he reaffirmed the Government's real commitment to examining all remaining cases of abduction and forced labour, as indicated in its communication in April 2007, and he expressed appreciation and respect for the efforts made by the Committee of Experts in this respect. However, as there were no further cases of abduction and forced labour in the country, he hoped that the Conference Committee would find a better use for its valuable time and resources rather than continuing to examine the present case.

The Worker members noted that the case of Sudan was being examined this year not only because it was mentioned in a footnote under Convention No. 29 but also in particular because the abductions of thousands of women and children and their forced labour persisted throughout the country. The Committee, as well as other United Nations agencies, workers' organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had already condemned the common practice of abduction and forced labour in 2005. After having reported the seriousness of the situation in Darfur at the end of 2006, the UN Security Council, based on a report by the UN Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union on the operation in Darfur in 2007, had expressed deep concern at the human rights violations and the spread of sexual violence. The Worker members raised several questions: whether the abductions and the use of forced labour had ceased; whether the victims had been released and assisted to return to their home region; and whether the perpetrators had been punished.

Concerning the abductions, in 2005 the Committee had welcomed the Peace Agreement and the adoption of the Interim National Constitution, which explicitly prohibited slavery and forced or compulsory labour. Furthermore, the Government had indicated in 2006 that the abductions had ceased following the Peace Agreement. The Worker members, however, taking as example the situation in Darfur, noted that peace was not a sufficient condition to bring an end to human rights violations. The situation was similar to that prevailing in the south of Sudan during the civil war period (1983-2005). Cases of abduction and sexual slavery in Darfur had been disclosed in the 2005 Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General and confirmed by inquiries undertaken by Anti-Slavery International in 2006-07. The victims of these acts were women, as well as men who were forced to work, in particular in isolated farms in the regions controlled by the Janjaweed to the west and the south of Darfur. The Conference Committee's recognition in 2005 that there was no tangible proof that forced labour had been eradicated remained valid.

As for the situation of the victims, the Worker members recalled the information supplied in 2006 by the Government, according to which the CEAWC had resolved 11,000 of the 14,000 cases of abductions reported and had reintegrated the victims into their families in 3,394 cases. Certain United Nations agencies, such as UNICEF, however, had expressed doubts as to the veracity of these figures. The Worker members also queried what had happened since 2006 and requested information in this respect.

With regard to the perpetrators, the Worker members noted that the Government had firmly replied that they had not been punished, explaining that they had not been prosecuted at the request of the relevant tribes, including the Committee of Dinka Chiefs and in the interests of national reconciliation. While this response was direct and frank, it nonetheless posed problems from a humanitarian and legal point of view. Recalling Article 25 of the Convention respecting sanctions in the case of the exaction of forced labour, the Worker members questioned the value of a national agreement envisaging a general amnesty in relation to the provisions of an international Convention. International provisions regarding sanctions should prevail to prevent perpetrators of abductions enjoying impunity. The lack of prosecutions had undoubtedly contributed to the persistence of these acts during the civil war and until today in Darfur. The non-application of sanctions led to impunity for kidnappers and the absence of any prosecution had certainly contributed to the persistence of abductions in the course of the civil war, and, more recently, in Darfur where the Janjaweed militia were operating with the cooperation of the security forces of the Government, as the Murahaleen militia had done in southern Sudan. A genuinely efficient transition process should include various measures, such as the establishment of commissions to establish the truth, the preparation of objective reports on the acts committed, action to make those responsible understand their acts, a reform of the security forces and the compensation of victims.

The Worker members concluded that, in relation to the various questions raised, the Government had not supplied any up to date or satisfactory information. Only an independent evaluation of the situation could help to clarify certain points.

The Employer members emphasized that forced labour was universally condemned and that Conventions Nos 29 and 105 were the most widely ratified ILO Conventions. They said that examination of the 2007 General Survey of the Committee of Experts revealed that over 60 ILO member States were involved, in some way, in situations which were in violation of these Conventions. These instruments were of special value as a safeguard against threats to free labour relations and were important cornerstones of free market economies. Violations of the Convention took various forms, such as slavery and abduction, the obligation to perform public works and forced conscription, in addition to the performance of domestic work in conditions of servitude and child labour. There were also other factors to be taken into consideration: extreme poverty, institutional weakness, disinformation and lack of development for reasons related to education, cultural or traditional factors.

The case of Sudan had been examined on several occasions by the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee. The Employer members had observed with interest the creation of the CEAWC which, according to the Government, was continuing its work, and referred to the promulgation of the Interim Constitution and section 162 of the Penal Code, which established sentences of imprisonment for up to ten years in cases of abduction.

They reiterated that the majority of problems of application occurred in countries where market economies did not exist, where poverty weighed on society or where significant restrictions were placed on the functioning of markets. There were some factors, such as cultural ones, which could never be considered higher than international labour standards. They said that, in view of the severity of the allegations, the difficulty in establishing exactly what information was being provided by the Government, and the difficulties in determining the precise situation, the Government should be requested to engage in the highest level of cooperation in this case which they considered to be extremely serious.

The Worker member of Sudan recalled that the case had been examined by the Conference Committee since 1989, since which date important developments had occurred, with particular reference to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. He recalled that the abduction of women and children was a practice that had begun during the civil war that had been waged before independence and was a result of the previous colonial system. The war had now stopped in the south of the country, a Government of national unity had been formed and the process of national reconciliation was under way. Cases of the abduction of women and children had ceased completely since the signing of the Peace Agreement. Moreover, of the 14,000 identified cases of abducted children, almost 80 per cent had been reunited with their families. He said that support should be provided to the Government to help resolve the remaining cases where abducted children had not yet been reunited with their families, reintegrate the victims into society, prosecute the perpetrators and ensure that the problem did not reoccur. He called for the Government to be offered appreciation and support, rather than further harassment. Although the Worker members might hold differences of opinion with the Government, he called on the Conference Committee to support the Government and for the Office to provide technical advice on the issues raised by the Committee of Experts and the Worker members.

The Employer member of Sudan recalled that the case had been discussed by the Conference Committee on several occasions. However, he regretted that no account had been taken in the report of the Committee of Experts of the information supplied by the Government in May 2007, which meant that the analysis of the facts in the report was not fully up to date. The question also arose as to what the principal objective should be, whether to bring an end to abductions or to prosecute the perpetrators. Although the necessary judicial procedures had been established and had been tried over a certain period, it had been shown that they were not as effective as customary procedures, as the people were unwilling to have recourse to the law. The most effective solution was therefore traditional action through the continuation of the work of the CEAWC with a view to the eradication of all cases of abduction. He added that the question of Darfur was a political matter and he referred to the specific case of the abduction of children from that area by a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in France. He said that abductions no longer took place since efforts had been made to introduce democracy and eradicate such practices. Many of the children who had been abducted had been released by the Government. He therefore called upon employers to support the Government in its action.

The Government member of Egypt observed that Sudan was confronted by difficult economic circumstances because of the civil war that had affected the country. The authorities had taken great efforts to achieve peace in accordance with an approach that recognized cultural differences. Peace and stability were the objectives of all countries. She indicated that she had paid close attention to everything that had been said during the discussion and to recent events in the country. Certain facts were common knowledge. However, she emphasized that it was important for the Committee of Experts to take into account the most recent reports submitted by the Government so that discussions could focus on the most up to date knowledge of the case. She observed that the Government had established the CEAWC to address cases of abduction, which had already dealt with 11,000 of the 14,000 cases identified. However, the action of the CEAWC had been suspended for a number of months with a view to giving effect to the recommendations that legal measures should be implemented to combat abduction and forced labour. The CEAWC had recommenced its activities at the beginning of the year and another 350 victims had been released. The lesson from this was that the Committee of Experts needed to take full account of particular national circumstances and factors, as the decision by the national authorities concerning the CEAWC had turned out to be effective and could well be instrumental in leading to the closure of the case.

The Government member of Kenya reiterated the strongest condemnation of any cases of forced labour, which was inhuman, degrading and unacceptable under any circumstances. It was particularly sad when it affected women and children. He, however, noted with appreciation that, following widespread concern at the situation in Sudan, an Interim National Constitution had been adopted in 2005, followed by the signature of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Kenya. The involvement of Kenya had been due to the value that it attached to human rights and socio-economic development. He further noted the inclusion in the new Constitution of provision for a Bill of Rights which promoted human rights and fundamental freedoms. Indeed, the Government representative had clearly indicated his Government's strong commitment to eradicating the problems referred to by the Committee of Experts.

He recalled that on the previous occasion that the case had been examined by the Conference Committee, the Government had been urged to suspend the activities of the CEAWC based on its amicable and traditional approach and to adopt legal procedures. The Government representative of Sudan had indicated that this had been done between 2006 and 2007, and that four prosecution officers had been appointed to handle complaints from abductees and their families. However, no complaints had been submitted to the officers as those affected preferred the traditional methods of the CEAWC. According to the information provided by the Government representative, the traditional approach had yielded results, with the processing of 350 complaints. Although the actual number was not significant, it pointed to the progress that was being made. Greater efforts were now needed, including legal measures and penalties for the perpetrators of forced labour and abductions. He acknowledged that national circumstances were unique and alternative methods could therefore be adopted to bring about positive change. As it had yielded results, the traditional method should therefore be encouraged by the ILO. The ILO should provide technical support so that the Government could examine how the legal approach could be combined with traditional means in the effort to eradicate forced labour. The Conference Committee should continue to encourage the Government to adopt the most appropriate measures.

The Government member of the Syrian Arab Republic indicated that he had taken due note of the information provided by the Committee of Experts concerning violation of the Convention and of the comments made by the Government representative. He could only praise the efforts made by the Government in promoting the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which had been signed in Kenya in January 2005 and had been of great benefit to all parties. His Government welcomed the fact that the number of abductions had been reduced to almost zero since the signing of the Agreement, and that 11,000 of the 14,000 identified cases of abduction had been resolved. He noted the legal measures adopted, including the establishment of tribunals to investigate cases of abduction and to try the perpetrators, and observed that Convention No. 29 had been a source of inspiration for these measures. He added that there was at present no evidence proving that abductees were subject to forced labour. He therefore considered that abduction, if it was not committed with a view to exacting forced labour, was not covered by the Convention and should therefore be examined by the appropriate international and United Nations bodies.

The representative of the Secretary-General provided clarification concerning the reports received by the Office from the Government of Sudan. She observed that the Office's records showed that a report dated 4 September 2006 had been sent by facsimile by the Government of Sudan and had been received by the Office on 11 October 2006. The only other report received by the Office had been dated 27 April 2008 and had been received by the Office on 30 May 2008. Both of the reports had been prepared by Mr Elmufti, Chairperson of the CEAWC. She added that no report on the case had been received by the Office in 2007, although the report received in 2008 had made reference to such a report. The Office observed a very stringent process for the registration of the reports received and the records were available for inspection by the Government delegation. She further noted that there appeared to have been a misunderstanding since nowhere in the observation of the Committee of Experts, of which the relevant section was paragraph 8, had any comment been made about the CEAWC stopping its activities. Indeed, the Committee of Experts noted the progress achieved by the CEAWC.

The Government representative of Sudan thanked all the members of the Committee who had intervened in the discussion. He also thanked the representative of the Secretary-General for confirming receipt of the reports provided by the Government in 2006 and 2008. He expressed the hope that the situation with regard to the 2007 report would be cleared up rapidly. With regard to the question of technical assistance, his Government believed that such assistance could be provided to the CEAWC, although it would need to take into account the unique situation in the country and the approach adopted by the CEAWC, which was based on the traditions of the tribes rather than the use of police forces and law enforcement. His Government was willing to work closely with the Office in promoting the action that was most effective in addressing the problems identified.

With regard to the issue of Darfur, he recalled that the matter was before the UN Security Council and that it was not essentially a labour-related matter. He recalled in this respect that an international NGO had abducted over 100 Sudanese children below the age of 12, who had been released by the Government. In relation to the introduction of legal procedures, in view of the unwillingness of the people to resort to such procedures, and the international recognition of the work of the CEAWC, he believed that it was more effective to follow traditional methods. With reference to the points raised by the Worker members, he wondered whether their sources of information, such as a documentary on abduction, were really reliable. In reply to the questions raised by the Committee of Experts, he affirmed that there had been no cases of forced labour in the country since the signature of the Peace Agreement. The large majority of victims of abduction had been returned to their families. Moreover, the Government was still committed to prosecuting those guilty of such acts. It was the unshakeable conviction of the Government that the total abolition of forced labour needed to be achieved. However, certain questions remained about the most effective means of achieving this objective. Traditions were deeply embedded in tribal cultures and many years would be needed to bring about changes. There was a traditional manner of reaching agreement and resolving issues. For this reason, courts, prosecutors and the police were not necessarily the most effective means available. In view of the lack of success of legal means, his Government at present preferred to retain the most effective traditional methods. In view of the progress that had been made, he therefore hoped that this would be the last occasion on which the Committee would examine the present case.

The Worker members said that, although they had listened to the positive explanations provided by the Government representative, they were hardly satisfactory in that the indications provided contradicted the information provided by the Government. In fact, no replies had been provided to questions concerning ending the use of forced labour in the country, the rehabilitation of the victims of forced labour and the penalties imposed on those convicted of having used forced labour. It was in everyone's interests, including the Government, for the situation in Sudan to be clarified. The Committee of Experts would then not be obliged to include a footnote on the case. The Worker members requested the ILO to provide technical assistance to the CEAWC and to the Sudanese authorities in response to the matters raised. Otherwise, the Worker members said that the case should be examined once again by the Committee of Experts and included in the list of individual cases the following year.

The Employer members re-emphasized the importance of Conventions Nos 29 and 105. Both related to the most unacceptable forms of forced labour and were fundamental pillars of economies based on a free market. According to the information available, there was evidence of the persistence of violations of human rights and traditional forms of forced labour, such as abduction, and more modern forms, such trafficking. There were also problems such as poverty, institutional weakness and cultural and traditional elements. However, no data existed on the scale and scope of violations of the Convention. They welcomed the goodwill of the Government, as expressed through the creation and maintenance of the CEAWC. Nevertheless, the amount of time that had elapsed without definite solutions being found demonstrated that the Government's will alone was not enough to solve the problem. Consequently, they requested the Government to accept ILO technical assistance.

Conclusions The Committee took note of the verbal information supplied by the Government representative and of the detailed discussion which followed. The Committee noted that this was an extremely serious case affecting fundamental human rights, since it concerned the practices of abductions and forced labour affecting thousands of women and children in a situation of civil war that took place in the country. This case had been discussed in the Committee on numerous occasions over the past 20 years, and several times it was included in a special paragraph. The Committee noted that, as the Committee of Experts repeatedly pointed out in its reports, the situations concerned constituted gross violations of the Convention, since the victims were forced to perform work for which they had not offered themselves voluntarily and under extremely harsh conditions combined with illtreatment.

The Government representative stated that the Committee of Experts had not taken into account the more recent information communicated by the Government to the ILO in April 2007. According to the Government representative, the Committee of Experts' comments contained a recommendation to suspend the operation of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC).

The Committee noted the statement of the Government representative that they continued to provide support to CEAWC, which had succeeded to document 14,000 cases of abductions and was able to reunify 6,000 persons with their families. The Committee also noted the information on the current activities of the CEAWC to resolve the remaining cases of abduction, as well as the Government's statement that abductions had stopped completely.

The Committee noted the measures taken by the Government, such as the progress achieved by the CEAWC in the liberation of abductees, as well as the Government's efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country. However, the Committee expressed the view that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour was completely eradicated in practice and expressed concern at the reports relating to involuntary return of certain abductees, some of them being separated from their families, including cases of displaced and unaccompanied children. The Committee also noted with concern that there was a lack of accountability of perpetrators. The Committee once again observed the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of the human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country.

action, including through the CEAWC, to completely eradicate the practices identified by the Committee of Experts and to put an end to impunity by punishing perpetrators, particularly those unwilling to cooperate. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government would provide detailed information in its next report for the examination by the Committee of Experts, indicating, in particular, whether the cases of the exaction of forced labour have stopped completely, whether the victims have been reunified with their families and whether perpetrators have been punished.

The Committee urged the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour in order to ensure the full application of the Convention, both in law and in practice. It again invited the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO and other donors to achieve this goal, bearing in mind that only an independent verification of the situation in the country could make it possible to determine that forced labour practices had been completely eradicated.

CMNT_TITLE_CAS

A Government representative stated that he was the Chairperson of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), which reported to the Presidency of the Republic and thus in a position to report on the details of the case. He was pleased to report that the CEAWC was dealing with 14,000 reported abduction cases, of which 11,000 had been successfully resolved through laborious documentation, tracing, retrieval, and reunification measures. Over US$3 million had been spent on these efforts, two-thirds of which the Sudanese Government had provided in the period from March 2004 to March 2005, due to the slow flow of donor funds. The Government had committed to funding the resolution of the remaining 3,000 abduction cases, of which many were not abduction cases in the strict sense, as the persons affected, with the knowledge of international agencies, had requested not to be transferred back to their place of origin. The cooperation of the CEAWC with the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC) underlined the peace-building perspective of the work of CEAWC.

Because of government funding, the CEAWC had been able to process more than 7,500 cases last year alone. This showed that Sudan was serious about addressing the problem of abductions. Indeed, these efforts had been recognized by the international community, such as in the 61st Session of the United Nations Commission on Humans Rights, which had adopted a resolution (E/CN.4/RES/2005/82) welcoming the efforts of the Government of Sudan to combat the abduction of persons, in particular the work of the CEAWC, and the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan, who in a letter of 11 May 2005 had noted that many abducted persons had returned home.

With regard to the comment of the ICFTU contesting the position that the Government had taken at the 2004 session of the ILC, namely that all abductions in Sudan had stopped, the Government representative reconfirmed that indeed all abductions had ceased. He noted that the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC), which had been a major complainant in the abduction cases, was now an integral part of the CEAWC (four out of the six top positions were held by Dinka) and could testify to the fact that the abductions had stopped.

On the one hand, the UN Commission on Human Rights had in many of its resolutions endorsed CEAWC course of action in not pressing penal sanctions, as long as abductors were cooperating with CEAWC. For example, resolution No. 2002/16 referred to "bringing to justice the perpetrators who are not wishing to cooperate".

In view of the above progress, the case of Sudan should not have appeared on this Committee's list and should be considered closed. If not, this Committee would face the unprecedented situation of pursuing a case in which the local communities affected and the concerned UN organizations had noted progress.

Another Government representative (Minister of Labour and Administrative Reform) pointed out that the progress that had been made could not have been possible without the participation of the tribal groups concerned - the Dinka, the Messiria, the Rezigat and others. He regretted that the Committee of Experts' report was based on old and erroneous information, and he was surprised that the case had resurfaced after it had been shelved the previous year. Moreover, he pointed out that the United Nations agencies referred to the problem of abductions, whereas this Committee spoke of slavery, a term his Government totally rejected.

He announced that the Government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) had ended the conflict in the Southern Sudan, Blue Nile and Nuba Mountain regions, which was the underlying cause of the abductions. The historic agreement signed by the Government and the SPLM on 9 January 2005 in Nairobi would seal this peace. A constitutional commission had been established to draft an interim Constitution, which would go to Parliament and the National Liberation Council of the SPLM for endorsement next week. The interim Constitution would include a bill of rights banning slavery. He thanked the participants of a recent donors' conference in Norway, in particular Norway and the EU Member States, the United States, and the African and Arab countries, for their support of the peace process. Next year, the Sudanese ILO delegation would include SPLM members.

In light of the above, he called for the case to be closed. He reminded the Committee that his delegation was against a direct contacts mission and would reject any proposal to establish one. He also stated that any attempt to link this case with the situation in the Darfur region was unacceptable, as that particular case had a different dimension and was being addressed by the Government, the United Nations and the African Union. He voiced his concern about members that tried to use this weak case for their own political reasons. There was a need for this Committee to review its functions so as to prevent a double standard. The ILO should concentrate on the positive developments in the case and provide technical assistance, especially in the areas of demobilization and resettlement of refugees and displaced persons.

The Worker members regretted that the Committee had to examine once again the application of Convention No. 29 by Sudan. During the last session of the Conference, the Committee expressed its deep concern with the continuing reports of abductions and forced labour practices and requested the Government to take effective and quick measures to bring to an end these practices. The Worker members noted both the positive and negative elements in the Committee of Experts' observation following the Government's report submitted in October 2004, as well as the comments transmitted by the international bodies, international workers' organizations and NGOs. After the conclusion of the three peace protocols in May 2004, one of which contained provisions concerning human rights and the rights of the child, and the liberation of more than 1,000 abducted persons, they praised the conclusion this year of a comprehensive peace agreement in the North-South conflict. Unfortunately, these developments did not bring a solution to the grave problems of the application of Convention No. 29.

According to the Government, abductions had been stopped completely. Indeed, the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) had not registered new cases of abductions for two years. However, this fact was not entirely convincing, since the CEAWC had no capacity to collect information and to conduct investigations. For the Darfur region, in particular, all the available reports issued either by the NGOs or by the international bodies, including the latest report of the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, revealed numerous cases of abductions and sex slavery. The Commission of Inquiry assumed, in particular, that cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence were committed on a large scale in Darfur by the Janjaweed militia and by the regular army soldiers.

The CEAWC recognized that 14,000 persons had been abducted. It provided assistance in the retrieval of 2,628 victims between 1999 and May 2004. Thus, about 10,000 abducted persons were still waiting to be identified and reunited with their families. However, according to the information communicated by UNICEF, the retrieval operations by the CEAWC had been suspended since March 2005.

Besides, the Government had been requested on many occasions to ensure that the appropriate penal sanctions were effectively applied to perpetrators. The CEAWC confirmed that the best way to eradicate the abductions was to institute legal proceedings. During the last session of the Conference, the Minister of Labour stated before this Committee that the Government provided for financial means allowing the CEAWC to resort to legal action, while making it clear that these procedures were too long and susceptible of becoming harmful to the victims themselves. Today, the first legal action against those responsible for abductions was still awaited. The Government should at least accelerate the judicial procedures and ensure better protection for the victims.

The Worker members observed that the Government reiterated all the time its condemnation of all forms of slavery and confirmed its commitment to cooperate with the international organizations to eradicate the phenomenon of abductions. Consequently, they once again proposed a direct contacts mission in order to assess the real situation on the spot and to evaluate the country's needs in technical assistance, even if they noted from the statement of the Government representative that the Government would not accept such a proposal.

The Employer members expressed their surprise that the Government appeared defensive in this case; they thought they would welcome the opportunity to provide information which was not available to the Committee and to highlight the positive developments in the matter. They recalled that Convention No. 29 required each ratifying member State to undertake to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest possible period, and that for the purposes of this Convention the term "forced or compulsory labour" should mean all work or service which was exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person had not offered himself voluntarily. They noted that the Government had not stated that forced labour had been abolished. The fact that there were 3,500 cases remedied in the past year indicated that there was still a problem, which was not likely to disappear very soon. This made it difficult to agree with the Government's position that the case was closed.

There was not enough information available to evaluate if abductions had indeed ceased in the Sudan. The Government had mentioned that it had submitted a report to the ILO, but the Employer members were not aware of any document submitted to the Committee, as was the usual practice. As a result the Government should ensure that any relevant information was submitted to the Committee of Experts.

The Employer members were also surprised by the total rejection of a direct contacts mission, especially in light of recent developments in the Sudan. The peace agreement and opening of society would appear to call for greater engagement with the ILO. Such a mission would allow for a greater understanding of the details of prosecutions of cases of abductions. In conclusion, the Employer members agreed that there had been some tangible positive steps in this case. However, much of the information was unverifiable, so it was not possible to say that forced labour had been abolished in the country.

The Worker member of Sudan stated that the accusations of slavery and forced labour were not just an insult to the Government but to the Sudanese people and trade unions who, he recalled, had overthrown two military governments through popular uprisings and strikes. The case had been first discussed in 1984 following the publication of a book by two Sudanese scholars. The Government had always maintained that the main reason behind abductions was the 50-year civil war which had recently ended. After discussions with the international community, the CEAWC was established with international financial support which had not yet been received. Nevertheless, with its own meagre resources, the Government had resolved 75 per cent of the cases of abductions and had, through tedious negotiations, concluded a peace accord. Yet, none of these positive developments was reflected in the report of the Committee of Experts, even though they were commended by the UN Commission on Human Rights. This case was being inappropriately linked to the Darfur situation, which was miserable but which would be overcome without foreign intervention. The Committee should seek to make available the technical assistance that had been mentioned in the conclusions of this case last year. It was time for this Committee to steer away from political issues and concentrate on the application of international labour standards, an important issue for workers in Africa and the underdeveloped South.

The Employer member of Sudan emphasized that Sudan had made progress but the Committee of Experts had not noted this in its report. He cited, in particular, the conclusion of a global peace accord which included, at the same time, the drafting of an interim Constitution guaranteeing human rights and commitment to the revision of national laws with a view to ensuring their conformity with the peace agreement and the interim Constitution. Social dialogue had been strengthened in Sudan and had become an essential instrument in dealing with important issues facing the country. The international community appreciated and encouraged this progress.

The speaker stated that the abductions were linked to the civil war. Thanks to the peace agreement, these had ceased and several hundreds of people had been returned to their place of origin. But new challenges appeared on the horizon concerning the creation of opportunities for decent work, and guarantees of the rights of the child and human rights. He hoped that the Committee would take note of these developments with a view to supporting them and he invited the ILO to provide Sudan with the assistance necessary to reinforce trade union organizations and to promote social dialogue.

The Government member of Luxembourg, speaking on behalf of the European Union, as well as of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Norway, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Ukraine, expressed the European Union's grave concern with the situation that was the subject of the Committee of Experts' observations and strongly condemned the continuing slave-like practices of abduction, trafficking and forced labour in Sudan, which impacted especially on women and children. The speaker also noted with deep concern the convergence of allegations and a broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the practices of abduction and the exaction of forced labour, which constituted a gross violation of Convention No. 29, since victims were forced to perform work for which they had not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions and combined with ill-treatment which might include torture and death.

The speaker recalled that, in 2004, this Committee invited the Government to take effective and quick measures to punish those responsible for the violations. She urged the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that legal proceedings were instituted against perpetrators and penal sanctions were imposed, thus putting an end to impunity, which should be a high priority.

The speaker pointed out that the European Union was committed to supporting the restoration of peace and development in Sudan and backed the efforts undertaken by the African Union in this regard. The European Union welcomed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in January 2005 in the North-South conflict, but remained deeply concerned about the continuing violence against the civilian population in Darfur. She expressed the hope that the upcoming peace talks in Abuja would be successful, and that the full implementation of the CPA would be achieved and positive developments in the crisis in Darfur would take place. Given the gravity of the situation, she urged the Government to take immediate and effective action to eradicate all forms of forced labour.

The Government member of Nigeria expressed her dissatisfaction with the mode of the selection of individual cases and pointed out that the original list of individual cases had been altered to the disadvantage of the African region.

A point of order was raised by the Worker member of France.

The Chairperson ruled on the motion by calling on the speaker to stick to the point of the discussion.

The Government member of Nigeria continued by stating that Sudan had been going through the throes of war, which had been of great concern to the African region, and she considered the Sudanese case to be the result of the conflict. She was happy to note that the situation had been brought to an end. Referring to the information provided by the Government representative to the Committee concerning the activities of the CEAWC, the speaker observed that international organizations like UNICEF had provided some assistance in order to complement the Government's efforts in this area and had acknowledged these efforts. She suggested that, since the war had come to an end and the Government had shown convincing evidence of its commitment to eliminate abductions, this Committee should reconsider its stand on the case. She also recommended to remove this case from the list of individual cases and to provide assistance to the Government to effectively deal with the matter.

The Worker member of Cuba stated that the report of the Committee of Experts highlighted the complexity of the case of Sudan. There was no doubt as to the gravity of the situation described, although references to its causes were few. Meanwhile, as acknowledged by the Committee, the Government had taken positive steps and renewed its commitment to resolving the problem of forced labour. Efforts should be made to understand the enormous challenges faced by the Government in effectively carrying out its responsibilities. Recently, there had been news of a peace agreement in an armed conflict that had affected the country since 1955. The peace agreement would undoubtedly play an important part in the future development of the country, yet a significant amount of time and effort would be needed before it produced successful results in practice.

For all the aforementioned reasons, the speaker requested that the Committee recommend the provision of technical cooperation from the ILO and the international community, in order to enable the Sudanese Government to make greater progress in resolving the problems identified in the present forum - problems that it had to commit itself to dealing with. It was important to take into account that the war had ended, which meant that there would be a favourable climate for the normal application of laws and for the improved fulfilment of the Government's obligations. The present Committee should also be careful to take into consideration the information provided by the Sudanese Worker member, the progress made to date, and the renewed commitments of the Government. The speaker hoped that legislation in Sudan would be rigorously applied, ensuring full compliance with Convention No. 29.

The Government member of South Africa noted that a number of international organizations and governments had taken it upon themselves to ensure that the Government and the people of Sudan were given much-needed support. He pointed out that in situations where war, poverty and suffering reigned, ILO Conventions would remain very hard to implement. However, it appeared that the Government had made great progress. The speaker called upon governments and organizations from all over the world to respond positively to the appeal of the Sudanese Government on behalf of the Sudanese people. He pointed out that, in this spirit, ILO technical assistance would play a very important role in addressing the current issue and emphasized the importance of dialogue.

The Worker member of Brazil said that she had read very carefully the report of the Committee on Experts and the report on the field activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children, which had managed to resolve 75 per cent of cases. She had also read the report by the Government of Sudan, which highlighted the Government's efforts to retrieve abducted persons and bring an end to the phenomenon of abduction in the region of conflict. Moreover, she had studied with special attention the observations of the ICFTU based on the reports of the US Department of State.

The speaker felt that the present Committee should ask itself why it had insisted, for 16 consecutive years, on bringing Sudan before the Committee, why it had tried to impose sanctions on Sudan on the pretext of forced labour, when all those present at the meeting knew that there was a civil war in the south of the country and that the Government, following the protocols, had signed a peace agreement in January of that year. The Committee should also ask itself what the real technical reason was for saying that there was forced labour in a region when what really existed there was war. The answer to those questions was very simple and was well illustrated in the account published in the United States press by a member of the United States mission to Sudan

-- an account that clearly highlighted the existence of vast oil reserves in southern Sudan and in the region of south Darfur. That, and that alone, was why the US Department of State was really interested in imposing sanctions on Sudan, thus justifying other well-known serious consequences, and also explained the continued existence of armed conflict in the region.

Consequently, the speaker ended her statement by urging the Committee not to commit any further acts of injustice against a long-suffering African country that had been exploited and punished by war. While acts of injustice were repeatedly committed against certain countries by imposing sanctions, the superpowers not only enslaved other nations, but also promoted war and military occupation in order to take away their wealth.

The Worker member of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya stated that trade union organizations, such as the Trade Union Confederation of Coastal and Saharan Countries and the Organization of African Trade Union Unity, regularly visited Sudan and were therefore more familiar with the realities of the country. The civil war had lasted more than 50 years and he was pleased with the peace accord that had been signed at the beginning of this year as well as with the will shown by the Government to ensure stability in the country. The report of the Government indicated that abductions had ceased and that the Government was ready to examine previous cases, a development which deserved support and encouragement so that the Government could maintain the process of peace and stability which it had begun.

In conclusion, he stated that the Committee, because it was neutral and just, should appreciate the efforts made by the Government of Sudan and provide it with the necessary support instead of systematically placing it on the list of individual cases as had been done in the past 16 years.

The Government member of Egypt pointed out that according to reports of certain international organizations, the efforts made by Sudan had borne fruit. Despite economic problems and geographic challenges, Sudan manifested a political will to combat the scourge of forced labour through the CEAWC. She stated that donor countries had contributed to the financing of CEAWC projects and she invited the Office to provide the Government with technical assistance to overcome further difficulties.

In conclusion, she underlined that Sudan had made progress and she hoped that the donor countries would increase their aid so that this country could fight forced labour even better. She invited the Committee to take note of the efforts made by Sudan in light of the particular conditions it faced.

The Worker member of Senegal noted that the case of the violation of Convention No. 29 by Sudan was again before the Committee and that the information contained in the report of the Committee of Experts contested statements made by the Government. This Committee should therefore objectively evaluate the facts. Indeed corroborating sources, notably the report of the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur of 2005, indicated that the practice of abductions, trafficking, forced labour and sexual slavery affected thousands of women and children in the regions where there was armed conflict. Despite the commitment by the CEAWC to prosecute those responsible and the funds that had been attributed towards this goal, no legal action had been undertaken against perpetrators. The efforts of the Government in this regard were spotty. Slavery continued to be a reality in Sudan where thousands of people still awaited their liberation and where new abductions still took place. While the global peace accord signed by the Government and the SPLM in January 2005 was a positive development and contributed to a new environment, it would not automatically lead to the end of abductions and violations of human rights, as the events in Darfur had shown. Thus while different perspectives persisted, standards had to continue to apply and this Committee had to remain loyal to its values no matter what happened. A refusal to accept a mission by the ILO signified that the Government refused to cooperate, and the Committee should thus maintain the course, even if this might not please all.

The Government member of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya stated that thanks to projects which the Government of Sudan had implemented with the international community, the Government had succeeded in resolving several hundreds of cases of abductions and forced labour. He recalled that these efforts had been recognized by the Commission on Human Rights in April 2005, but in contrast, they had not been mentioned in the report of the Committee of Experts. In view of this progress, he requested that Sudan be removed from the list of individual cases.

The Government member of Cuba said that the peace efforts that had been made with the support and participation of a regional mechanism, had made it possible to entertain the hope that the prolonged conflict which had caused the people of Sudan unspeakable suffering, including the types of violations referred to in the Committee of Experts' report, would be brought to an end. The peace agreements should facilitate the establishment of a government of national unity, under which it would be the responsibility of all parties to jointly guarantee an end to all forced labour practices. This opportunity to be in control of the situation should encourage the implementation of legislative, administrative and penal measures to put an end to the impunity of those guilty of such acts. The eradication of all forms of forced labour and the promotion and dissemination of international labour standards would not only justify the existence of the ILO, but would contribute greatly to the consolidation of peace and national reconstruction in a prosperous society. The ILO should be ready to respond positively to the request for technical assistance for the adoption of new legislation and other measures.

The Government member of the Syrian Arab Republic stated that Sudan had experienced a civil war that had lasted for over half a century and had devastated the country, in particular economically and socially. Despite this difficult situation, the Government had made considerable efforts to establish peace and stability in the country, which would result in the economic and social stability that was necessary to improve conditions of work. Taking into account, in particular, the Government's efforts to apply international labour standards and to remedy the situations caused by the war, he hoped that the ILO would provide his country with the material and technical assistance necessary to help to overcome the difficulties that it was facing.

The Government representative was pleased to hear from all the comments made that the elements presented in his report to the Conference Committee had been generally accepted. However, one correction should be made with regard to certain figures mentioned during the discussion. The true figures were 3,500 and 7,500 abducted persons who the CEAWC had been able to retrieve and who had rejoined their families. These figures did not refer to prosecutions of those responsible for the abductions. Since the commencement of the activities of the CEAWC in 1999, and following the cessation of hostilities, the total of 11,000 abducted persons had been retrieved and some were reunited with their families.

He stated that he did not wish to make any comments on the allegations made by some of the Worker members. Many United Nations agencies had visited Darfur and had confirmed the situation as explained by the Government. They had agreed that the CEAWC was effective in dealing with the matter. Nevertheless, he believed that Darfur was of no relevance to the case that was being discussed by the Committee.

He affirmed that, with respect to the measures taken concerning abductions, his Government would continue to use traditional methods, such as tribal conciliation meetings, rather than undertaking legal action to prosecute those responsible for the abductions. This was the wish of the tribes and the Dinka Chiefs Committee. He added that even the United Nations had accepted this approach.

In conclusion, he emphasized that there was no forced labour in his country, although abductions had occurred. Those who had been abducted had stayed with their abductors until payments were made and arrangements were made for their reunification with their families. However, he insisted that the case was now closed as there were no more abductions. In view of the formation of a government of national unity, including those who were previously opponents, it was necessary to focus on development and recovery.

The Worker members said that the discussion on the case of Sudan had been marked by great differences of opinion between the members of the Committee, and even within the Workers' group. In this respect, they indicated that the ICFTU and WCL delegates disassociated themselves from the views expressed by some of their Worker colleagues. Diverging views and ideologies had always been respected in the Workers' group. It was, therefore, necessary for this rule to be respected by all and for all official reports describing certain undeniable facts to be taken into consideration. It was important to remember that tripartism, the underlying principle of the ILO, was based on free thinking and independence of opinion.

The Worker members proposed that a direct contacts mission should visit the country to obtain more information on the current situation and thereby clear up any misunderstandings. Such a mission could assess the need for technical assistance. They called on the Government to organize such a mission, which would also reinforce its position. Nevertheless, in the event that the Government did not accept a direct contacts mission, the Committee would be bound to adopt strong conclusions, which would have to describe this as a case of continued failure. They also requested that the case be included in a special paragraph of the Committee's report.

The Employer members said that of all the cases examined by the Committee, this was one of the most serious and had been examined on many occasions. The real question was whether forced labour had been abolished in practice in the country. Clearly, while the Government was making some effort, as it had indicated to the Committee, the measures taken needed to be reinforced.

The Employer members wished to recall that the work of the Conference Committee needed to be based essentially on facts rather than representations. Moreover, they recalled that in long-standing cases, such as the present one, it was not at all unusual for the conditions prevailing in a country to be the subject of independent verification. Indeed, if the Government wanted this case to be closed, as it claimed, it should welcome such independent verification. If other United Nations agencies were visiting the country, the ILO should be able to do so too.

They nevertheless expressed the belief that a certain sensitivity was required in a case in which there had been a certain amount of progress over the past two years. The progress made should be recognized and the financial and other support provided by the international community should be reinforced. As they imagined that the Government representative had no authority to do anything other than reject a proposal for a direct contacts mission, an effort could be made to find an alternative solution. Sudan was, after all, a poor war-scarred developing country. The Government should be requested to provide a detailed report containing full and specific information on all the matters raised by the Committee of Experts. The ILO should also enter into discussions with the Government with a view to the establishment of a credible fact-finding process. If the Government believed that the case was closed, it should be prepared to demonstrate that it was closed. However, they indicated that if the Government was not prepared to agree to a fact-finding exercise this year, the attitude of the Employer members would change next year.

The Committee took note of the information supplied by the Government and of the discussion which ensued. The Committee noted that this case had been discussed in this Committee over a period of years. The Committee noted the report of the Committee of Experts that the situations concerned constituted gross violations of the Convention, since the victims were forced to perform work for which they had not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions and combined with ill-treatment which might include torture and death.

The Committee took note of the information provided by the Government according to which it had dealt through traditional means with 11,000 out of the 14,000 cases of abduction which had cost more than 3 million dollars, two-thirds of which was contributed to by the Government. The Government further indicated that over the last 12 months about 7,500 persons were retrieved compared with 3,500 from 1999 to 2004. The Government referred to the end of the civil war and the fact that the practice of abduction no longer existed. The Government requested technical assistance in the area of demobilization and reinsertion.

The Committee observed the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the practices of abduction and the exaction of forced labour.

The Committee noted that while there had been positive and tangible steps, including the conclusion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, it was of the view that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour had been abolished.

The Committee invited the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO and other donors to enable it to eradicate the practices identified by the Committee of Experts and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The Committee considered that only an independent verification of the situation in the country would enable it to determine that forced labour in the country had ended. The Committee therefore decided that, in the framework of the ILO technical assistance, a full investigation of the facts be undertaken and requested the Government to provide the ILO with all the necessary assistance.

The Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information on all the issues on an urgent basis in its next report to the Committee of Experts and expressed the firm hope that the full application of the Convention, in law and in practice, could be noted in the near future.

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A Government representative started his statement with a condemnation by his Government of all forms of slavery, servitude and similar acts which were morally wrong and constituted a violation of the Constitution of Sudan. These were all crimes punishable by the laws of Sudan. He indicated, in reply to the observations made by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), that their observations had reached his country at a late stage, and informed the Conference Committee that Sudan's replies were sent to the ILO and would be submitted to the Committee of Experts at its forthcoming session in November 2004. He reiterated that his Government had the desire and serious will to collaborate with various international organizations for the eradication of abductions. In that regard, the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) was set up to implement the resolution of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, adopted unanimously in April 1999, and whose aim was to investigate cases of abduction and facilitate the return of abductees to their families as a priority. To that end, CEAWC had formulated plans of action in collaboration with the European Union, UNICEF, the UK Save the Children and the Save the Children Sweden, and sought to raise funds in addition to governmental funding.

He informed the Committee of a Presidential Decree promulgated in 2002 by virtue of which the work of CEAWC would be under the Presidency. Since that date, CEAWC was able, through its different branches and bodies, to return the following numbers of abductees in the regions of Kurdufan, Darfur and the south of Sudan: (a) in March 2003, 143 abductees rejoined their families in the west of Kurdufan, thanks to the funding of the European Union through UNICEF; (b) in March 2003, 54 abductees rejoined their families in the south of Darfur, thanks to the funding of the European Union through UNICEF; (c) in August 2003, 69 abductees rejoined their families in the south of Darfur, funded by the European Union through UNICEF; (d) in August 2003, 80 abductees rejoined their families in the west of Kurdufan, funded by the European Union through UNICEF; (e) in September 2003, 57 abductees rejoined their families in the west of Kurdufan, funded by BIR International Organization; (f) in October 2003, 57 abductees rejoined their families in the west of Kurdufan, funded by Save the Children Sweden; (g) in October 2003, 46 abductees rejoined their families in the south of Darfur, funded by Save the Children Sweden; (h) in the period from December 2003 to January 2004, 134 abductees rejoined their families, funded by the Government; (i) in January 2004, 88 abductees rejoined their families in the west of Kurdufan, funded by various donors; (j) in the period from March to May 2004, 1,000 abductees rejoined their families funded by the Government. As of March 2004, he pointed out that his Government had allocated the sum of US$600,000 to CEAWC, enabling it to send 13 tribal committees on two missions, aimed at returning abductees to their families. On 10 April 2004, the first mission ended its work and managed to return 700 abductees to their families in the areas controlled by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The second mission succeeded in returning 300 abductees to their families. He added that CEAWC was doing its utmost to return abductees to their families in the regions controlled by the SPLA. He informed the Committee of an Order promulgated by the Vice-President of Sudan, approving the allocation of US$400,000 a month to the activities undertaken by CEAWC, which would enable it to carry out its plan of action within the specified period of time. As a result, abduction stopped totally and CEAWC succeeded in making progress in spite of the delayed and insufficient funds from the donor community.

He highlighted that the Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Sudan had indicated in his report that no cases of abduction had been registered since October 2002 and that there was a decrease in the phenomenon of abduction during the period of his reporting. With respect to the legal proceedings instituted against perpetrators of abduction, the speaker stated that CEAWC thought that legal proceedings were the only means to put an end to abduction, while the tribes, including the Dinka Chiefs Committee, had requested CEAWC not to resort to that means of action unless the efforts of tribes had all failed. They argued that legal proceedings were lengthy, threatened abductees' lives, and did not help in peace-building amongst the different tribes. He highlighted that there was no proof regarding the numbers of abductees advanced by some of the organizations, and informed the Committee that a distinction should be made between cases of abduction and other cases of displaced persons, who had been separated from their families. He pointed out that, in a war situation, numbers of displaced persons increased, which made it difficult to certify numbers. He indicated that, in previous discussions of the Conference Committee, it was noted that the phenomenon of abduction had worsened due to the war in the south of Sudan. He added that, at that time, the positive developments in putting an end to the phenomenon of abduction had been noted, after the signing of the Khartoum Agreement for Peace with the warring factions in 1997, which diminished the phenomenon. He highlighted that, in 2002, the delegation of Sudan had indicated to the Committee that the ceasefire agreement in the Nuba mountains signed on 19 January 2002 had led to improved tribal relations in the region, which further diminished abduction.

The speaker informed the Committee of the signing by the Government of Sudan of three protocols for peace which included the south of Sudan, the areas hit by war in Kurdufan, the Blue Nile and Abyei regions, on 26 May 2004, after lengthy and tiring negotiations, held under the aegis of the countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), headed by the Kenyan Government, the host of those negotiations. He added that the friends of the countries of IGAD, the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway and Italy had all helped in attaining peace, and that in spite of the ceasefire which had long been in place, the signing of the peace protocols was the date on which the war ended effectively. The protocols included the protocol for power-sharing, providing for fundamental principles and freedoms, human rights, as specified under international conventions and instruments, covering cultural, economic and political rights, the instruments on racial discrimination, the Conventions on the rights of the child, and the laws on slavery. He concluded his statement by reiterating his firm belief that the phenomenon of abduction would be ended totally after achieving peace in Sudan, based on mutual understanding, and expressed his hope that it would pave the way to a just peace for all parties. He hoped that the Conference Committee would understand the position of Sudan and invited its members to assist his country in stabilizing the peace agreements and to formulate their conclusions taking into account the reality of the situation.

The Worker members stressed that the warnings of the Committee for the past decade regarding the violation of the Convention by Sudan had not been sufficiently heeded. Over time this Committee had become aware of how the abduction of women and children was a stab in the heart of Sudanese society. The healing process was long and the events in Darfur were a new source of concern. The Secretary-General of the United Nations himself had compared the situation in Darfur to the Rwandan genocide, suggesting that United Nations forces could be obliged to intervene if the Government did not control the situation. Despite the fragile optimism which had been created by the signing of the peace agreement, troubling information continued to arrive concerning the situation in Darfur: destruction carried out by the Janjaweed militias, massacres, mass rape, violence against the civilian population and over a million refugees. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, violations of human rights committed by institutions similar to governmental institutions and by militias could constitute war crimes. The High Commissioner had requested the Government to establish an investigation commission. This commission absolutely had to function in good faith and the results of its investigations should be published.

The Worker members indicated that the Conference Committee should not risk realizing later that it had not done enough for the abducted children and women. These people found themselves in an abyss and were racked by agony and distress, and they had accumulated enormous frustration. This Committee had to rescue them. Even if the Government had taken measures to improve the situation of human rights and a peace agreement had been signed, serious failures in practice were still evident. In the first place it was important to note the previous refusal of the Government to accept a direct contacts mission and the slowing down of the process of identifying and liberating abducted women and children. The figures released by the Government in this regard could not hide reality. Moreover, the problem of impunity of the perpetrators of these acts appeared to be a refusal to eradicate this problem, and generated frustration. The Government had to put an end to this situation and in the future prosecute persons who were suspected of carrying out or supporting abductions of children and women. In view of this situation, the Government had to provide guarantees of its commitment and demonstrate that it had turned from its errant ways. It had to face up to its responsibilities urgently. It was urgent that the Government responded to the concerns raised by the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The Worker members stressed that this Committee had to be sure of the good faith of the Government. The war had for a long time been cited to explain the situation. The peace agreement should allow the source of this evil to dry up. The Government should not be issued a blank endorsement. This Committee needed to receive integral, collective and sincere responses - words had to be followed by actions.

In conclusion, two elements had to govern this Committee's procedure. First, there had to be a clear objective: the Government had to accept ILO technical assistance and commit itself to improving the situation and to submit itself to a new examination next year. Second, there had to be a method: technical cooperation which imposed on Sudan an active cooperation which should be confirmed at each stage. At the same time the Committee of Experts should play its supervisory role. The conclusions of this Committee should reflect both its convictions and doubts. The Committee should assist the Government in repairing the fabric of its society, thereby permitting Sudan to be a peaceful and promising country which allowed liberated former slaves to go home.

The Employer members recalled that the Committee of Experts had indicated that thousands of women and children had been subject to abduction, trafficking and forced labour for a number of years. While noting that the Government had established a plan of action for the eradication of forced labour, they believed that this plan still lacked penalties for those responsible for forced labour. They also noted that the report of the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, released in January 2003, had cited a number of steps which had been taken to improve the human rights situation in Sudan. Nevertheless, the report concluded that the overall human rights situation had not improved. They recalled that there had been no prosecution of a case regarding abductions for the past 16 years and that no special courts existed to hear cases on the abduction of women and children. Therefore, the Government representative's announcements of steps taken to eradicate forced labour were signs of hope rather than real accomplishments. The Employer members noted the meeting which had taken place between the Government and the tribes which had resulted in impunity for abductors and others who exploited forced labour. The State, it appeared, had practically given up its right to prosecute criminals. This refraining from penalizing persons who extracted forced or compulsory labour was a clear violation of the Convention, which required that the illegal imposition of forced labour be a punishable criminal offence.

They further noted the peace agreement concluded in May 2004 with the support of the Government of Kenya. This agreement had to be implemented in practice. In this respect, they wondered how the implementation of the agreement was guaranteed and what steps would be taken to ensure that all those concerned were aware of its contents. While the peace agreement covered many issues, some details still needed to be resolved. They stressed the importance of returning abducted persons to their homes, granting compensation to victims, restoring their property, and prosecuting the abductors. The Employer members concluded that this case was being examined in the context of the events in the Darfur region, where hundreds of thousands of persons were forced to flee and were in danger of starvation. While these events were not within the scope of this case, they were in stark contrast to the new beginning which was hoped for as a result of the peace agreement. It was hoped that the peace agreement would be applied in practice. Nevertheless, this case required examination by the Committee again. In its conclusions, the Committee had to express its deep concern about the situation in the country.

The Worker member of Sudan condemned the abduction of women and children in some areas of Sudan which took place in the context of tribal conflicts. He recalled that Sudan was the largest country in Africa, that it had undergone the longest civil war in the continent, lasting from 1955 to last month, and that there were more than 500 tribes in the country competing for water, grazing lands and land in an area severely affected by drought in the past few years. He noted the positive achievements in the fight against forced labour including the establishment of CEAWC and its attachment directly to the Presidency, the financing of this body despite limited resources, the fact that fewer cases of abductions had been reported in recent years, and that more than 2,000 victims had been restored to their families. The most positive achievement was the recent signing of the peace agreement which included power-sharing, wealth-sharing and security arrangements. He stated that these positive achievements should be built upon and that the peace agreement offered hope that the problem of abductions would be resolved, since it was linked to civil war and underdevelopment. He noted the recommendations adopted in April 2004 at the second ordinary session of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission of the Organization of African Unity, which included measures to combat the trafficking of human beings. Drawing on these recommendations, he urged the Government to seek international technical support, especially from the ILO, in order to abolish forced labour, to use the resources that had been previously spent on war to develop areas which had been afflicted by inter-tribal conflict, and to make efforts to punish those who encouraged or engaged in forced labour.

The Employer member of Sudan stated that there were many reasons which led the Committee of Experts to devote a special paragraph on Sudan. Matters were compounded by the civil war in southern Sudan - a war which had lasted for a great many years. On 26 May 2004, the Government signed six essential protocols, mentioned by the Government representative. The protocols provided for the establishment of a mechanism for human rights and the inclusion of such a mechanism in a national constitution. Although the protocols were signed by the Sudan People's Liberation Army and the Sudan Government, these protocols were nevertheless the product of a negotiation process in which all the social actors and their organizations participated. The peace protocols were totally endorsed at the national, regional and international levels. The employers' organization was preparing seriously to support the protocols and to consolidate the principles of negotiation and peace through sustainable development in which the private sector was expected to take a leading role.

The peace agreement confirmed the importance of national reconciliation, social participation and democratic change. In this regard the role of the organizations of civil society as well as the role of social dialogue were highlighted. Civil society was called upon to supervise the implementation of the peace agreement. For its part, the employers' organization, in order to contribute to the overall development, had prepared a plan of action to review and strengthen employers' institutions. Taking into account the federal structure of Sudan, the employers' organization intended to establish branch offices in all areas that had been adversely affected by the war situation. Accordingly, the employers' organization: worked with the few employers in the areas of concern to enable them to initiate their organization; participated in the preparation of a master plan for the reconstruction of southern Sudan; encouraged investment by initiating the process of establishing a number of public shareholding companies (this was done together with a number of southerners); facilitated donors' operations in the country (a donors' meeting was envisaged to take place within two months of the current session); and assisted in attracting and organizing the inflow of foreign investment as well as using it in accordance with the master plan. In this regard the speaker informed that several agreements had been signed with their counterparts. The employers' organization intended to continue to carry out a participatory and supervisory role after the signature of the peace agreements in Sudan.

The Government member of Egypt expressed her thanks to the Government representative and the Worker member of Sudan on the positive measures taken by the Government in order to eradicate the phenomenon of abduction. She explained to the Conference Committee that Sudan was the biggest African country inhabited by more than 500 tribes. She added that Sudan was suffering from civil wars, which had afflicted the country for more than 50 years. The majority of neighbouring countries were also conflict-ridden, which in turn had a negative impact on the region. This caused an environment of instability and the emergence of negative phenomena such as abduction. She commended the efforts made by the Government and the allocation of large sums of money to CEAWC for the return of abductees, which was a positive measure, especially in the light of the deteriorating situation in the country. She expressed the hope that the protocol signed recently by the Government would lead to security and stability, and would therefore address any negative consequences brought on by the civil war. The speaker added that the entire world was following with interest the situation in Sudan and hoped that the Government's continued efforts in pushing forward the peace process would be fruitful. She referred to the statement made by the Minister of Labour of Sudan before the African group, in which he indicated the various measures adopted by the Government to push forward the peace process for the purpose of ensuring peace and stability in Sudan. His statement was well received and appreciated by all present. She concluded that it was clear to all that the Government was making concrete efforts to overcome the phenomenon of abduction in spite of the difficult development context. She hoped that the conclusions reached by the Conference Committee would take into account the measures taken by the Government without diminishing their importance. She urged the international community to intervene as quickly as possible, on that issue, in a positive manner, to help Sudan and avoid a mere condemnation of the situation.

The Worker member of South Africa condemned the violation of the Convention by Sudan and the slow actions taken by the Government to stop these practices. Despite the Government's apparent willingness to collaborate with international institutions and its plan of action, numerous reports, including the CEAWC report of October 2003, the ICFTU's observations of September 2002 and 2003 and this Committee's report of 2003, had pointed to continuing problems and insufficient actions by the Government. There had been no criminal prosecutions for abduction in the past 16 years and the attachment of CEAWC to the Sudanese Presidency had not brought about significant results. He noted that the recent peace agreement presented an opportunity to bring about lasting solutions to the problem of abduction. The implementation of the agreement would require long-term commitment from all sectors of society. The South African experience of reconciliation had underlined the importance of forgiving, but not forgetting, past suffering, and the need for honesty and truth in the building of a new nation. He hoped that the people of Sudan could draw on this experience.

The Government member of Cuba stated that there was a lack of balance among some elements in the Committee of Experts' report, in which the difficulties being faced by Sudan had been disproportionally exaggerated, whereas the measures taken by the Government had been minimized or ignored, as well as the progress that had taken place due to the firm political will and the efforts made. On the other hand, the speaker considered that there was a lack of objectivity in the analysis. When evaluating the situation in Sudan, it was indispensable to take into consideration that it was a Third World country facing the difficulties and shortage of resources, which caused its underdevelopment. Also, it should not have been overlooked in the analysis that Sudan was the biggest country in Africa, which counted about 500 tribes continuously fighting each other for access to resources. Another key element in the analysis should have been the fact that Sudan had been suffering from a civil war since 1955, and the majority of the problems of the country were a direct consequence of that conflict. The recent conclusion of the peace agreements constituted the most important and positive step forward made by the Government. The re-establishment of peace would provide, without any doubt, a decisive contribution to the elimination of difficulties referred to in the report, and would allow the Government to concentrate its efforts on the reconstruction and development of the country. In that context, the speaker considered it necessary to give some more time for these positive steps to bear some practical results. If account were taken of the fact that the major cause of the difficulties was underdevelopment aggravated by the civil strife, the re-establishment of peace would certainly have a direct and decisive impact on the solution of the problems. In the speaker's view, in this scenario the ILO and the international community should support the efforts made by the Government in order to consolidate peace. This should be done through promotion of genuine cooperation, and not through accusations and demands which did not duly take into account the reality of the country.

The Worker member of Cuba stated that the report of the Committee of Experts revealed the complexity of the case under discussion. Without a doubt, the situation described in the observations was of serious concern, even though little reference had been made to the causes. Nevertheless, as the Committee had recognized, the Government of Sudan had indeed adopted positive measures to address the situation and had reiterated its commitment to solving the problem of forced labour. It was obvious that the Government of Sudan faced major challenges in trying to fulfil its responsibilities effectively. It had recently been learnt that a peace agreement had been signed on the armed conflict afflicting Sudan since 1955 - an agreement which would no doubt play a significant role in improving the situation in the country. Much time and energy was still needed for those efforts to bear fruit. The Committee should thus call for the cooperation of the ILO and the international community in helping the Government to make greater progress towards resolving the problems that the Committee had identified and that the Government needed to face.

The Government member of Denmark, also speaking on behalf of the Governments of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. She recalled that the Committee of Experts had been examining this case of non-compliance for several years and that this Committee again in 2002 had cited the case in a special paragraph of its report as a case of continued failure to implement the Convention. To our disappointment, the Government had then refused to accept an ILO direct contacts mission. The persistence of reports from various sources made it clear that the situation remained extremely serious and constituted a severe breach of the Convention and other international obligations. It was a fact that forced labour in its worst forms persisted and that the measures taken by the Government to combat this serious problem had been inadequate. She noted the information that a number of steps had been taken by the Government to improve the situation, inter alia the adoption of the Presidential Decree to re-establish the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children and the setting up by the Minister of Justice of special courts for the prosecution of the abductors. She urged the Government to provide information on the functioning of these courts to enable the Committee to assess any improvements concerning the situation of impunity that protected the perpetrators. The speaker noted the Government's indication that the number of abducted persons had declined. However, there was no credible evidence that the overall human rights situation had improved in the country. She therefore welcomed the recent agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), signed on 26 May 2004, on power-sharing. This agreement demonstrated a political consensus to secure respect for human rights, and stipulated that Sudan should comply with its international obligations. This was a very positive development and she hoped and expected that the parties would respectively comply with the principles set out in this peace agreement.

The Worker member of the United Kingdom recalled that his organization, the Trades Union Congress, had joined with others in this Committee in condemning the failures of the Government and its complicity with and sponsorship of the murahalleen militias in using abduction and slavery as an instrument of war in the south of the country. The United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights had argued the same. The current situation in Darfur was a grave cause for concern and overshadowed recent, more positive developments. His Government had described it as the gravest humanitarianism crisis in the world today. Anti-Slavery International continued to report new abductions during 2003 and 2004, and the Janjaweed militias were wreaking the same havoc and destruction in Darfur as the murahalleen did in the south. It was alarming that the United Nations Secretary-General compared these events to the genocide in Rwanda. He noted that on 26 May 2004, the Sudanese Government and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement had signed a protocol on power-sharing at Naivasha, Kenya. While the fighting in Darfur inevitably undermined confidence in this agreement, the text of the protocol indicated recognition of several points which were pertinent to the case. Paragraph 1.6 on human rights and fundamental freedom committed Sudan to fulfilling its obligations, inter alia, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1926 Slavery Convention, as amended. While the protocol made no reference to ILO Convention No. 29, the same paragraph also stated that no one should be held in slavery, that slavery and the slave trade in all their forms should be prohibited, and that no one should be held in servitude or be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. Paragraph 1.8 of the protocol required a population census within two years.

The speaker stated that, if the war in the south was really over, this Committee had the right to expect, as a result of these developments and the commitments proclaimed in Naivasha, rapid and substantial progress in this case. He further noted that the Worker members had not been convinced in the past about the good faith of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children. Yet CEAWC's most recent report, which covered the period from January 2002 until April 2004, indicated for the first time an acceptance of the estimates by the international agencies of the extent of the number of victims. There now appeared to be agreement that there were some 17,000. Moreover, there appeared to be an acceptance that these people were victims of abduction and enslavement. He also noted that the Rift Valley Institute's Slavery and Abduction Project had identified some 12,000 victims, over half of them under 18 years of age, most of them male. Eleven thousand were still unaccounted for. The CEAWC should take this into account. Nonetheless, only some 2,000 people had been repatriated by CEAWC over the last five years. The identification of victims, their return to their families and communities, and compensation that would enable them to rebuild their lives in freedom was an absolute priority and should be completed at the latest by the time of the 2005 ILC. The Government should avail itself of ILO technical assistance to help and speed this process. He concluded that the Committee should reflect the gravity of the case in its conclusions, and he asked the Government to report in full to both the Committee of Experts and this Committee again at next year's Conference.

The Government member of the Syrian Arab Republic declared his support for the report submitted by the Government representative and endorsed the proposals made by the Worker member of Sudan. He welcomed the signing of the peace agreement concluded in the past weeks which would create an appropriate environment for an improved situation in general in Sudan. He expressed his hope that it would put an end to all problems. He concluded by underlining the role of the international community in assisting the Government in resolving its problems.

Another Government member (Minister of Labour and Administrative Reform) stated that his Government fully shared the view that forced labour and the abduction of women and children were unacceptable and inhuman. He recalled the numerous steps that had been taken to address this problem which had been enumerated in his Government's opening remarks. He highlighted the work of CEAWC and the Committee of Chiefs, whose efforts had brought about some results. With regard to the question of criminal prosecution, he stated that while his Government did not rule out such an approach, legal proceedings were often very lengthy and sometimes endangered victims. His Government preferred an approach that focused on reuniting families. He recalled that the problem of abduction occurred in a vast area, covering over 500,000 square kilometres, which had been marked by inter-tribal conflict between the major regional tribes. This conflict appeared to have been resolved. One positive sign was that around 500,000 Dinka people had been recently displaced to an area where the Messiria (Baggara) people were a majority. The displaced Dinka had been given land and grazing fields and lived peacefully with the other tribes in the region. Observers from Germany and other European countries had witnessed this development. Turning to the recent peace agreement, he stated that this was the greatest hope for eliminating forced labour, as this problem was mostly due to the armed conflict which had raged in the area. All groups to the conflict had been invited to the peace process. The peace agreement included the two protocols already mentioned. His Government intended to make the peace agreement an agreement of the Sudanese people and not just been the Government and the SPLM/A. He raised some questions as to whether the case had been always accurately understood by this Committee, as his Government could not confirm the figure of 17,000 victims of abduction. In his view, this number confused abducted persons and persons displaced by the civil war. He was confident that the peace agreement and the ongoing efforts of his Government would solve the problem of forced labour in his country and that this case would no longer appear in the Committee's agenda. In conclusion, he noted that his Government was now focusing on the crisis in Darfur. He hoped that the international community would provide for support in the search for solutions to this crisis.

The Worker members stated that they had been shocked by the statement made by the Government member of Cuba. Any questioning of the objectivity of the Committee of Experts should be strongly challenged or it would run the risk of undermining the ILO's supervisory system. Collective security in Sudan was at the heart of the problem and constituted a humanitarian emergency to which the Government should respond. Fine words were not enough; it was important to find solutions and to take a stand vis-à-vis the concerns prompted by the situation. The Worker members would have asked to have that case included in a special paragraph once again if they had not received the information that a peace agreement had recently been signed. Taking that development into account, they asked the Government to accept the assistance of the ILO and to indicate the concrete improvements in the situation in its next reports.

The Employer members referred to the statement by the Government member of Cuba. In their view, she had expressed a strange understanding of the objectivity needed to assess cases. According to her statement, the objectivity needed to assess cases was not related to facts but determined by the size of a country, its political system and its economic situation. According to her, the Committee could only decide whether or not a country was fulfilling its obligations under a Convention by reference to these factors. These views were based on an old East-West conflict which was no longer relevant. Turning to the case being discussed, the Employer members noted the Minister of Labour's statement that the end of the war was the prerequisite for ending abductions, trafficking of persons and forced labour. While they agreed with the Minister, they recalled that the Government also bore responsibility for establishing peace in the country as its military forces had participated in the war. They also recalled that the peace agreement and the protocols of May 2004 were not the final peace agreement. The Government would have to transmit the final agreement to the ILO and indicate what changes had been introduced and what issues still needed to be addressed. In particular, the Government should report on the implementation of the peace agreement in practice. Only this information would allow the Committee to assess whether positive developments had taken place. Finally, they stated that the conclusions of the Committee should also mention the dramatic situation prevailing in the province of Darfur, since the Minister had referred to it.

The Government representative (Minister of Labour and Administrative Reform) objected to the mention of the conflict in the Darfur region in the Committee's conclusions. This situation was not mentioned in the observation of the Committee of Experts and was a separate matter.

The Worker members stated that they would have liked the matter of compensation for released persons to have been included in the conclusions.

The Government member of Cuba asked for the floor in order to state that she could not disregard certain comments made in this Committee, which she considered unacceptable for the lack of respect.

The Worker member of the United Kingdom stated that every delegation had the right to speak in the Committee, including the Workers.

The Committee took note of the information supplied by the Government representative on measures taken to eradicate the abduction of women and children and of the detailed discussion which ensued. The Committee pointed out that it was an extremely serious case affecting fundamental human rights, as witnessed by the fact that it had been discussed in this Committee seven times over the past eight years (with the inclusion in a special paragraph in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2002) and the fact that numerous comments had been received from international workers' organizations. The Committee took note of the positive measures taken by the Government, including the re-establishment of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), the setting up of special courts for the prosecution of abductors, as well as the Government's renewed commitment to resolve the problem. The Government had specified the number of cases in which abducted persons were liberated with the collaboration of United Nations agencies and other organizations, and added that abductions had stopped completely. The Government also informed about the conclusion of three peace agreements in May 2004 and stated that consolidation of these agreements would lead to the solution of the problems raised. While having noted this information, the Committee expressed its deep concern at continuing reports of abductions and slavery, particularly in the region of south Darfur, and considered it necessary to invite the Government to take effective and quick measures to bring to an end these practices and to punish those responsible, thus ending the impunity. The Committee understood that the situation had been exacerbated by the continuing civil conflict. It expressed therefore the firm hope that the Government's next report to the ILO would describe the concrete results obtained, so that the full application of the Convention, in law and in practice, could be noted in the near future, as well as the progress in the implementation of the peace agreements. The Committee recalled that the Government could request technical assistance of the ILO.

The Government representative (Minister of Labour and Administrative Reform) objected to the mention of the conflict in the Darfur region in the Committee's conclusions. This situation was not mentioned in the observation of the Committee of Experts and was a separate matter.

The Worker members stated that they would have liked the matter of compensation for released persons to have been included in the conclusions.

The Government member of Cuba asked for the floor in order to state that she could not disregard certain comments made in this Committee, which she considered unacceptable for the lack of respect.

The Worker member of the United Kingdom stated that every delegation had the right to speak in the Committee, including the Workers.

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A Government representative stated that his delegation had read with interest the report of the Committee of Experts, and took note of the observations made regarding the application by Sudan of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29). The Government of Sudan reaffirmed its condemnation of slavery, forced labour and similar practices. These acts were violations of the Sudanese Constitution and crimes made punishable by the Penal Code. By virtue of the recently promulgated Presidential Decree No. 14 of 2002 the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) had been placed directly under the authority of the President of the Republic. This new status strengthened the authority of the CEAWC. Its chairman was the State Minister and its members included the Ministers of Culture and Social Affairs in the provinces where abductions had occurred as well as known figures and representatives of civil society and NGOs. The mandate of the Committee as defined in the Presidential Decree was to endeavour to return abducted women and children to their homes; to provide the necessary support to tribal elders in order to put an end to the phenomenon of abduction of women and children; to investigate cases of abductions affecting women and children; to call to account any person suspected of perpetrating, supporting or participating in acts of abduction of women and children and prosecute them; to study the root causes behind the phenomenon of abduction of women and children and the exaction of forced labour; to recommend to the President of the Republic measures and ways and means to put an end to the phenomenon of abduction of women and children; to coordinate with international and regional organizations and NGOs to help implement these objectives. The Presidential Decree gave the chairperson the necessary powers usually enjoyed by the Minister of Justice to prosecute all cases of a criminal nature. It also stated that regional committees would be set up in each province affected by the phenomenon of abduction of women and children. These committees would include among their members the public prosecutors and representatives of the armed forces, the police, domestic security and local government. The CEAWC had elaborated an ambitious plan to put an end to the phenomenon and was hoping to be able to fulfil this task within this year. The Presidential Decree and details of the plan of the CEAWC were contained in Document No. 1, submitted to the secretariat.

He then turned to the question of the courts which dealt with the crime of abduction of women and children. Since its creation the CEAWC had been working in conformity with its organizational and operational structure, which included tribal committees. Within this context, consultations had taken place with the tribes concerned. Their leaders were committed to finding traditional solutions to the problem and had asked the Government not to intervene while waiting for results of efforts at the traditional tribal level. The British organization, the Save the Children Fund, had confirmed the relevance of this approach in a letter to the Minister of Justice, dated 9 April 2000. This organization had insisted that those responsible for abductions should not be prosecuted at the moment in order to protect abducted women and children. This letter was contained in Document No. 2, submitted to the secretariat. Several attempts at tribal conciliation had taken place. Conferences had been held to bring together all affected tribes with a view to ending the practice and strengthening peaceful coexistence among tribes. This having been said, prosecution was an essential component of the mandate of the CEAWC, while the Minister of Justice had authority to bring to justice the abductors who did not collaborate with the work of the CEAWC. The Minister of Justice had set up special deputies for prosecuting and monitoring cases of people responsible for acts of abduction or trafficking. The relevant decision of the Minister of Justice was contained in Document No. 3, submitted to the secretariat.

The exact number of abducted persons was not confirmed at this stage. There were many allegations but none of them had been proven. The Sudanese Government, in cooperation with the CEAWC, was in the process of working on a distinction between abducted persons and displaced persons who had been separated from their families mainly as a result of the ongoing war in the south of the country. The number of such displaced persons was very large and there were difficulties of documentation and handling of these cases which were not cases of abduction. 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. A high-level mission to Sudan had been carried out recently with eminent personalities from several countries including France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. This high-level mission had formulated several recommendations and the Sudanese Government was studying these recommendations in order to implement them. The CEAWC, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, had managed to repatriate 118 people from the Baggara tribe detained by rebels since 1987 in Yeitown in the south. The CEAWC had monitored their safe return to their region in the western part of Sudan. The age-old phenomenon of abduction and kidnapping had been exacerbated by the war in the south. Ending the war in the south and re-establishing peace was a major challenge in the context of efforts to put an end to this phenomenon. The signing of the Khartoum Agreement in April 1997 had made it possible to reduce this phenomenon considerably. A ceasefire in El Nuba established since January 2002 had lead to positive developments in tribal relations in the region. A report broadcast in the United States by the ABC channel concerning efforts to liberate abducted persons showed that some NGOs had exaggerated their findings and had portrayed a false image of Sudan. The Chairperson of UNICEF had also clearly said that the number of abducted persons was smaller. The Sudanese Government attached great importance to the phenomenon of abduction in neighbouring areas. The President personally monitored the CEAWC, and had assigned in January 2002 Sudanese pounds 1,000,500,000 to the Committee in order to put an end to the phenomenon. The Government thanked the Committee for its interest in Sudan and expressed its gratitude to those who helped attain the objective of eliminating abductions, including UNICEF, the Save the Children Fund, the relief agency of Sweden, as well as the Governments of Canada, the European Union, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. He hoped that the Committee would urge these international organizations to continue their cooperation to attain the objectives of CEAWC within the year so that peace may be re-established in the country.

The Employer members stated that the case of Sudan's application of Convention No. 29 had unfortunately been going on for more than 12 years. In the past three years, the Conference Committee had noted in its conclusions that this was a case of continued failure. This constituted the strongest formulation the Conference Committee had at its disposal to illustrate its great preoccupation. The report of the Committee of Experts cited many violations of the Convention, involving acts of cruelty concerning the abduction and kidnapping of women and children and incidents of slave trade and forced labour. These practices did not concern only the areas where armed conflicts took place but they also took place in regions under the control of the Government. The Employer members observed that the Government had established a special Committee on the Elimination of Abductions of Women and Children (CEAWC) following the pressure put by the Conference Committee on the Government. For many years the Conference Committee had stated that the CEAWC had not had any success in fulfilling its mandate, which was to end the practices described above and to ensure the safe return of those kidnapped or abducted. They noted that the Government representative had referred to the establishment of a new action programme to increase the effectiveness of the CEAWC. The Employer members stressed that the effectiveness of the CEAWC indeed required to be urgently increased. As in the past years, the Government had indicated that the practice of kidnapping and abduction among tribes in southern Sudan formed part of their tradition and was a normal practice, thereby giving the impression that this practice was some type of folklore. The Employer members, however, recalled that this case was very serious and these practices involved cruel acts and affected the lives of many victims in the country. Moreover, the documents submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations, and to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights showed that massive action was required. The Employer members further noted the discrepancies in the statistical data provided by the Government concerning those abducted and those released. The Government had only indicated the number of 550 persons released without relating it to the thousands who were abducted. The Employer members considered that the statistical figures provided by the Government also reflected the extent to which the Government had recognized the problem. Moreover, the Government had repeatedly indicated the same reasons why the CEAWC worked so inefficiently. Therefore, the Conference Committee should, as did the Committee of Experts, request stronger action which should include considerably increased sanctions for the exaction of forced labour. The Employer members considered that the action programme referred to showed that the CEAWC would continue to work slowly. Even though the Government intended to liberate and return those kidnapped or abducted, it was obviously not in a position to do so. Besides technical assistance, assistance in the administrative area might be required. The Employer members did not underestimate the difficulties the country was facing. It was however also true that the armed forces which were one of the most powerful parties in Sudan, were involved in these practices. In conclusion, the Conference Committee was obliged to urge the Government to accelerate the necessary action to resolve the problem.

The Worker members expressed their serious preoccupation about the case of the application of Convention No. 29 by Sudan. In fact, the case had been examined six times by this Committee over the past ten years and had been mentioned five times in a special paragraph. Available information did not allow, unfortunately, to note even the slightest progress; forced labour remained a sad reality in Sudan. The information coming from the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and from Anti-Slavery International revealed the seriousness of the situation and the inertia of the Government. The life of thousands of human beings was at stake. Women and children were being bought and separated from their families to become slaves. Despite its awareness of the problem, the Government did not take the necessary measures to eradicate this phenomenon. It ignored these practices and de facto amnestied those responsible for the abductions and for the forced labour. The Government should take urgent, relevant and efficient measures to combat forced labour practices in Sudan and to provide detailed information in writing on the action taken with a view to put an end to this disaster and on the concrete results of such action, on the number of persons liberated from slavery and on the measures taken to return them to their families and on their rehabilitation, as well as on the sanctions imposed on those enslaving them. The Worker members reiterated two proposals made last year in this Committee, namely the imposition of significant sanctions proportional to the seriousness of the situation and the need to send a direct contacts mission - proposals that could allow to eradicate forced labour practices. These practices, affecting thousands of women and children, were a serious violation of Convention No. 29 and constituted a crime against humanity. A direct contacts mission should go to the country and should have access to all information and to all the regions. The Government should indicate clearly whether it accepted such a mission or not.

The Worker member of Swaziland stated that the Committee was dealing with a very serious case which affected largely the most vulnerable members of society. He stated that these victims had a right to look up to their Government for safety, protection and defence. It was an obligation and a responsibility of those who governed, to provide a peaceful environment, respect for the rule of law, and justice to those governed. This obligation of the Sudanese Government should not be delegated. By ratifying the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), as far back as 1957, the Government had publicly declared its intention to implement both in law and in practice all the requirements of the Convention. It was saddening to note that sufficient effort had not been made by the Government to meet the requirements of the Convention. When the Committee had previously offered to send a direct contacts mission to assist the Government in finding solutions to the practice of forced labour, the Government had, unfortunately, refused. This refusal undermined the Government's plea for funds from the international community to enable it to cover inaccessible areas of the country where trafficking, abduction and forced labour were rife.

Historically, the Government had denied the existence of forced labour. Later it contested the statistics provided by Anti-Slavery International saying the figures were highly exaggerated. They had, however, conceded the figures submitted by the CEAWC. So far, there was no evidence of any prosecutions of perpetrators and of preventive mechanisms established. Anti-Slavery International had compiled in May 2002 the following information: communication from the Chairperson of the CEAWC dated 30 August 2001 to Anti-Slavery International indicating the number of returned persons who had been abducted at 1,200, a figure believed to be very conservative; Anti-Slavery representatives had noted in October 2000 that Government officials and others did not consider those persons as abducted persons when they were absorbed into households or into another family by sale, marriage or false adoption. To them, they were not victims of human rights violations and even less victims of forced labour or slavery; the UN sources also reported that Government-supported militia had again carried out raids in north Bahr El Ghazal in January 2001 abducting 122 women and children. In October and November 2001, NGOs in Sudan had reported that new raids had again occurred in north Bahr El Ghazal and that an unspecified number of women and children were missing as a result. On 28 March 2002, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Mr. Gerhardt Baum had noted that he continued to receive reports of cases of raids followed by abductions. The Special Rapporteur supported the idea of a permanent monitoring in Bahr El Ghazal as a measure to stop these heinous practices.

The Worker member urged the Government to introduce or amend existing legislation to ensure that all these practices were prohibited and that the penalties were made commensurate with the human rights violations committed. While the Government pointed out that, under section 162 of the Criminal Code, abduction was punishable by ten years of imprisonment, the penalty for exaction of forced labour remained to be only one year of imprisonment. In January the Managing Editor of an independent newspaper, "Khartoum Monitor" had been convicted for propagation of false news and was to be imprisoned for six months if he failed to pay a fine of 5 million Sudanese pounds for having exposed the fact that military trains running between Wau and Babannsa had been used by the Government-supported militia to carry out raids and abductions over a number of years. In April 2002, a United Nations Resolution on human rights in Sudan (E/CN.4/2002/L.27) had called on the Government of Sudan to take measures to eradicate the practice "of abductions, in particular those cases connected with the passage of the Government train through Bahr El Ghazal". At the end of May 2002, a commission of eminent persons comprising members from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway and France, whose task was to investigate slavery, abductions, enforced servitude, had established that abductions and slavery existed and were carried out by Government-armed tribal militias. The commission had also recommended that the train link in Bahr El Ghazal should be suspended because militias used it for their slave trade.

The speaker wished the Government of Sudan to do the following: publicly condemn abductions and declare all associated practices illegal; make appropriate amendments and effectively enforce the law; provide the ILO with detailed information on the measures taken to prevent further abductions and on the prosecutions of the perpetrators of all aspects of forced labour; invite the ILO's direct contacts mission to the Sudan to obtain full factual information and to examine what effective assistance could be made available to the Government to eradicate these practices; ensure that abducted women who had subsequently married were given full information about their options in a neutral setting, enabling them to decide freely to remain with their husbands or to leave; and in the case of children who had been absorbed into households, the best interests of the children should be the principal criteria for deciding what should happen.

The Worker member of Sudan thanked the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) for consistently bringing the practices of abduction and forced labour taking place in his country to the attention of this Committee. This practice had been first claimed to be slavery, then slave-like practices and it had been continuously repeated in this Committee that the phenomena were actually kidnapping and abduction and not slavery or even forced labour. While he did not wish to defend the Government, he objected to the accusation of slavery and slave trade as these were an insult to the whole nation, even though such terminology was sometimes used in good faith. However, he admitted that kidnapping and abduction were not unknown practices in several countries in Africa, including Sudan. Sudan was the largest country in Africa with a land surface area of 1 million square miles with nine neighbouring countries, some of which were experiencing various types of unrest. The Sudanese population was only 30 million but was composed of more than 500 tribes. Most of the towns were along the river Nile but the majority of the population were nomads and cattle herders, some of whom lived in sub-Saharan areas. During the dry season, some tribes moved with their cattle towards wetter areas. Conflict between tribes arose regarding pastures. Following conflicts between tribes, women and children were sometimes seized by raiders. The practice was wrong and awful and had to be condemned but it was nonetheless found in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It was more rampant where there was a breakdown of authority. It was the result of the sheer exercise of power by the strong over the weak. Such practices were very old and had never been described as slavery or slave-like practices. The beginning of the civil war in 1983 introduced a third party to the conflict, namely the Southern Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA), which was taking advantage of any inter-tribal conflict or the breakdown of authority. The abducted did not always belong to a particular tribe or ethnic group. Conflicts occurred between Arab tribes and Nilotic tribes. As proof of this, he read paragraph 12 on page 164 of the English version of the report of the Committee of Experts where it was stated "In June 2000 a delegation from the CEAWC visited Pibor town in Jongli State to document 12 Dinka, Taposa, Nuer and Anyuak children who had been abducted by Nurie, a tribe in southern Sudan". However, the best proof that could be cited in this respect was the Wunlit Dinka-Uer Agreement between the leader of the SPLA and the leader of the DSF signed in March 1999, which provided for the outlawing of abduction of children and women between the two sides.

However, Sudan was now showing some progress in reducing, or even eradicating, the unacceptable practice of abduction of women and children. This could be summarized as follows: as a result of the efforts of Senator John Danforth, the American President's Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan, a peace agreement had been signed in Geneva in January this year between the Government of Sudan and the SPLA. The results of that agreement could not be overlooked and had led to the provision of considerable humanitarian relief. The effect of war and peace on inter-tribal conflicts and hence on the phenomena of kidnapping and abduction, could not be ignored either.

Recently a Committee led by Mr. Penn Kemble from the USA, with experts from the USA, Norway, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada and France, had investigated the practice of kidnapping and abduction of children in Sudan and had made their recommendations which were forwarded to the Sudanese Government only last week, as reported in the media.

The President of Sudan had signed Presidential Decree No. 14/2002 on the re-establishment of the CEAWC. Two points in the Decree could not be overlooked. The Chairman of the Committee was now a full-time minister with powers of the Minister of Justice to refer criminal cases to trial. The CEAWC should conclude its work within one year and its Chairman should submit monthly reports and a final report to the President of the Republic.

The Worker member concluded by echoing the remarks made by Mr. Stanley of the TUC regarding Convention No. 29 and the Côte d'Ivoire, that one should not use the powers of this Committee as a 4 x 2 stick on the heads of governments. Instead one should always try to highlight progress and Mr. Stanley suggested discussing the case the following year. He fully agreed with that remark and requested the same on the Sudanese case in order to consolidate the progress made and to wait before taking decisions that may lead to contradictory remarks. He suggested that the matter be discussed next year.

The Worker member of Turkey deeply regretted to have to discuss, and without any progress over the years, at the beginning of the third millennium, a case of serious allegations concerning slavery, servitude, slave trade and forced labour which involved government forces and militia. Although the Government representative of Sudan had, as in previous years, categorically denied all the observations made by credible institutions such as the United Nations, Anti-Slavery International and the ICFTU, no convincing argument to the contrary had been presented. The Government representative of Sudan had adopted a similar attitude 13 years ago in 1989 when this case had been taken up for the first time in this Committee. He quoted the then Government representative as stating that "The legislation prohibited any form of exploitation or forced labour. There was no doubt as to the Government's commitment with regard to international instruments on the prevention of slavery and the slave trade, and Sudan had been among the first African countries to ratify the UN Convention on the abolition of slavery." He had concluded in the following manner: "Sudan was a democratic country, in liberty open to anyone who wished to find out on-the-spot what was happening; there was nothing to impede these efforts from being undertaken so that this could be confirmed in the eyes of the world."

The Worker member stated that in reports of credible organizations, the observations were substantiated with names of the victims, the details about the sale of slaves and about redemptions. All reports testified to the widespread practice of slavery, to its systematic nature, where it was taking place with total impunity.

He indicated that the redeemed slaves had testified that they had been abducted by the National Islamic Front, mainly by its Popular Defence Force (PDF). There was ample evidence of systematic raids of villages and killing of men and abduction of women and children in the south of the country. Although the Sudanese Government had accepted a limited number of abductions by some tribesmen and had established a Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children, the reality was much more brutal. What had to be fought against were not sporadic and individual instances of abductions but the systematic enslavement of about 14,000 human beings. The reluctance of the Sudanese Government to accept a direct contacts mission further reinforced such an evaluation. He believed that the Committee should invite the Government representative of Sudan to accept a direct contacts mission to visit the country this year. In case the direct contacts mission was refused again this year, and considering the gravity of the case, he would propose a special paragraph for Sudan this year as well.

The Worker member of India noted with grave concern that, although Sudan had ratified this important Convention on 16 June 1957, duly recording its international commitment to eradicate forced labour in the country, until today, women and children were being abducted, kidnapped and used as forced labour and even sold as slaves. He found no language to condemn these acts that went against basic and fundamental human rights. There had been claims and counterclaims as to the degree of the offence but the fact of kidnappings and abduction of women and children remained undisputed. The issue had been appearing before the Committee continuously for the last four years. Last year this case had been concluded in a special paragraph of the Committee's report as a case of continued failure to apply the Convention. The Government's plea that such kidnappings and abduction of women and children resulted from the conflicts between two tribes, should not be acceptable as the role of the Government could not be negotiated. The international community should prevail over the Sudanese people and Government to immediately take effective measures, in solidarity with the working people of the world, to try to halt such inhuman practices by accepting the technical assistance of the ILO to educate and upkeep the morale of the people.

The Worker member of Greece stated that the report of the Committee of Experts contained shocking information. The Government representative should provide precise replies if there was to be any hope for the thousands of persons who lived in slavery in Sudan. The figure of 5,000 to 14,000 was put forward for persons awaiting release while the Government advanced the figure of 1,200 persons living in slavery. Also according to the Government, the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) had ensured the release of four children and the repatriation of 118 abductees. Whatever the figures, the very existence of slavery was not denied. There were persons who in reality were abducted to be re-sold like cattle. This was not the first time that the case had been discussed by the Committee. However, the Government had confined itself to making vague promises of change. A special paragraph was required, but other means also needed to be used to raise knowledge of the situation in Sudan.

The Government had asserted that slavery was a practice that was as old as the tribes who practiced it. It went without saying that this argument had no force since slavery was a crime against humanity. Tradition could not render such a practice legitimate. In conclusion, he called upon the Government to accept an ILO direct contacts mission.

The Government member of Denmark, also speaking on behalf of the Government members of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, regretted that the case had been examined on several occasions by the Committee without seeing much progress and expressed grave concern at the persistence of reports from many sources of abduction, trafficking and forced labour accompanied by extreme violence, affecting thousands of women and children in Sudan. This information showed without doubt that forced labour remained a reality in Sudan and that abducted persons were victims of serious human rights violations, in addition to being victims of forced labour. Moreover, the process of improvement had been unacceptably slow. Against this grave and very severe background, she strongly urged the Government to take a much stronger stand to combat the practice of forced labour, kidnapping and abduction of women and children, thereby facilitating an acceleration of the process of its eradication. She also urged the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure, in accordance with the Convention, the imposition of penal sanctions on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour. The Government should provide copies of the respective court decisions in its next report to the ILO, which she sincerely hoped would show positive measures in this respect.

The Government member of the Syrian Arab Republic called upon the Committee of Experts and the Worker and Employer members to take into account the real situation in Sudan, and in other similar cases. He recalled the need to distinguish between a country suffering from a conflict among its citizens and a country in which peace reigned; between a country whose economy was flourishing, and a country whose economy was floundering, due to economic blockade, penalties and a shortage of productive institutions and manpower. A country whose first concern was to safeguard the unity of the nation and its territory and in which all efforts were focused on achieving that, would suffer delay in achieving development and legislative and social modernization. He pointed out that human rights were the same in every part of the world and hoped that the members of the Committee would consult the Appendix to the Report of the Director-General submitted to the Conference so as to be aware of a more severe case of aggression and violations of human rights in Palestine and the occupied territories. He concluded by hoping that the Committee would seek ways of supporting Sudan in order to overcome its difficulties instead of blaming the Government.

The Government member of the United States indicated that this was a long-standing case of the most dramatic and devastating proportions. She indicated that the United States Government had appointed a special envoy to help bring about peace and to end human suffering in Sudan, including bringing an end to the abduction and brutal forced servitude of women and children. She expressed appreciation of the cooperation of the Government of Sudan in connection with the envoy's efforts and urged the Government to implement the recommendations of this high-level mission.

While welcoming the Government's report, she said that there was an urgent need for it to develop a clear and unambiguous policy on abductions, to support the work of the CEAWC and to bring those responsible for abductions and slavery to justice. She urged the Government to accept help from the international community, in particular the ILO, through a direct contacts mission, and she stressed the importance of concrete results and urgent measures to achieve those results.

The Government member of Egypt referred to the statements made by the Government and Worker members of Sudan, in which they indicated the measures taken by their country and the commitment shown by the country's political leadership to put an end to this phenomenon, in spite of the difficulties encountered by Sudan as a result of the war in the country. She suggested that the videotape mentioned by the Government representative could help to clarify the situation and should be viewed at the next session of the Committee of Experts in November 2002. She also referred to the statement made by the Employer member of Sudan, who had referred to the new policy adopted by his country to put an end to forced labour and the crime of abduction. In that respect, she suggested that the ILO extend its support to the Government of Sudan, not only to assist it in overcoming the phenomenon, but also to encourage it to ratify more ILO Conventions. In conclusion, she emphasized that the aim of the examination of individual cases was not the imposition of penalties, but the provision of advice and assistance to the Government on the best means of overcoming such a problem and addressing its root causes.

The Worker member of Iraq expressed his full support for the eradication of slavery, forced labour and abduction at all times and in any place, because these practices were contrary to human rights. In light of the detailed explanations and the practical measures taken by Sudan, as described by the Government representative, to put an end to the abduction of women and children in some provinces of Sudan, he emphasized that the conflicts in some provinces in Sudan are conflicts between some tribes over pasture and were not related to ethnic or religious differences. He added that his country deplored and condemned such a phenomenon and indicated that the practice of abduction, which occurred in several countries, was a result of illiteracy and the existence of a diversity of tribes. He emphasized that in Sudan, with its large territory and in view of the ongoing conflict in the South, the fighting between tribes was a more serious problem than the issue of abduction per se. He therefore called for real efforts to be made to achieve peace and stop the war of attrition, which is being stirred by some colonial powers. He indicated that external major powers were seeking to prolong the war in Sudan, by encouraging the practice of the abduction of women and children and by aggravating the complex problem of southern Sudan, which prevented any opportunity for peace. He hoped that the international community would condemn such external interference in the internal affairs of Sudan and would respect its sovereignty. He concluded by emphasizing the need to encourage the Government of Sudan and the social partners to put an end to the phenomenon of the abduction of women and children through the implementation of measures indicated by the Government representative, as well as any additional measures that did not interfere with national sovereignty.

Another Government representative of Sudan welcomed all positive recommendations made during the discussion of the case. He indicated that the position of his Government was not to defend violations of human rights or to deny them. He emphasized that every single case of human rights violation was of great importance. However, the exaggeration of numbers would not help in achieving positive results. The Government of Sudan recognized the existence of the problem of forced labour, abductions and trafficking and the question was how to move things in the right direction. He described an awareness campaign carried out by the Government, targeting illiterate people in remote areas where the problem was most acute. He added that over recent years a lot of improvements had been made in infrastructure. As a result, it was now possible to watch the television and to have access to the Internet and to telephones even in remote areas of the country. All of these developments helped in raising general awareness of the issue. At a more specific level, the Government had assembled a group of 400 local chiefs, who had participated in seminars conducted with the assistance of UNDP and non-governmental organizations to initiate an awareness-raising campaign.

The Government was adopting a two-level approach: the raising of awareness, on the one hand, and the imposition of severe sanctions that are really adequate, on the other. He emphasized that the education and raising of awareness should be given preference. People who were educated and committed crimes should be prosecuted, while those who were unaware should not immediately be sent to prison. Patience would evidently be required to ensure that the uneducated were made fully aware of the issue.

He indicated that a significant amount of funding was necessary to conduct these activities. The President had allocated 1 billion Sudanese pounds for the next four-month period. Similar amounts have been allocated for similar periods over the coming year. He also referred to a Presidential Decree which envisaged the elimination of forced labour practices within one year from its adoption on 26 January 2002. He indicated that the Government was very serious about this problem and that the President was personally involved. The Government welcomed the cooperation of the international community in this respect and expected tangible results within a year. Finally, he hoped that in the near future, confrontation would give way to cooperation among the parties concerned with this problem.

Another Government representative (Minister of Labour and Administrative Reform) indicated that he originated from southern Sudan and knew the real conditions there. He expressed gratitude to those speakers who had made positive interventions in support of the efforts made by the Government in order to combat the existing problems. He indicated that the Government had never denied that there were cases of abduction of women and children and that it was committed to eliminating this phenomenon. The underlying reason for the problem was the war that had been raging for the past ten years over a vast area of no-man's-land.

He expressed confidence that measures taken this year as part of the plan of action would bring positive results and that with the assistance of other governments, it would be possible to move forward. It was very important to stop the war, which was contributing to the problem. He expressed his gratitude to the Government of the United States and those of the European Union for their efforts to stop the war. He added that there had recently been many missions in Sudan on this issue, which could provide important and valuable information. However, there was a danger of duplicating efforts if further missions were to come. He also referred to a videotape on the subject which could also be shown at the Conference and could be a source of important information. He expressed the firm belief that positive results would be forthcoming in the very near future.

The Worker members insisted on distancing themselves from large parts of the statements made by the Worker members of Sudan and Iraq.

In the light of the report of the Committee of Experts and the information supplied by Anti-Slavery International, it had to be noted that no progress had been made in the application of the Convention. The objective of the Committee discussing a case was not to embarrass the Government, but to convince it to bring its law and practice into conformity with the obligations that it had undertaken by ratifying the Convention. The kidnapping, trafficking, forced labour and slavery which affect thousands of women and children constituted serious violations of the Convention and were crimes against humanity.

The Government had once again made promises to the Committee. It proposed a one-year plan of action. Pending the results of this plan of action, the Committee should reach very strong conclusions. It should conclude that this was a case of continued failure to comply with the Convention, and that its conclusions should be placed in a special paragraph of its report.

The Employer members emphasized that it had never been alleged that the Government's policy was in support of the present situation. It had merely been stated by the Committee that a large number of the population had been suffering for a very long time from acts of cruelty, including abductions, kidnappings and cases of murder, rape and forced labour. The Government representative had referred to a number of obstacles hindering the resolution of the problem. The Employer members recalled that these had also been reflected in the reports of the Committee of Experts over the years and indicated that, although the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children had been established in 1999, there had been no decisive improvement in the situation up to now. With regard to the request by the Government representative for technical assistance, they recalled the more far-reaching proposal of a direct contacts mission to the country, which could be an appropriate tool to address the very serious human rights violations and to support, among other action, the organization of awareness-raising campaigns. It would be valuable for the Government to benefit from the experience and knowledge of others. Since the Government representative had not accepted this proposal, the Committee would need to express its deep concern at the continued failure of the Government to apply the relevant provisions of the Convention. The Committee's conclusions should be set out in a special paragraph of its report.

The Committee took note of the statement made by the Government representative and of the discussions which followed. It recalled that it had examined this case on several occasions in recent years. The Committee shared the concern of the Committee of Experts regarding the practices of abduction, trafficking and forced labour affecting thousands of women and children, not only in the south of the country where there was armed conflict, but also in government-controlled areas. The Committee noted the information provided by the Government representative, including the information on the activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) set up in 1999, on the need for education and to raise the awareness of tribes, on the financial resources allocated and the setting up of machinery to bring to trial newly denounced cases to be dealt with by public prosecutors of the Ministry of Justice. The Committee noted the willingness of the Government to collaborate with the various international institutions and the plan of action which the Government had formulated for the eradication of forced labour practices. The Committee took note of the concerns expressed by the members of the Committee, especially the fact that tradition could not render legitimate such serious violations of Convention No. 29, and the refusal to accept a direct contacts mission. While taking into consideration the explanations provided by the Government representative, the Committee was nevertheless bound to observe that all the information provided by, inter alia, workers' organizations, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations and the members of the Committee who had taken the floor, demonstrated the persistence of forced labour in Sudan and the inadequacy of the measures taken by the Government to combat this situation. The Committee noted in particular the lack of penalties imposed on those responsible. It urged the Government to take a stronger position in combating cases of forced labour resulting from abductions of women and children by clarifying its policy and giving it the necessary publicity. The Committee trusted that the Government would take urgent, effective and relevant measures to establish and strengthen machinery for prevention, identification and punishment. It took note of the Government's commitment to evaluate the situation and the results of the plan of action within a year, and expressed the firm hope that it would be able to note improvements in the action taken by the Government to combat forced labour in the near future. The Committee decided that its conclusions would be placed in a special paragraph of its report.

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A Government representative of Sudan noted that his delegation had studied the report of the Committee of Experts and wished to provide information to the Committee on the points raised therein. He noted that the issue of the kidnappings and abductions of women and children had been discussed in the report of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and in the United Nations General Assembly in the framework of human rights in Sudan and these bodies had concluded that these were not forced labour practices, but were simply abductions. He stressed that his Government condemned the use of all forms of slavery and referred the Committee to article 20 of the Constitution of Sudan. He also pointed out that the Criminal Code of Sudan imposed a sanction of ten years in prison for kidnapping and seven years in prison for abduction. The Government representative noted that the information contained in the Committee of Experts' report came from Christian Solidarity International (CSI). In his Government's view, this organization was not a neutral, reliable source and took an aggressive position against the Sudanese Government. As an example, he cited a communication sent by the CSI to the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights on 5 July, alleging that 133 children in a CEAWC UNICEF programme who were being taken to join their families had been lost on the way. In a letter dated 25 July 2000, UNICEF clarified that these children had in fact arrived safely and provided names and dates. His Government had provided information regarding this incident to the Committee of Experts, but unfortunately it had not been referred to in the report. The Government representative stated that the war in southern Sudan had caused negative consequences, including the kidnapping of women and children among tribes in that region. He pointed out that this practice was very old and could also be seen in other parts of the African continent, particularly where there were conflicts, instability and lack of security. The practice of kidnapping of women and children among tribes was particularly common among the Dinka tribe and other tribes in the south. An agreement was signed in March 1997 between the Dinka and other tribes stipulating that kidnapped women and children should be returned. Due to the ongoing war, the heads of tribes that used to settle these problems and return kidnapped persons were no longer doing so. To fill the vacuum resulting from the migration of these tribal elders, in May 1999, the Ministry of Justice set up the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). This had been described by the United Nations bodies as a positive step taken by the Government to eradicate this practice. He noted that this Committee was composed of government and non-government members and members of the tribes concerned. While the Government was fully committed to the eradication of this problem, it faced a number of difficulties in achieving this goal. First, the kidnappings and abductions occurred in a vast region with no paved roads to enable the authorities to gain access to the area. The security forces had no communications and transport facilities to cover the area, due to the bad economic situation. Moreover, the roads in the region were not accessible at certain times of the year, particularly during the rainy season. He stressed that the kidnappings and abductions occurred in areas where the civil war was going on. Further, the CEAWC faced many difficulties which hindered it from carrying out its mandate. First, it was difficult to reach the families of abducted children since these people were in a region under the control of the rebel army. The Government had attempted to use neutral persons to transfer children from its regions to areas under control of the rebels, but had not received much cooperation in this regard from the rebels. This problem was compounded by the logistical difficulties posed by the need to move and feed these persons during the transfer. The issue of reuniting families also led to conflicts with the interests of the rebels. The rebel militia urged the tribes to carry out raids. This conflict was also intensified by rebel movement, leading to an increase in kidnappings and abductions, which complicated the task of the CEAWC. Sudan had asked the international community for help to eradicate this practice and had received assistance from the European Union, Save the Children, the United Kingdom and UNICEF. Despite these difficulties, the Government was determined to eradicate this practice through its legislation and through raising awareness in order to establish a peaceful coexistence between tribes. To that end, he indicated that the Government had issued radio transmissions in the regions affected. He gave examples of measures taken, including symposia conducted by the CEAWC and a mission sent to investigate the kidnapping of 12 children by the Dinka from other tribes in the south. As a result of the mission conducted in July 2000, two children had joined their families; the Government was still attempting to reunite one child with his family, and one child was moved to Khartoum for medical treatment. He cited examples of other successful tracing of abducted children which took place from December 2000 to January 2001. Pointing discrepancies in the statistics presented by the Government in 2000 and the data presented by the CEAWC in 1999 and 2000, he pointed out that the Government had given the correct figure in its submission in the Conference Committee, indicating that 353 of the persons abducted had been returned to their families, not 1,258, as stated in the report of the Committee of Experts. In conclusion, he recalled that in August 2000, an ILO expert from the MDT in Addis Ababa, had visited the Sudan for a three-week mission. During that time, he had spoken with representatives of the Government, that the CEAWC and other members of civil society. The Government had responded to all of the experts' questions and cooperated with his mission, but this was not mentioned in the report of the Committee of Experts.

The Employer members pointed out that the case of Sudan's application of Convention No. 29 had unfortunately gone on for a very long time. They recalled that the Committee of Experts had been commenting on this matter consistently since 1989 and the Conference Committee had addressed this case on six occasions. The report of the Committee of Experts followed up on points raised in previous years. However, no decisive improvements in the situation had been made to date. On the contrary, the report of the Committee of Experts cited many violations of the Convention which were confirmed by various sources, including major trade union federations, a Canadian assessment mission and the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. These violations involved acts of cruelty, concerning the abductions and kidnappings of women and children and incidents of murder, rape and slave labour. These practices primarily involved the Dinka community and the inhabitants of the Nuba mountains. Many witnesses had attested to these violations, as well as to the fact that these groups were allied with the armed forces of the Government. In fact, the report of the Canadian assessment mission, a mission which had received a mandate from the Sudanese Foreign Minister, reflected that the wages of these marauders consisted solely of stolen booty. The Government representative had not responded to the most recent points raised by the Committee of Experts. Instead, he had focused on explaining why more had not been done to correct the situation. As in past years, the Government had indicated that the practice of kidnapping and abduction among members of tribes in the southern Sudan formed part of their tradition and was a normal practice, thereby giving the impression that the Conference Committee should accept this practice as some type of folk tradition. However, these were practices that involved murders and other cruel acts and affected the lives of many victims in the country. The Committee of Experts had noted some progress in its prior report in that the Government had established the Committee on the Elimination of Abductions of Women and Children (CEAWC). The CEAWC's mandate was correct on paper, namely to end the practices described and ensure the safe return of those kidnapped or abducted. However, the Employer members questioned whether the CEAWC had the support of the tribal elders concerned and whether it was bringing to justice the persons committing such acts. As in the past, the Government representative had commented on the discrepancies in the statistical data contained in the Committee of Experts' report concerning those abducted and those released. However, the Government representative had not stated whether there were any new figures available which might demonstrate whether the CEAWC had had any success in fulfilling its mandate. While the accusation had been made that the CEAWC worked too slowly, the Employer members questioned whether this might be due to a lack of political and financial support from the Government. In this context, the Government representative had indicated that the Government had requested financial aid from the European Union and UNICEF. The Employer members welcomed this, but pointed out that the Government must also adopt and enforce effective criminal provisions. In fact, Article 25 of Convention No. 29 required governments to adopt and implement effective sanctions to punish the exaction of forced labour. They noted that the current penalty in Sudan for exacting forced labour was only one year in prison. The Employer members considered that, after many years of this practice, there was good reason for the Government to increase sanctions considerably, particularly when one considered that the practice of exacting forced labour had become almost routine. This unacceptable situation could not be changed unless the existing sanctions were significantly increased. Such legislative changes were also justified in light of the seriousness of the crime, its resulting injury, and the unanimous assessment by the different international organizations that there was an urgent need for the Government to take steps to end these practices. In conclusion, the Employer members stressed that the Committee must see much greater efforts on the part of the Government than it had seen in the past and urged the Committee to express this in its conclusions.

The Worker members stated that their analysis of this case had been covered by the statements of the Employer members and that they would restrict themselves therefore to an elaboration of their conclusions. A large consensus of different independent sources had confirmed the continuation of the practices of kidnapping, forced labour and slavery in Sudan as well as the Government's active or implied involvement in such practices. The Worker members expressed their concern over the significant risk of an increase in such practices further to the discovery of oilfields. The CERFE should have been able to provide a means to implement the political will in order to eradicate such abominable practices; instead, it had become at best a timid initiative and at worst a means to camouflage the absence of the Sudanese Government's political will to comply with Convention No. 29. In the report of the Committee of Experts, the Government had expressed its desire to eliminate the practice of the abduction of women and children and subjecting them to forced labour, but nothing had confirmed the existence of this desire. On the contrary, proof of the Government's active or implied collusion in such forced labour was increasing. Last year, for example, the Government had had the opportunity to prove its good will by accepting the ILO's direct contacts mission to examine, in the strictest confidence, the issues relating to compliance with Convention No. 29 and to submit a report to the Committee of Experts. The Government should of course allow such a mission entry to the entire territory and access to all players able to assist it in fulfilling its mandate. The Government representative was invited to express himself clearly on the acceptance of such a mission and its implementation before the end of this year. A negative response was already feared to be the sure outcome. The Committee should express its severest condemnation of the Government's violation of Convention No. 29, should it refuse to accept such a mission, given that the abovementioned practices constituted grave violations of Convention No. 29 and crimes against humanity.

The Worker member of Côte d'Ivoire recalled that this case had already been the subject of special paragraphs, but without any positive evolution of the situation. The practice of slavery still existed in Sudan and had as its corollary rape, murders and abductions. The principal victims were women and children. Slavery and forced labour were systematic and institutionalized, even in regions under government control where the sadly renowned peace camps existed. Moreover, the Penal Code provided for a sanction of only one year of prison for perpetrators of forced labour. Such a penalty did not constitute an effective sanction but rather a means of encouragement. The information provided by the CERFE must ensure that sight was not lost of the suffering of women and children who had been the victims of kidnappings. Concrete measures must be undertaken in order to put an end to this situation which did not bring honour to the African continent.

The Worker member of the United Kingdom noted that he had commented on this case last year, and regretted that he had to speak again. However, the case of the application of Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) in Sudan was a persistent and egregious case which concerned the abduction mainly of women and children, and their use as chattel slaves - a practice which was being used as an instrument of war. He noted that, although the number of women and children abducted and enslaved during raids had varied over the years since the resumption of the civil war in Sudan in 1983, it was clear that slavery remained a reality in Sudan, with thousands of people awaiting release and new abductions still taking place. The Government had consistently denied, from the time of the first public reports in 1987 until 1999, that either militia raids or slavery were occurring. However, after the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stopped referring to slavery in 1999, and spoke instead of abduction and forced labour, the Government set up the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). He noted that the geography and ethnic dimensions of this appalling case had been noted by the Committee of Experts. He wished to add some information communicated to his national trade union centre by Anti-Slavery International (ASI), a highly respected organization with which the TUC had had a long and cooperative relationship. In October 2000, two ASI representatives had visited Sudan to assess the impact of the CEAWC's work. They had interviewed members of the CEAWC, the Dinka Committee, the Dinka community living in north Sudan and former slaves living in three transit centres managed by the CEAWC. In April 2001, ASI submitted a report to the Government summarizing the information collected during that visit and presenting a series of recommendations to the Sudanese authorities. While he noted that the Government representative of Sudan condemned all forms of slavery, he also noted that ASI had found that the government officials and others did not consider that abducted persons absorbed into the household of another family - whether by sale, false adoption, marriage, or as a result of the passage of time - were victims of human rights violations, let alone slavery. He urged the Conference Committee to condemn, not only abductions, kidnapping and forced labour, but also false adoptions, debt bondage, the practice of employing children away from home and without the consent of their parents or guardians, and the practice of coercing or persuading girls and women into marriage, while keeping them ignorant of their origins or their rights. The Government should ensure that Sudanese legislation prohibited all these practices, and that the penalties imposed were commensurate with human rights violations. Exacting forced labour was in fact currently an offence under the 1991 Criminal Act, but the penalty was only one year of imprisonment. He pointed out that the ASI had observed that, while the CEAWC had secured the release of some abducted women and children, progress in this regard was extremely slow. From May 1999 to July 2000, the CEAWC identified 1,230 abductions in south Darfur and west Kordofan. However, by April 2001, less than half of those abducted had been returned to their homes. The total number waiting to be released was widely considered to be between 5,000 and 14,000. He considered that some of this slow pace might be attributable to a flare-up in the fighting. However, the CEAWC had not pursued prosecutions. It had merely adopted procedures to try to identify who should be released and securing releases - involving both representatives of the Dinka victims and the community holding them. The process has been unacceptably slow. Indeed, the Dinka had strongly criticized the Government for not facilitating the Dinka Committee's work on releasing slaves. In the opinion of the head of the Committee, the Government's inaction had the effect of encouraging more abductions. In addition, he noted that the Dinka representatives also continued to face harassment in carrying out their work. He therefore urged the Government to take urgent steps to hasten releases and publicly end the de facto amnesty for those abducting or holding victims. They must pursue prosecutions. They must also support the CEAWC and make it clear to local officials that they must cooperate with both the CEAWC and the release process and protect Dinka representatives from harassment. Officials or individuals who obstructed its work should be punished. No action had been taken to prevent new abductions, and raids in January and February had included two in which over 400 women and children were abducted. He urged the Government to take immediate action to stop attacks on civilians and prevent new raids and abductions. He suggested that the Government establish and maintain a land or air corridor from north to south Sudan, under the supervision of a suitable neutral organization, to enable victims released to return home safely to the areas under SPLA control from which they were abducted. Further, the ILO must be provided with detailed information on the legal proceedings initiated against those responsible for these crimes, and the Government should take measures to prevent further abductions. Noting that the Government had asked for help from the international community, he suggested that a direct contacts mission go to Sudan to obtain full factual information and to examine what effective assistance could be made available by the ILO to the Government to eradicate this practice.

The Government member of the United States stated that his Government remained gravely concerned by the persistence of reports from many sources, relating to abduction, trafficking and slavery - accompanied by extreme violence - affecting thousands of women and children in Sudan. The alleged role played by the Sudanese Government in these atrocities was most troubling, notwithstanding the Government's stated commitment to eradicate these practices and to cooperate with the international community in doing so. In the past, the Conference Committee had referred to the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) as a positive first step, but it remained far from sufficient. The Conference Committee should therefore insist that the Government, as a matter of extreme urgency, take all necessary steps to stamp out these practices of slavery, particularly through measures to ensure that the perpetrators of these acts were brought to justice and convicted, and that meaningful penalties were imposed upon them, so as to secure observance of the provisions of Convention No. 29 for every person in Sudan.

The Government representative thanked the Committee members for their keen interest when discussing this case. The dialogue had been constructive and fruitful. He wished to make the following observations. There was still talk about slavery and bondage. The resolution of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights issued in April 1999 did not talk about slavery but kidnappings and abductions. His Government did not deny that abductions were taking place. Rather, it had responded favourably by establishing the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), which was responsible for ensuring that the abduction of women and children was eliminated. The present Committee had noted the difficulties facing the Government in its attempts to deal with the problem of abductions, including its inability to access some of the relevant areas where the abducted persons were held. While the speaker shared the concerns of other Committee members regarding these abductions, he pointed out that the problem could only be resolved by supporting the CEAWC as well as an end to the civil war in Sudan. He hoped this Committee would ask the international community to support peace initiatives to this end.

Another Government representative emphasized that his Government was committed to the respect and promotion of human rights in Sudan. His Government's policy was not to deny human rights violations in Sudan if they occurred but to acknowledge them and to try to resolve them. Hence, cooperation and not confrontation was the approach preferred by his Government. Because of this constructive approach, the CEAWC had been established in collaboration with UNICEF and some Western governments. Several hundred women and children had been saved thanks to the work of the CEAWC. The speaker underlined, however, that his Government needed this Committee's understanding in resolving the problem of abductions in Sudan. In this respect, he noted the positive contributions made by members of this Committee when discussing this case.

Another Government representative, the Minister of Labour and Administration Reform, indicated that his Government wished to cooperate with the ILO in finding the appropriate ways and means of solving this problem. The most important thing was to admit that there was a problem. He emphasized that the problem of abductions was due to the civil war raging in Sudan during all these years. As long as the war continued, there would be violations of human rights. This was not particular to Sudan but had happened in other parts of the world when there was war, including in Europe. He had noted the suggestion by the Worker members about the undertaking of a direct contacts mission. His Government would look into it to see how such a mission could be carried out. He assured the Committee that with the activation of the CEAWC and with its strengthened ability, more work could be done with a view to eradicating the abduction of women and children.

The Employer members were surprised by the Government representative's reaction in respect of the difficulties facing the CEAWC, particularly with regard to its human and financial resources. These difficulties were well known. It was true that the war had played a major role in the incidence of forced labour in the country. However, in earlier discussions on this case, the Government representatives had stated that the abduction of women and children was inherent in tribal life, since tribes fought each other for agricultural land. Regarding the Government representative's request for technical assistance, the Employer members recalled that a more far-reaching proposal had been made, that of the undertaking of a direct contacts mission to the country. However, the Government representative had not given a clear reply in this regard and a direct contacts mission could only be carried out with the Government's agreement. Therefore, the Government representative had to provide a clear statement as to whether or not his Government would welcome such a mission, which could possibly constitute an appropriate tool to address the very serious human rights violations. In conclusion, the violation of human rights in Sudan was very serious and there was a continued failure by the Government in applying the relevant provisions of Convention No. 29.

The Worker members stated that this was an extremely sad situation. The practice of kidnapping, trafficking of persons, forced labour and slavery affected thousands of women and children from the south of Sudan and constituted grave violations of Convention No. 29. These were crimes against humanity and slavery was the consequence of abduction, even though the Government refused to adopt the term "slavery". The active or implicit involvement of the Government in these practices was to be regretted. Regarding the clear question asked by the Worker and Employer members, namely the Government's acceptance or otherwise of the proposal to send an ILO direct contacts mission, the Government had answered by using the same language that it used last year. This should be interpreted as a new refusal to collaborate. As a result, they requested that this case be included in a special paragraph of the Committee's report.

The Committee took note of the information provided by the Government representative on the causes of abduction of women and children, the measures taken to eliminate forced labour of which they were the victims and the subsequent discussion. The Committee highlighted the extreme gravity of the case which affected fundamental human rights for which reason it had been included in a special paragraph in 1997, 1998 and 2000. The Committee noted that the Committee of Experts had observed that there was a broad consensus among the relevant instances of the United Nations agencies and workers' representative organizations concerning the persistence and extent of the practice of abduction and imposition of forced labour, and concluded that such situations were very serious violations of Convention No. 29. The Committee noted the information supplied by the Government representative on the practical difficulties faced by the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children in carrying out its task of identifying and ensuring their return to their homes and found that the measure was inadequate. The Committee expressed its profound concern at the serious situation in Sudan and urged the Government to initiate systematic actions concomitant with the magnitude and gravity of the problem and to reply to the questions raised by the Committee of Experts, in particular with respect to the relevant preventive measures, identification of those responsible for exacting forced labour and the imposition of appropriate penal sanctions. The Committee noted that the Government representative rejected the proposal that a direct contacts mission should visit the country to work with the Government in finding solutions to eradicate the practice of forced labour, but had announced that it would consider that possibility. The Committee decided to include this case in a special paragraph of its report as a case of continued failure to apply the Convention.

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A Government representative of Sudan stated that he had not believed that this case would be selected to be heard before the Committee. He recalled that the report of the Committee of Experts had contained numerous positive comments on progress in the situation in Sudan, and it indicated his Government's willingness to comply with the recommendations of the report and to provide further information. He also noted that slavery and forced labour were against the cultural values and heritage of his country and illegal under Sudanese law and the Constitution. He further recalled the General Assembly resolution of this year which had made no mention of slavery and acknowledged that abductions occurred in the context of the civil war. He therefore emphasized that the matters raised in the report originated in the armed conflict currently raging in Sudan. Turning to government efforts to combat forced labour and slavery, he recalled the Decree of May 1999 which established the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). This body had the full powers and mandate to seek the safe return of abducted women and children, investigate reports of abduction, prosecute perpetrators, and develop means to eliminate practices related to forced labour. He noted that the work of the CEAWC had resulted in the resolution of 1,230 cases of abduction and had returned 1,258 abducted persons back to their families. Further fact-finding missions, shelters for victims of abductions, and the establishment of outposts in affected areas were planned in the year 2000. In closing, he recalled that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights had expressed satisfaction last April with the situation in Sudan. He stated that the CEAWC would continue to operate and consult with international organizations in order to address the issues raised in the report. He emphasized, nonetheless, that the clear cause of abductions was the civil war and that the Government was using all means at its disposal to bring this conflict to an end.

The Worker members were deeply concerned by the need to comment yet again on the application of this Convention in Sudan. The case had already been the subject of special paragraphs in 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998. The comments by the Committee of Experts and the statements of the Government representative gave no sign, despite some meek initiatives, of genuine progress towards the abolition of forced labour and slavery in the country. The Committee of Experts examined allegations of abductions and trafficking of women and children, enslavement, and forcible induction of children into rebel armed forces. According to consistent and reliable sources, such practices were still going on in Sudan. The last communication sent to the Committee of Experts by ICFTU contained detailed information on specific cases of abductions, enslavement, sexual abuse, forced conversions to Islam, and forced labour involving women and children in various parts of southern Sudan.

According to a report drawn up by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan following a visit to the country in February 1999, Mujahideen militia "... systematically raid villages, torch houses, steal cattle, kill men and capture women and children as war booty. Often, abducted women and children are taken up to the north and remain in the possession of the captors or other persons". What made this case even more serious was mounting evidence of direct government involvement in these activities. The Committee of Experts noted in this regard that the UN Special Rapporteur had also raised the problem of involvement by allies, and even troops, of the Government in forced labour and slavery. The communication before the Committee of Experts referred to testimony and other information on how the Government encouraged abductions by arming militias and how the police failed to act on complaints of alleged abduction. As UNICEF recently pointed out, there was irrefutable proof of various forms of slavery being practised in Sudan. Moreover, all of the facts reported over the past several years by various United Nations agencies and by independent non-governmental organizations pointed to continuing abductions of women and children, the systematic practice of slavery and forced labour, and the complicity of troops and allies of the Government.

It should be observed that the attitude of the Government had evolved since the Committee began examining this case. At first, the Government categorically denied the existence of slavery in the country. In 1998, it requested technical assistance, which was to be confined to the supply of vehicles for use by the investigating body. Having lately set up a Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children, the Government appeared to have acknowledged the existence of abduction and forced labour in Sudan. However, it was still unwilling to assimilate these practices to slavery. The Government had committed itself to taking action that would allow the abovementioned Committee to carry out its mandate and compile a detailed registry of cases of abduction. Concrete results were expected by mid-September 1999.

The Worker members wanted the Government to submit a copy of the registry together with information on the specific results obtained (names and numbers of families or women and children captured, numbers of arrests made and penalties imposed). The Government's commitment notwithstanding, the Worker members observed that no action had yet been taken to put an end to abductions leading to slavery. For example, the railway between southern Kordofan and Bahr al-Ghazal, which was a key slave route, remained a favoured supply route of government troops and their allies, and the Government had failed to do away with slavery-related activities along it. Slave-taking militias were still being armed by the Government and its troops were still involved in abductions.

To be sure, the work of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children was a positive step. But there remained a long way to go. Owing to the authorities' involvement in slavery-related practices, vigorous and immediate action was requested of the Government to put a stop to them. In report after report on the application of this Convention the Government had failed to supply the detailed information requested by the Committee of Experts. That information should cover action taken on the ground to end this scourge, the concrete results obtained as a result of such action, statistical data on the number of persons freed, action undertaken with a view to their return home and rehabilitation, and any penalties which may have been imposed for slave-taking, including penalties imposed among troops of the Government and its militia allies. Lastly, the Government should indicate whether it accepted assistance from the Office and notably the visit of a direct contact mission to conduct an unfettered investigation into forced labour and slavery practices throughout the country, as well as any measures taken to halt them.

The Employer members recalled, in similar terms as the Worker members, that this case had been examined by the Committee several times in the past decade. It had been mentioned in special paragraphs on four occasions and had been mentioned twice as a case of continued failure to implement the Convention. They noted that the nature of the comment in the Committee of Experts' report was basically the same as before. The report did, however, contain some information on certain positive developments. The report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan in February 1999 was less positive however, and contained information regarding some kind of tacit consent by the Government or the army to the continued capture of prisoners who were reduced to slavery unless or until they were redeemed through ransom. Moreover, slavery and slave-like practices continued with abductions and trafficking of women and children. Children were drafted by force into rebel armed forces where they were forced to transport ammunition and supplies. The resolution adopted in April 1999 by the United Nations Human Rights Commission on this subject retained most of the terms used in previous resolutions.

They noted the first report from the Committee on the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children, created in May 1999 by the Government, which had reported on various missions and registered cases: in all 1,230 cases had been registered and 358 children had been released. For this year, 22 missions were planned. It was not sufficient, however, only to produce lists of cases; the work should be focused on practical release actions and the implementation of lasting measures to halt the practices at issue and punish those responsible. The Government had to ensure that its troops and allies no longer engaged in these activities. The CEAWC report was silent as to such measures and did not demonstrate an interest in a real change.

Although the present Committee was well aware of the civil strife in Sudan, the Government was responsible for the situation and events which occurred on its territory and it was responsible for the failure to take appropriate action. It was the Government's task to ensure that law and order prevailed and it had to do more to that effect than it had done until now. While the positive developments noted were welcomed, the continued lack of real change was regrettable. With reference to the Committee of Experts' comments, this Committee should note the positive developments, but also emphasize the need for the Government to take concrete action. They agreed with the proposal by the Worker members to recommend a direct contacts mission which should be competent to examine the situation in all regions and provide a report on the overall situation. This case could then be re-evaluated in the light of such a report.

The Worker member of Sudan noted that this case had been discussed several times in the past. Although progress had been recorded by the Committee of Experts, the serious allegations including practices of slavery had been reiterated. He emphasized that claims of slavery were an insult to the Government and it was a stigma for any nation to accept such practices. The developments and improvements noted must be seen in their proper historical and cultural context. He recalled the particular geographical and demographic configuration of Sudan and the specific situation caused by the coexistence of numerous tribes with different traditions. While this coexistence had traditionally been relatively balanced, external provocations had caused civil strife to erupt resulting in the taking of prisoners and consequential retaliatory measures. The Government had made great efforts to exert its power over the territory and had succeeded in releasing and returning prisoners, including women and children, to their families. He emphasized that war was the cause of the problems, and that it was necessary to address the causes of the problems, which could only be resolved when peace had been restored. He firmly maintained that Islam condemned the use of force and slavery. He strongly urged the Committee to allow the Government to pursue its efforts to remedy the situation.

The Worker member of Turkey expressed his deep regret to have to discuss a case of serious allegations concerning slavery, servitude, the slave trade and forced labour, and government forces and the militia being directly involved in such acts. He would have liked to believe that these practices belonged to the past. He noted that the Government representative of the Sudan had repudiated all the observations by institutions such as the United Nations, Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International, but these arguments were not convincing. In the reports of these organizations, the observations were substantiated by the names of the victims, by details of the sale of slaves and of redemptions. In one report it was stated that on 10 March 2000 the Popular Defence Forces had raided the villages of Malith and Rup Deir and enslaved 120 people. On 11 March this year, in various other villages 299 persons had been abducted. The number of chattel slaves was estimated to be more than 100,000 in Sudan and, since 1995, 30,021 slaves had been redeemed. The redemption activities were still ongoing. According to reports, the prices of slaves had varied. In 1997 slaves had been redeemed for US$133 or for ten heads of cattle per slave. In March 2000, when 4,968 black African slaves had been freed in the period from 9 to 19 March, the price was 50,000 Sudanese pounds per slave, the equivalent of US$35 or two goats. The slaves redeemed had testified that they had been abducted by the National Islamic Front, mainly by its Popular Defence Force (PDF). There was ample evidence that there were systematic raids of villages, killing of men and abduction of women and children. He noted that if the Government of Sudan had acknowledged any problems such as those alleged and had requested cooperation and support from the international community and the ILO, it would have received it. However, the categorical repudiation of the facts and evidence reported were not conducive to generate such support. He launched an urgent appeal for an immediate halt to these deplorable practices.

The Worker member of the United Kingdom noted that, while the Sudanese authorities had been willing to take action in response to what they acknowledge to be abductions and forced labour, they continued to deny that the cases concerned had involved enslavement or slavery. He recalled that when women and children have been abducted, whether in the course of civil war or as a result of longer term conflict between different communities, and subsequently forced to work, or forced to marry in the community where they were held captive, their treatment constituted an abuse under the terms of the United Nations Conventions on slavery and under ILO Convention No. 29.

He further referred to reports from Sudan that up to 14,000 persons originating from southern Sudan, currently located in Southern Darfur or Southern Kordofan, needed to be reunited with their families. Many of these persons had been abducted from their homes in Bahr al-Ghazal. The Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), set up by the Government of Sudan in May 1999, was reported to have secured the release of hundreds of women and children held in forced labour. However, no action had yet been taken by the Government of Sudan to end raids in which unarmed civilians were abducted and taken into slavery or forced labour. Nor had the Government provided the resources necessary to ensure that those who were freed were reunited with their families.

Since May 1999, Western charities visiting areas of southern Sudan controlled by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) had regularly announced the release of groups of women and children described as "redeemed slaves" -- that is to say, people who were held in slavery, and for whom an agent had been paid to secure their release. He declared that he shared the view of Anti-Slavery International that the availability of such money could act as an incentive to agents to abduct others or to present individuals as "slaves" who had in fact not been abducted or held in captivity. The Government should ensure that all people held in slavery be liberated; this should not be left to a process of purchase.

It was not known exactly how many people had been released with the CEAWC's assistance. In May this year, a UNICEF information officer in Sudan had reported that 500 children had been traced over the previous year and that 303 children were back with their families. It was estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 children had been seized since 1983. However, according to unofficial estimates, some 14,000 people in Darfur and Kordofan might have been "abducted" and needed to be reunited with their families. Most were reported to be Dinka women and children. Hundreds had been reported to have been released from the households where they had been kept, but few were reported to have been returned home. The CEAWC had apparently concluded that a significant number preferred to stay where they were, particularly in the case of women who were now married. Furthermore, the processes for securing releases was reported to be particularly complicated in areas inhabited by Baggara Arabs. Some children, whose release had been secured from the Baggara families, for whom they were working, had subsequently been detained by government officials in the absence of adequate plans to arrange their return home. Furthermore, the plans which had been put into effect had been relatively expensive and the CEAWC had launched appeals for very substantial amounts from donors. The Government of Sudan had not yet demonstrated its own willingness to pay these costs. The CEAWC was also reported to have been unwilling to record details of the identities of the households where abducted women and children had been held. This was apparently because of a concern that householders might not cooperate if they feared future attempts to prosecute them.

While the Government might point to real material obstacles for the reuniting of women and children with their families in Bahr al-Ghazal or elsewhere, it was evident that many of these obstacles could be overcome if the Government of Sudan had the will to do so. Similarly, the Government's failure to order an end to all attacks on civilians in towns such as Aweil and Wao meant that it still appeared to be condoning raids and thus facilitating further abductions.

In conclusion, he implored the Committee to keep in mind the appalling facts recorded in this case, in particular the sufferings caused to enslaved children. There was an urgent need for immediate and substantive action on the part of the Government. The Committee should adopt conclusions in the strongest possible terms. Furthermore, given the weakness of tripartism in Sudan, and the total absence of free trade unions able to make their own independent observations free from government intervention, he urged the Committee to recommend a direct contacts mission so that the Conference Committee and the Committee of Experts would have a better chance of verifying the situation.

The Worker member of Sudan declared that the assertions made by the previous speaker regarding trade unionism in Sudan were totally untrue. He emphasized that the Confederation of Sudanese Workers was a freely established and democratically elected trade union. The Arab Labour Organization as well as the Organization of African Trade Unions had been present during the elections and would endorse this fact.

The Government representative thanked the members of the Committee for their comments on the case. He had hoped that the discussion would be fruitful and constructive and would have taken into account the needs and situation of developing countries. In this respect, he emphasized that the statements which had been made concerning slavery in his country were obsolete. The problem under examination concerned the abduction of women and children. The situation was rendered much more complex by the civil strife in the country, as concluded by the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He noted in this respect that the Human Rights Commission had not even considered a special report on the situation in his country this year, but only a note from the secretariat. It was necessary to welcome the new developments in the country, and in particular the establishment of a commission to eradicate the abduction of women and children. His Government therefore welcomed the conclusions of the Human Rights Commission and continued to cooperate with international agencies, including UNICEF and charity organizations, with a view to raising awareness of the real situation and returning persons who had been abducted to their families as soon as possible. The commission which had been established had been given powers to take measures with a view to resolving the problem, and its procedure had been established by law. It was empowered to search for, arrest and bring to trial persons guilty of abduction. At the present time prosecutions were not taking place because confidence needed to be built. This initiative needed to be given the necessary time in order to gain the trust and confidence of the population. If it were placed under too much pressure, it might not achieve the desired results.

He also referred to various initiatives which had been taken, including the holding of a meeting to discuss issues in Sudan and to provide those concerned with all the necessary information. The Government's commitment to transparency was also demonstrated by the publication of press communiqués issuing the figures for the numbers of persons abducted and for those who had been returned to their families. With regard to the reference made by one speaker to the railroad linking the north and the south of his country, he emphasized that it was the lifeblood of the Sudanese people and linked those in the south of the country with both the north of Sudan and the rest of the world. He refuted any suggestion that it had been constructed for the practice of slavery and reaffirmed that its purpose had been to facilitate progress and development in south Sudan. In conclusion, he undertook to cooperate with the Conference Committee and the Committee of Experts in providing all the information requested. He emphasized the need to develop suitable machinery to address the problems in cooperation with the international community and in compliance with his national Constitution and beliefs.

Another Government representative, the Minister of Manpower and Development, added that the statements made by the members of the Committee had been extremely dramatic, but had not taken into account the progress that was being made. He emphasized that as many as 70 per cent of the southern Sudanese lived in the north of the country or in areas which were under rebel control. Many of the alarmist reports were concocted by the rebels to place his Government in a bad light. It needed to be taken into account that 30 per cent of the Sudanese army was composed of persons from the south of the country, who would certainly not allow their own kinsmen to be enslaved. He did not deny that excesses were committed in certain conflict-affected areas. Before the outbreak of the war, the Government had taken security measures to ensure that such practices did not occur. However, since 1983, the situation had deteriorated. Citing once again the report of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, he emphasized that his Government stood for openness and transparency and for this reason had welcomed many parliamentary delegations to the country to observe the situation for themselves.

In response to a proposal that the Government should invite a direct contacts mission to come to Sudan he stated that his country welcomed any initiative by the ILO to address the issue. He proposed that discussions should be held with the higher authorities of the ILO with a view to arranging a visit in the future.

The Worker members stated that according to converging and reliable sources, the practices of the abduction and trafficking of women and children still persisted in Sudan. They considered that the argument of the Government, attributing this situation to the civil war, could not be accepted and they completely rejected it. Even if civil war could have an influence on these practices, in no case could it justify slavery or similar practices on the national territory and even less in the areas which were controlled by the Government. The case was even more serious as there seemed to be an active involvement of governmental and allied troops in these practices.

The Worker members welcomed the creation of the Sudanese Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). They noted certain positive initiatives which had already been taken by this Committee, especially the establishment of registries to take a census of the cases of identified abductions and the cases of the return of the victims to their families. However, the CEAWC also had the obligation under its mandate to proceed to the prosecution and arrest of those responsible for these acts. Yet, it seemed that up to now no prosecutions had been undertaken, even though many reports prepared by United Nations bodies and by independent NGOs revealed the involvement of governmental and allied troops.

The Worker members considered that, given the extreme gravity of this case and taking into account the timidity of the initiatives taken by the Government, as well as the lack of precision and clarity in its replies to the Committee of Experts and to the Conference Committee, they wished to make the following proposals to the Committee. First, that a very strong conclusion would be adopted. Second, that the Government be requested to provide all the requested details to the Committee of Experts. Third, taking into consideration that, according to the answer of the Government representative to the Committee, the Government would be ready to accept an ILO direct contacts mission, they hoped that such a mission would be sent to Sudan in order to investigate the practices of slavery and forced labour on Sudanese territory and that it would establish contacts with all those concerned by these problems.

To conclude, the Worker members detected in the last phrase of the Minister of Manpower and Development a positive element demonstrating a willingness for openness and wanted to know if the Government would in fact accept an ILO direct contacts mission.

The Employer members noted that discussion in the Committee had not yielded any new information and had been focused on facts which were basically known to the Committee. They also noted the explanations provided by the Government representative concerning Article 25 of the Convention, which had apparently not been invoked for political reasons. They added that the Government representative had not provided a positive response to the question of whether it would be prepared to receive a direct contacts mission. A direct contacts mission could perhaps bring this case forward, but such a mission depended on cooperation by the Government.

The Government representative stated his objection to the use of the word "slavery" in the Committee's conclusions. The last report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur had only used the term "abduction". He also stated that he had not rejected the idea of a direct contacts mission, but had only stated conditions for arranging it.

The Committee noted the information supplied by the Government representatives, including information on recent measures to release persons who had been abducted, and the detailed discussion which took place thereafter. The Committee noted that this was a particularly serious and longstanding case affecting fundamental human rights, as witnessed by its inclusion in a special paragraph in 1997 and 1998, and the fact that comments had been received from workers' organizations. The Committee noted the positive measures taken by the Government, including the establishment of the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children. Nevertheless, it expressed its deep concern at continuing reports of abductions and slavery and urged the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour. It understood that the situation was exacerbated by the continuing civil conflict and noted the measures taken to reach a settlement. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government's next report to the Committee of Experts would indicate that measures had been taken, including punishment of those responsible, and that concrete results had been obtained, so that the full application of the Convention, in law and in practice, could be noted in the very near future. The Committee strongly recommended that a direct contacts mission be undertaken by the Office to obtain full factual information and to examine effective assistance to the Government in this respect. The Committee regretted that the Government had not accepted the proposal to invite a direct contacts mission. The Committee decided that its conclusions would be placed in a special paragraph of its report.

The Government representative stated his objection to the use of the word "slavery" in the Committee's conclusions. The last report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur had only used the term "abduction". He also stated that he had not rejected the idea of a direct contacts mission, but had only stated conditions for arranging it.

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A Government representative emphasized that the comments of the Committee of Experts on the application of the Convention in the country had clearly been based on the findings of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan. In this respect, he stated that, in verifying the allegations about slavery and related practices, the Special Rapporteur had made no effort other than maintaining his previous position, citing provisions from the relevant international instruments and criticizing the investigations carried out by the Government. Such reporting deserved no other response than to recall the replies submitted by the Government in the past. However, he reaffirmed that the Government had adopted a serious attitude and was genuine in investigating all allegations of slavery and related practices. After the Special Rapporteur had left the country without travelling outside Khartoum, the Government had therefore received Lord McNair of the British House of Lords to investigate the allegations by visiting many relevant locations.

He informed the Committee of the conclusions of Lord McNair's report. Lord McNair had arrived at the conclusion that there was something contrived about some of the allegations, which suggested a deliberate campaign in some quarters to discredit the Government. In October 1997, he had visited a number of locations in the States of Northern and Southern Kordofan, the site of many of the allegations. On that occasion, he had found no evidence of slavery. However, the main concern of community leaders had been for the hundreds, if not thousands, of Nuba and Arab children abducted by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). Indeed, the abduction by the SPLA of over 10,000 children over the past decade was a more tangible manifestation of slave-like practices than any of the other allegations. The plight of these children had been documented by the United States State Department, Human Rights Watch/Africa and the Children's Rights Project, among other organizations. The ICRC had been seeking the release of the children for a number of years. Moreover, the United States country reports on human rights practices had stated in the past that any slave-like practices which existed were the result of the civil war in southern Sudan and that they were concentrated in areas in which the government administration was weak or non-existent, and particularly where displaced persons fleeing the war zones came into contact with armed groups. It was acknowledged in this respect that Sudanese law was clear in unambiguously criminalizing any slave-like practices, such as kidnapping, abduction, unlawful detention, forced labour and unlawful confinement, and punishing them by imprisonment. It was therefore clear that the Government, from its earliest days in power, had been responsive to instances of abduction and kidnapping brought to its attention. Anti-Slavery International had documented decisive action by the Government in response to the capture of Dinka children in the course of inter-tribal fighting. Anti-Slavery International had also recorded cases brought by the Dinka community in which the court had ordered the release of the children in question. Other reports of direct government intervention to secure the release of illegally held people included the Human Rights Watch/Africa's 1996 study Behind the red line: Political repression in Sudan, which reported action to free 500 women and children who had been taken prisoner during fighting between tribal militias. There was therefore clear evidence, as recorded by reputable human rights organizations, that the present Government had intervened to free victims of inter-tribal raids and violence, many of whom had been illegally held since the days of the Sadig-al-Mahdi Government. There was thus no foundation for the allegations of slavery levelled at the Government. For example, Alex de Waal, Co-Director of African Rights, had stated that there was no evidence for centrally organized, government-directed slave raiding or slave trade. Anti-Slavery International had stated that the charge that government troops engage in raids for the purpose of seizing slaves was not backed by evidence. Lord McNair therefore concluded that, what had been true in 1992 in so far as the United States Department of State was concerned, continued to hold true for the country at the present time. Moreover, he regretted that the most prominent allegations that certain persons had been brought to the country and bought slaves were unsubstantiated and sensationalist. It had been recognized that the so-called buying of slaves had most probably consisted of the payment of a ransom to a go-between by families redeeming their hostage children or other relatives who had been abducted during the inter-tribal raids and conflict which had spiralled in the country as a result of the continuing civil war. These false claims merely fuelled the propaganda that had blighted Sudan over recent years. The absurdity of the claims had been illustrated during a fact-finding visit undertaken personally by Lord McNair to a Christian community in North Kordofan, where a respected priest had confirmed that he had no evidence of the allegations of slavery, but had merely heard reports from the media.

The Government representative also informed the Committee that the mandate of the investigation commission on the allegations of slavery had remained open-ended and that the Advisory Council on Human Rights had appointed a resident representative for the Council in Kordofan. Moreover, since the discussion of the case by the Committee last year, there had been a number of political and constitutional developments. Peace talks had been held in Nairobi in May 1998, resulting in an agreement on self-determination for southern Sudan. This principle had been enshrined in the new Constitution, which would be subject to a referendum during the course of the month. It was to be hoped that these developments would bring an end to the protracted civil war, which was one of the main reasons for the issue in question. The investigation commission badly needed the assistance that had been requested from the ILO, since it was working within the limited technical and financial resources of the Advisory Council for Human Rights. As a priority, the technical assistance requested therefore included training, office equipment, means of transport and of communication. He understood in this respect that the Office was available for further discussions to identify the forms of assistance that it would provide to strengthen the work of the investigation commission. In conclusion, he emphasized that the Government was prepared to inform the Committee of any future development on the issue and of the work of the ongoing investigating commission, in its conviction that dialogue was more productive and fruitful than confrontation.

The Workers' members recalled that the Committee had held a difficult discussion of the case last year and had included it in a special paragraph in its report as a case of continued failure to implement a ratified Convention. Additional information had now been placed before the Committee, both in the form of a detailed government report and from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan. Information had also been provided by the World Confederation of Labour. The available information indicated that there were serious problems in general in respect of human rights in the country. There were convincing allegations that slavery existed and the Government had established an investigating commission to look into them. However, the Committee of Experts had expressed concern that the Government's investigations had led to conclusions which were profoundly inconsistent with the other sources of information available, at least as regards the part of the country over which it had effective control. There was therefore extensive and credible evidence of the existence of slavery in government-controlled areas. More effort was therefore needed to identify and eliminate it. There was no doubt as to the existence of slavery and forced labour in other areas of the country, although its extent was unclear. The Workers' members also noted that, as reported by the United Nations Special Rapporteur, many raids had been carried out by the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) and the National Islamic Front (NIF) in certain areas of the country since they had seized power in a military coup in 1989. Many of the slaves taken had been subjected to physical and psychological torture, including rape and beatings.

The Workers' members noted that, as the Committee had suggested, the Government had requested assistance from the Office. However, the request for assistance had simply been for vehicles to assist the investigating commission. The Government should therefore be urged to request more substantial assistance with a view to establishing unbiased factual evidence. The Government should also be requested, as called for by the Committee of Experts, to undertake effective action to secure the observance of the Convention and to report on the concrete measures taken. In this respect, while noting the information concerning the efforts to secure a peaceful settlement to the civil war, the Workers' members emphasized that the situation of war in the country did not justify slavery and slave-like practices anywhere on the national territory, and particularly in areas over which the Government had control. In the light of the serious continued violations of the Convention, the Committee should include the case in a special paragraph of its report.

The Employers' members emphasized that this was the fifth occasion since 1989 on which the Committee had examined the case. At the beginning, the Government had rejected all the allegations. It had later indicated that there were other causes for the problem. Furthermore, it had always denied allegations of slavery in the territory that it controlled. The Government representative had cited a report by a certain Lord McNair. A report of this nature should have been provided in writing to the Conference Committee so that it could have been examined more fully. Nevertheless, the fact remained that there had been many credible reports over the years confirming the existence of slavery and slave-like practices in the country, including the information provided by the United Nations Special Rapporteur. A number of these reports suggested that the Government tolerated and even encouraged and participated in such practices, for example, through the Popular Defence Forces and other groups. According to the reports, slaves were sold and exchanged, particularly in the south of the country. It was no great surprise to the members of the Committee that the investigation commission set up by the Government had contested the existence of slavery. Although the ILO had offered technical assistance, the response had already been described by the Workers' members. The Employers' members were well aware of the situation in the country, where a war was being conducted which was not really a civil war, but operations to gain control over certain parts of the country. In its denials of the allegations of slavery, the Government made use of the situation in the country to claim that the alleged practices were the fault of the rebel forces. The practice of slavery certainly existed in the country, in violation of the Convention, although it was difficult to tell whether or not it was organized. However, it was certain that too little was being done to resolve the problems that existed. The Government should therefore be urged to take the necessary measures to resolve a situation that was totally unacceptable.

The Employer member of Sudan contended that the issue under examination was extremely sensitive and serious since it cast doubts on the moralities and beliefs of the Sudanese people, as slavery was an extremely abhorrent practice. Thus, while examining this issue, the Committee needed to be judicious and wise. It was clear that the issue was simply the result of a war that had been inflaming Sudan for the last 15 years. The Committee would have to reach conclusions in order to resolve the problem which was twofold. One aspect related to the situation in the war zones where, in effect, information was indeed scarce. The second aspect related to the area bordering on the war zones. Here, various tribes migrated leading to tensions with other tribes, in turn leading to hostage-taking by each other. While each tribe took its own hostages, it was exaggerated to talk about slavery in Sudan. If one were to talk about a slave trade, this implied the existence of a slave market which, however, was non-existent in Sudan. The goal of this Committee should be to encourage all warring parties to resolve peacefully their differences.

The Worker member of Sudan considered that the accusation of slavery and slave trade was being levelled at the Sudanese people and not at the Government. He pointed out that the report of the Committee of Experts was based on the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur who had not even visited the regions concerned. This report was also based on the report of Baroness Cox who had not visited the regions concerned either. There was definitely a problem in Sudan but it was not that of slavery or human enslavement, but that of a civil war which was engulfing the whole country. This Committee should talk about the assistance it could provide to the warring factions instead of discussing a slave market that did not exist.

The Worker member of Italy declared that following the long discussion of last year he would have been justified in hoping that progress would have been accomplished but unfortunately this was not the case. He considered that the state of civil war in Sudan was not a sufficient justification to violate Convention No. 29. He emphasized that the conclusions by the United Nations Special Rapporteur evidenced the seriousness of the permanent violations of Convention No. 29 and confirmed the need to apply all the instruments of the United Nations and other organizations with the same aims. He mentioned that paragraph 3 of the comments by the Committee of Experts referred to extreme forms of exploitation of children and the use made of children in para-military groups as well as to forced labour and sexual exploitation of children. He indicated that the International Organization for Christian Solidarity had even demonstrated the existence of slave markets for children as well as their market price. It should also be noted that the conditions of forced labour mostly affected the tribes of the South and certain other tribes from the Nubian heights. He considered that the Government should inter alia: encourage the activities of the National Consultative Council on Human Rights set up in 1996 as a follow-up to a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations; not impede the initiatives by international organizations offering assistance; immediately extend the protection to children touched by the war and halt the extreme forms of child labour.

The Worker member of Swaziland asserted that this case was about the most inhuman practices, slavery and the slave trade; forced labour; and the trafficking of women and children for sexual enslavement. These were crimes against humanity and unacceptable in any civilized society. The Government of Sudan had a duty to protect its citizens irrespective of age, gender, status or religion. The Government's reply demonstrated intransigence and a high degree of apathy for its citizens. The Government unilaterally and arbitrarily appointed Lord McNair, whose CV was unknown and whose terms of reference were not defined. All that was known of him, according to the Government's submission, was that he lived in Sudan in 1994 and was entrusted with the task of writing a report on the situation in 1997, which ended up being biased and in favour of the Government. The credibility of his report was all the more dubious due to the time taken to produce it. Sudan was the biggest country in Africa and it was miraculous that Lord McNair was able to complete his report in ten days. While the Government denied that there was a slave trade in Sudan on the basis that there was no slave trade market there, it did not deny that there were middlemen who were not using the official markets. It was also very contradictory on the Government's part to say on the one hand that cases of abduction and slavery were occurring in the conflict area over which it had no control, when on the other hand it knew precisely about 299 cases of disappearances in the same area. Before the Committee concludes on this case, it should consider that Sudan had ratified this Convention more than three decades ago and that the Government had deliberately avoided setting up an independent inquiry over these allegations. The Government deserved to be mentioned in a special paragraph for failure to comply with this Convention.

The Worker member of Turkey regretted deeply to have to discuss a case of serious allegations concerning slavery, servitude, slave trade and forced labour where the government forces and the militia were involved directly in such acts on the eve of the twenty-first century. Although the distinguished Government representative of Sudan had repudiated all the observations by credible institutions such as the United Nations, Amnesty International and Anti-Slavery International, he considered that the Committee had not been presented with a convincing argument to the contrary. In the reports of the credible organizations, the observations were substantiated by names of the victims, by details about the sale of slaves and about redemptions. For instance, one such organization claimed to have redeemed 800 Sudanese and had returned them to their families. The slaves were claimed to have been redeemed for US$133 in 1997 or for cattle, the exchange rate being about ten heads of cattle per slave. He felt that there was considerable smoke and evidence of fire, according to reliable sources. He declared that if the distinguished Government representative of Sudan had acknowledged sporadic cases of slave-like practices and had called upon the international community and the ILO for cooperation and support for the eradication of this satanic evil, he was sure that he would have been reciprocated with the best of intentions and good will. However, the categoric repudiation expressed in the Government's report and the intervention of the distinguished Government representative, unfortunately, did not create the intended outcome. Well-grounded allegations concerning slavery in Sudan exhibited a situation that was much worse than the once-apartheid regime in South Africa. Therefore, he felt that the United Nations and the ILO had a considerable role to play in this respect. He supported the proposal to award a special paragraph to Sudan and called upon the representatives of the Governments in this hall to take a firmer stand than had been taken against South Africa during the period of apartheid, until there were no more serious allegations of reputable international organizations concerning slavery and forced labour in Sudan.

The Government member of the United States speaking on behalf of the Governments of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom expressed the concern of the above-mentioned Governments on the overall human rights situation in Sudan. Among Sudan's numerous human rights problems were persistent reports of slavery and nothing in the government statements had diminished the concerns over this issue. It was difficult to gauge the extent of this terrible practice in Sudan since the Sudanese Government denied its existence, but refused to allow international access to areas of conflicts where slavery was reportedly most frequent. Notwithstanding some recent positive developments concerning the repatriation of individuals to Uganda, Sudanese people, notably women and children, continued to be abducted by those fighting on the side of the Government in the civil war. There were also reports that rebel groups had abducted women and children. Those abducted by the government side were used for forced labour as soldiers and as household servants. Reports also mentioned that some of them had been sexually abused. The lack of clarity of the situation on the ground could only be lifted by the Government allowing international observers to visit the country and ensuring that they had access to all regions. Furthermore, he declared that the above-mentioned governments, as well as his own, had repeatedly expressed their deepest concern over slavery and other human rights abuses in Sudan and continued to call upon the Sudanese Government to stamp out slavery and similar practices in whatever form they occurred. He urged the Government of Sudan to take all necessary steps to demonstrate respect for the rights articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and he joined the Committee of Experts in urging the Government to take effective action to secure the observance of Convention No. 29 and, in particular, to report on the concrete measures adopted including information on any cases brought to justice, the number of convictions made and the penalties imposed.

The Worker member of the United Kingdom stated that a Sudanese human rights team had given the Sudan military regime a clean bill of health with regard to forced labour, slavery, servitude, slave trading or any similar practices. He noted that the conclusions of the Government's commission were completely at odds with the findings of the Committee of Experts and the ILO Conference last year when a special paragraph was awarded against Sudan. The distinguished experts this year had been most robust in underlining the profoundly inconsistent account given by the Sudanese Government on the issue of forced labour. At no time had the Government detailed any positive action it was prepared to take to responsibly combat the exploitation which this Conference had condemned last year. He emphasized that denial did not remove the existence of inhuman practices and that it would be insulting to suggest there could be any cultural misinterpretations of the descriptions of forced labour and slavery. He recalled other speakers had registered their dismay at the refusal of the Sudanese Government to address these issues. He quoted the statement of the United Nations Rapporteur: "the whole range of human rights recognized by the United Nations has continuously been violated". He restated that the Government's position and its denials were totally unacceptable and he requested that his objections and requirements be registered in the strongest possible terms available to this Committee.

The Government representative acknowledged that this case had been discussed on several occasions since 1989. However, his Government had always attempted to respond to the observations of the Committee of Experts. This time his Government had given an exhaustive reply to the various questions of the Committee of Experts. With regard to the statement made by the Workers' members, he welcomed the moderate nature of their comments. He assured the Committee that the Government was sparing no effort to take effective measures. It was ready to make progress through a Special Investigating Commission established by the Ministry of Justice by an order of 4 February 1996. With regard to the statement made by the Employers' members, the speaker felt that they should have shown more tolerance since the discussion could have been more positive. Although the Employers' members indicated that nothing new had been added to the debate in view of the lack of information, this was not true since Lord McNair's report contained such information. The Employers' members' assertion that the Government had in fact regressed was not true since a National Commission for Human Rights had recently been set up by the Government. The Employers' members had indicated, wrongly, that there was no civil war in Sudan but rather a war waged by the Government against certain segments of the population. Moreover, while a certain number of Workers' members had made a number of wrongful assertions, these were excusable since they were based on the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur. Finally, he concluded by indicating that his Government was entirely at the disposal of this Committee to provide further information.

Another Government representative, the Minister of Manpower, indicated that as a Southern Sudanese, she continued to feel embarrassed by the reported claim of slavery in Sudan, especially in the South. She explained that the claim that there was slavery originated in an article written by a Southern Sudanese, Mr. Aldo Ajo, Deputy Speaker of the Assembly from 1993 to 1994. When the United Nations Special Rapporteur came to Sudan in 1993, he met with Mr. Aldo Ajo. However, the latter had subsequently dissociated himself from his own article in front of the Special Rapporteur. She asserted that the Minister of Manpower before her, like herself, had also insisted on finding out where exactly these practices were taking place, but in vain. She was ready to help this Committee with relevant information in order to solve the problems in Sudan which in fact arose from the civil war. She was also open to international bodies who wished to find out if the slave trade existed in the South. However, it was a slap in her face, especially as a Southern Sudanese, to listen to repeated misrepresentations and allegations that her Government was doing nothing. She, in particular, was interested in solving any potential problems.

The Workers' members insisted that Lord McNair's CV and terms of reference were not known and it was therefore not useful to refer to his report. While the Government representatives' expression of readiness to cooperate was helpful, he should ask for ILO assistance that would help to establish the facts and eradicate the existence of slavery in Sudan. The strongest possible message should be sent to the Government in respect of this case.

The Employers' members thought that the Government representative had tried to show a kind of generosity in evaluating the interventions which had been made during the discussion of this case. The Government representative had rejected all allegations with regard to the existence of slavery in the country and had said that these allegations had been an insult to the people of the country. However, the Government representative had not provided any new information on the case. Although a report of a certain Lord McNair had been presented, according to which slavery did not exist in Sudan, this report could not be evaluated by this Committee since it had only been presented orally. In conclusion, the situation in this country was very precarious. Slavery and forced labour were realities. Therefore, the Government should be urged to do its utmost to change the situation in this country.

The Workers' members stated that, in view of the serious nature of the evidence and the fact that very little has been done, the case should continue to be mentioned in a special paragraph.

The Employers' members indicated their agreement.

The Committee took note of the information supplied by the Government representatives and of the discussion which ensued. The Committee stressed that this was a particularly serious case affecting human rights, as witnessed by its inclusion in a special paragraph last year and the fact that comments had been received from a world organization of workers. The Committee noted the information provided by the Government on measures being taken to track down and bring an end to practices of slavery. In particular, it welcomed the achievements of the recently established Investigating Commission. But the Committee expressed its deep concern and urged the Government to do much more. The Committee insisted that the request for assistance from the Office should address the substance of the problem, and urged the Government in this respect to ask again for assistance which would ensure that there would be a serious attempt to eliminate slavery throughout the country. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the next report to be submitted to the Committee of Experts would contain details on the concrete measures taken, cases brought to justice, number of convictions made and the penalties imposed. It also expressed the firm hope that the next report would describe the measures envisaged so that full application in law and in practice of the Convention could be noted in the very near future.

The Workers' members stated that, in view of the serious nature of the evidence and the fact that very little has been done, the case should continue to be mentioned in a special paragraph.

The Employers' members indicated their agreement.

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A Government representative restated his Government's commitment to put an end to any practice of forced labour whenever it was established that such practices existed. The investigation committee, set up by the Ministry of Justice in 1995, had completed investigations in 249 cases of such alleged practices. Decree No. 2 of 5 March 1996 extended the mandate of the investigation committee, and Decree No. 3 of 21 May 1996 extended its composition by including non-governmental representatives. The measures undertaken by the committee consisted of sensitizing the citizens; informing non-governmental organizations and ensuring their involvement; informing the competent authorities of allegations of forced labour and slavery; summoning persons allegedly involved and investigating the allegations; conducting inspections; disseminating information by radio and local television about inspections being conducted in order to allow citizens to submit complaints or allegations; and arranging for meetings to inform personalities such as the Ambassador of the United States, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations, the members of the African delegation of human rights and representatives of the State Department or of the Congress of the United States. This committee had conducted a first inspection in the areas of the Nuba mountains on 4 to 14 July 1996 after receipt of certain - rather vague - information from Christian Solidarity International and the African Commission on Human Rights concerning practices of the sale of slaves and the use of children as domestic servants in the service of officers of the armed forces or high officials. Following meetings with several high-ranking officials, including the main persons in charge of the police force - visits which were recorded on video film as well as in written form - the investigation committee concluded that it had not obtained any information concerning the slave trade in the areas in question; that no instances of rape or abduction had been established; that following inquiries on the question of child domestic servants it had been shown that all received wages and that there was no evidence that children were used as unpaid agricultural labourers.

A second visit took place in another region from 16 to 20 November 1996 to investigate allegations concerning the abduction and forced transfer of 27 school pupils in May 1996. On the basis of contacts established with the representatives of the armed forces, the internal security forces, the police and Sudanese Red Crescent Society, as well as calls through the press for any testimonies which could validate or invalidate these allegations, the investigation committee established that the pupils had left voluntarily, with the consent of their parents, in order to pursue their secondary education. All students had been found and were presently together with their next of kin. This incident was founded on a rumour broadcast over the radio by the opposition parties under the subterfuge that the date of the students' departure did not coincide with the beginning of the school year.

A third visit took place from 13 to 17 January 1997 in the area of Bahr El-Gazal. The investigation committee noted that no complaints had been lodged, that the allegations by the United Nations Special Rapporteur had not been proven, that children and adults moved freely by northbound trains in search of better living conditions, and in order to flee from the fighting, and that those responsible for the disappearances of children were the rebels who enlisted them to serve as porters.

The endeavours of the investigation committee rigorously to establish the facts bore witness to the Government's determination to put an end to any violation. The preliminary report of the investigation committee had been submitted to the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and demonstrated clearly that the Government fully respected its obligations by its systematic efforts to establish the existence of any cases of forced labour or of slavery. Several officials were responsible for collecting claims throughout the country and the work of the committee was continuing. He stressed that the issues discussed did not involve slavery but were the result of tribal conflicts which led to the taking of hostages. The Government was attempting to intervene in order to contain these conflicts and to arrive at the release of hostages and compensation. The war had added to the complexity of the situation as the rebels had engaged in the abduction of hundreds of children in territories where the Government exercised no control. It was to be hoped that the implementation of the peace agreement, signed in April 1997 with all but one of the rebel factions, which stipulated respect for all fundamental human rights, would bring about an end to this situation. These explanations demonstrated that the Government was pursuing the dialogue with the Committee of Experts and this Committee in order to establish the facts clearly and gain recognition for its commitment to taking all necessary measures to prohibit any violation of the Convention.

Another Government representative, the Minister of Manpower, stated that he had read with keen interest the Committee of Experts' observation on the situation of servitude and abduction of women and children, large-scale slave trafficking and that people came from abroad to buy and sell slaves in the Sudan. But he wanted to explain the situation in the Sudan which did not tally with that information. He pointed out that the war in the Sudan had gone through two phases: the first ended after 17 years during which a massive number of the southern Sudanese people had fled to neighbouring countries. Thus, the UNHCR had been obliged to repatriate some of these refugees. The situation was different during the second phase of war which started in 1983. The southerners this time fled en masse to northern Sudan. People from southern Sudan lived in extended families but during the war and these exoduses they became separated and dispersed and roamed in and about Khartoum in their thousands. In these circumstances, he wondered how there could be a market for a slave trade. He asserted that the reports referred to in the observation of the Committee of Experts were from outside sources and were politically motivated. He had been Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly in 1994 and 1995 and, in an effort to verify such reports, he had led a delegation to southern Sudan, only to discover that there were a lot of refugees returning from the north. While these refugees lacked food and clothing, they were not victims of bonded labour. The delegation did not see any case of forced labour anywhere. The areas where forced labour allegedly took place and which were mentioned by Christian Solidarity International in the observation of the Committee of Experts were in rebel-held territories and often were linked to tribal fighting during the dry season when water was scarce. The Government authorities could not go to these rebel-held areas because they would be killed. He therefore could not see how Government troops could resort to the use of forced labour in these areas as alleged by the above organization.

Referring to the recently signed agreements which provided that there would be a transitional period of four years, after which the southern Sudanese would decide whether to remain with the north or to become a separate State, he contended that the practice of forced labour would not stop completely unless there was peace in the country.

The Workers' members contended that this case involved trading in slaves and the imposition of slavery, servitude and forced labour on people from the black African Dinka, Shilluk and Nuer tribes, and the tribes of the Nuba mountains in southern Sudan. Evidence from eye witnesses and first-hand accounts testified to gross human rights abuses encouraged or directly inflicted by the Government and its security forces. The case was compounded by its pronounced racial aspect. The Committee of Experts had made comments on the application of this core Convention by the Sudan in 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994 and again this year. This case had come before the Committee in 1989 and in 1992 when the conclusions were placed in a special paragraph, as well as in 1993 when they were placed in a special paragraph for continued failure to implement the Convention. The Government had always denied the existence of forced labour. In 1993, it had stated that the problems were related to tribal conflicts. As the Committee of Experts had noted, this would not in any case exonerate the Government from its responsibility to ensure the right to life, security and freedom of its citizens. The 1994 observation was based on two visits to the Sudan by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan in 1993, who reported a great deal of consistency with respect to the circumstances of the abduction and sale of slaves. This year's observation was based on the most recent report of the Special Rapporteur (February 1996), which was corroborated by comments from the World Confederation of Labour and evidence collected by Human Rights Watch, Christian Solidarity International and the press. The Government had not replied to the WCL's comments. Referring to paragraph 22 of the Committee of Experts' observation, the Workers' members pointed out that the documentation highlighted inter alia that the number of chattel slaves held in northern Sudan was estimated to be in tens of thousands. Government-backed militia regularly raided black African-Sudanese communities for slaves and other forms of booty. The slaves, in most cases children and young women, were taken north where they were forced to provide domestic and agricultural labour and to provide sexual services against their will - for nothing other than a minimum amount of food for survival. Some boys were forced to attend military training camps where they were indoctrinated and trained to wage war against their own people. The raids undertaken by the Government-backed militia were accompanied by atrocities. Captives who were deemed unfit to serve as slaves were generally tortured and/or killed.

The Special Rapporteur had noted the lack of interest of the authorities in investigating the cases of forced labour brought to their attention, as well as an alarming increase in reports of slavery, servitude, the slave trade and forced labour in the Sudan. The Workers' members therefore requested the Government to take immediate and effective measures to secure the observance of the provisions of the Convention and to report on concrete action taken, including information on cases brought to justice, the number of convictions and penalties imposed on the offenders. They had taken note of the information supplied by the Government representative regarding the report of the investigation committee and awaited its evaluation by the Committee of Experts. Because of the gravity of this case, its long history and the overwhelming evidence pointing to the direct involvement of the Government in the violations, the Workers' members urged that the Committee place this case in a special paragraph of its report for continued failure to implement the Convention.

The Employers' members pointed out that this was a very serious case which had been discussed on numerous occasions. Information from various sources which had carried out investigations on the spot - such as the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and non-governmental organizations - demonstrated that for several years, different types of forced labour existed on a wide scale. The "cleansing" campaign carried out in Khartoum consisted of the abduction of homeless children who could be bought back by their families, as a way of earning money for the poorly paid soldiers. It appeared that this practice was systematic and tolerated by the Government. The arguments put up in defence by the Government had evolved over the years. It started by denying the allegations. Then it stated that forced labour was an offence under the Penal Code, and that the absence of convictions showed that the problem did not exist. Finally, it stated that the problem was the result of tribal conflicts rather than the abduction of slaves. While one Government representative here seemed to admit that a problem of forced labour existed, the other Government representative stated that measures would be adopted only if such cases were brought to light. It thus appeared that the Government kept on denying the existence of slavery and forced labour. Despite the good relations that it seemed to have with the United Nations Special Rapporteur, the Government had apparently not found any proof which enabled it to conclude that such practices existed, except to attribute them to the action of the rebels or to tribal conflicts which were presented as an exhibition of folklore, while it was in fact a deadly civil war. This position was unacceptable. For years the Government had been lying and had taken none of the necessary measures. Therefore, this Committee had to accept with great mistrust the statements of the Government representatives. This case became more and more disturbing as time went by. The peace agreement was a tiny element of hope but it had not led to any results so far. The Employers' members thus subscribed fully to the position of the Workers' members, and considered that the extremely disturbing nature of this case had to appear in the conclusions of this Committee.

The Workers' member of Turkey stated that all reliable and credible testimonies concerning the Sudan gave numerous examples of the most severe cases of slavery, servitude, slave trade and forced labour. Moreover, what was even worse, the armed forces, popular defence forces and the mujahidin of the Government were directly involved in these horrible acts against humanity. The slaves were forced to work, raped, beaten and starved. It had been reported that some masters severed their slaves' Achilles tendons to keep them from running away. The Government's claim that there were tribal conflicts in which both sides took hostages was completely out of the question. There was outright slavery, the price of slaves vacillating according to supply. According to reliable sources, a woman or child could be bought in 1989 for US$90. Due to oversupply, the price fell to US$15 in 1990. In December 1996, 58 slaves were redeemed, the price being three cows per slave. Slavery in the Sudan was much worse than apartheid had been in South Africa. He therefore supported the proposal to mention this case in a special paragraph of the Committee's report.

The Workers' member of Italy expressed his horror and helplessness faced with which seemed to be a synthesis of the worst scourges of humanity: ethnical and religious conflict, children forced into slavery and the denial of the right to life and human dignity. Although these deplorable practices of slavery and forced labour had to be placed in the context of the war, the Government was none the less implicated. The international community should increasingly pressure the Government to take concrete measures so as to end these extreme violations of the Convention. The opening up of a dialogue with the United Nations was an interesting factor which should be complemented with dialogue at the national level.

The Workers' member of the Sudan stressed that these problems did not only concern the Government, but rather the whole Sudanese society. If the practices described by the United Nations Special Rapporteur really did occur, this would imply a regression to times of slavery and servitude. The situation therefore had to be thoroughly examined. The Workers' Trade Union Federation of Sudan had invited the World Confederation of Labour to make in situ inspections so as to enable it to base its judgement on a more solid foundation than merely newspaper articles. The case should be considered by requesting more detailed information in order to be able to make a more balanced evaluation of the case.

The Workers' member of the United Kingdom stated that the details of this case were truly chilling and horrifying. The Government representative had again repeated that the problem was not one of slavery but of tribal conflicts in which hostages had been taken. The Committee of Experts, however, pointed out that reports and eye witness accounts revealed a great deal of consistency with regard to the circumstances and locations of abduction, the names of locations where children and women were said to be kept in special camps, and where people from northern Sudan or from other countries, reportedly came to buy these people. The sale or traffic of children seemed to be an organized and politically motivated activity on a massive scale. The Committee of Experts noted that the Government had not replied to the comments of the World Confederation of Labour which had stressed that the officers and soldiers responsible for the raids in which these people were taken were able to pursue their actions with impunity. In spite of all this detailed evidence, the Government representatives had stated that the accusations were rather vague. She drew the Committee's attention to paragraph 23 of the Committee of Experts' observation which described in the greatest detail, with names, places and dates, one particular allegation involving a father trying to buy back his daughter in April 1996 who had been abducted by troops of the Government of Sudan. What more did the Government want in the way of specific details? The Government could not abrogate responsibility for this atrocious situation which was a gross violation of its obligations under the Convention.

The Government member of the United Kingdom, speaking also on behalf of the Governments of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, indicated that she was gravely concerned by the reports, over several years and from many sources, of the persistence of slavery and related practices in the Sudan. She was especially dismayed by the findings of the 1996 report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the human rights situation in the Sudan as well as by the 1996 comments made by the World Confederation of Labour. The Government's responses to these reports were not credible. She echoed the deep concern expressed by the Committee of Experts over the continuing failure of the Government to fulfil past undertakings to suppress these practices. She therefore fully endorsed the Committee of Experts' call for the Government to take immediate and effective action to implement its obligations under the Convention.

The Government member of Morocco noted that he had listened attentively to the statements by the Government representatives outlining the efforts undertaken by the Government to ensure the practical application of the Convention. This Committee should call for dialogue and cooperation in order to obtain concrete results and to help member States to resolve their problems. In this regard, the Committee should purposefully use the various means at its disposal. If, however, it sometimes had to resort to less pleasant measures, care should be takn not to do so only against certain countries. Although technical cooperation was the most appropriate means to help member States ensure the application of Conventions, it was time to consider which concrete results could be obtained by traditional means such as technical assistance, special paragraphs or direct contacts missions. Such an evaluation should permit a re-examination of the methods of work of the Committee to ensure greater efficacy in its work.

The Workers' member of Pakistan asserted that all persons had the right to live in dignity. He considered that the peace process through political dialogue, which had been mentioned by the Government representative, should be accelerated because the transitional period of four years before the referendum was far too long. The abduction of women and children and their exploitation, apart from being serious violations of the Convention, were heinous crimes and it was up to the Government to protect its citizens. These unjust and inhuman practices should be brought to an end in the shortest possible time. In view of the extreme seriousness of this case, he appealed to the Government to demonstrate its political will and mobilize all its resources to end forced labour and discrimination. The Government should avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office or alternatively a direct contacts mission in order to remedy the situation.

The Government representative, the Minister of Manpower, stated that he was not at all surprised that the speakers had reacted in the way they had, since they were relying on the observation of the Committee of Experts as their only source of information and the situation, according to that observation, was really bad. He admitted that it was regrettable that his Government had not responded to the WCL's comments, but pointed out that, at the end of the observation, it had been asked to report in detail in 1997, which he assured this Committee it would do. He stressed that, in view of the large size of the country and its poor infrastructure, it was not easy for the Government to collect information. But, as shown by the responses of the authorities during the various visits by the United Nations Special Rapporteur to the country, there were answers that could be supplied. He wished to put on record his opinion that a forum such as this Committee could be misled through reports that had emanated from prestigious bodies but which were politically motivated. He reiterated that a lot of southern Sudanese had been displaced and dispersed throughout northern Sudan, especially children who could be seen on the streets, and therefore there was no market for the slave trade. He appealed to the international community to help his country react to the massive population transfers. He took seriously the concerns expressed in this Committee but questioned the information given - such as that regarding the price of slaves - since those reports came from rebel-held areas where Government authorities or traders could be killed.

The Employer and Workers' members considered that this prolonged debate did not raise any new considerations that would justify a change in their initial position on this case.

The other Government representative stated that the information provided by his Government had shown its willingness to engage in a dialogue and to clarify the situation. The Government-appointed investigation committee would pursue its work and the Committee of Experts and this committee would be kept informed of its results. He noted that some speakers showed a tendency not to share this wish for dialogue which was serious for the future work of this Committee. The Committee should put a stop to this worrying trend. He hoped that it would take account of his Government's efforts to encourage dialogue.

The Committee took note of the information supplied by the Government representatives and of the discussion which ensued. For many years the Committee of Experts had been making references to the accusations that forced labour was being frequently imposed with the complicity or indifference of the Government. The same allegations had been made in the various reports of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan and in the comments made by the World Confederation of Labour. The Committee took note of the detailed information supplied by the Government representatives on the different questions raised, regretted that they had not been submitted earlier and considered that this information, especially that relating to the activities of the committee created by the Government, should be examined by the Committee of Experts. It also took note of the historical background and of the situation of armed conflict prevailing in the Sudan, to which one of the Government representatives made reference, as well as his opinion that the allegations were politically motivated. The Committee observed that the Government could not prove the commitment which it declared it had to spare no efforts so as to bring forced labour to an end. In view of the contradictory information received and the continuing denunciations concerning violations of the Convention, the Committee urged the Government to increase its efforts to give full application to this Convention and request the technical assistance of the Office. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the time which had elapsed without any tangible progress being made, the Committee decided to include this case in a special paragraph of its report and to mention it as a case of continued failure to implement.

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A Government representative indicated that his Government had sent a report with detailed information concerning the allegations of cases of slavery and similar practices presented to the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. He regretted that this report had not arrived on time to be examined by the Committee of Experts; another copy of this report had been given to the Office. He stated that the problems that had been raised were related to conflicts of a tribal nature, such as conflicts over water sources or pasturage. Such conflicts resulted in the taking of hostages and prisoners that one tribe or another could exchange for that which they had lost. He explained that, in such cases tradition and the advice of the wise man were resorted to in order to resolve such conflicts in an appropriate manner and in compliance with tradition and the relations between tribes. These conflicts were not considered in his country to be cases of slavery. He also indicated that the nature of the rules of customary law did not permit the establishment of precedents corresponding to those of an ordinary tribunal or court, which made it difficult to gather information. Nevertheless his Government was doing all that it could to supply the information. Finally, he stated that a committee responsible for investigating the allegations referred to had been formed, and had made several visits to the regions involved, without having noticed any evidence of the truth of the allegations.

The Workers' members noted that this was a very serious case which had been discussed by the Conference Committee in 1989 and 1992 and which was the subject of comments by the Committee of Experts in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1993. All the points raised in the report of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities were very serious, in particular as they concerned the taking of slaves by Government troops, child bondage and sexual abuse. Observing that until 1992 the Government simply denied the existence of slavery, that it had previously never supplied reports and that today it stated that it had belatedly sent them to the secretariat, they noted that this country still had not requested the technical assistance of the ILO and that it was still impossible for international investigatory committees to make their way to the regions concerned. They found that the new Penal Code, which only punished slavery with a penalty of one year's imprisonment and a possible fine, and for which no information was available on its application, was merely a formal instrument. While specifying that any opinion that the Workers' member of Sudan expressed in support of the position of the Government of his country did not in any way reflect the general position of the Workers' members, they proposed that the continued failure to implement the Convention, the lack of cooperation from the Government and the seriousness of the allegations be highlighted in the conclusions. They also proposed to place the conclusions in the special paragraph concerning continued failure to implement.

The Employers' members noted that no report had been received despite requests by the Committee of Experts, and that the case had been heard by this Committee in 1989 and 1992. In the past, the Government had essentially disputed all allegations and had considered that it was not obliged to provide detailed information because there was a law in effect prohibiting slavery and because no cases on this matter had been before the courts. Consequently, there was no opportunity to examine the situation, and visitors from international organizations were not given the opportunity to carry out investigations in the country itself. On the other hand, before this Committee the Government representative now admitted the existence of some of the alleged activities but explained that they were part of tribal traditions and were to be accepted as such. The Employers' members stressed that Sudan was a member of an international community recognizing the rule of law. To the extent that Sudan had ratified the Convention, it was obliged to fulfil the ensuing obligations. It could not present the law of the jungle as acceptable law in respect of tribal populations either under this Convention. They emphasized that the primary responsibility of every State was to provide protection for all of its citizens, and for this reason they could not accept the Government's explanations as a partial excuse. In view of the previous special paragraph, and the subsequent deterioration rather than improvement of the situation, they stated that this Committee should take note in its conclusions of the continuing failure to fulfil the obligations of the Convention.

The Workers' member of Sudan regretted that the information sent by the Government had arrived late and that it could not be examined by the Committee of Experts. He hoped that this would not recur in the future so that the Experts could appreciate the true dimensions of the problems, which did not have any relation to the application of the Convention. He referred to the different reforms undertaken with regard to legislation and the establishment of a council responsible for dealing with problems resulting from structural adjustment. He hoped that this would all result in a genuine social contract to which all workers aspired.

The Workers' member of Kuwait, while supporting the opinion expressed by the spokesman of the Workers' members, added that it was appropriate to question the motives for the delay in the sending of the reports by governments. He regretted that the Government had rejected the allegations made in the UN report as it did not seem to provide all the guarantees with regard to democracy and freedom of association. He asked that a special paragraph of the report be set aside for the situation in Sudan.

Another Government representative of Sudan recalled the instructions concerning the sending of the reports, the characteristics of the current situation in these regions of his country and the negative conclusions of the committee set up to investigate the allegations. He recognized that the conflicts between tribes had increased as a result of drought and desertification but they found a solution in mutual consensus through conciliation conferences headed by wise men and tribal chiefs. (Those councils operated according to the ordinary law which came under the jurisdiction of the Sudanese judicial system.) He stressed that his country had a genuine tradition and a real civilization, and it was prepared to respect its international commitments. With regard to the intervention of the Worker member of Kuwait, he indicated that a trade union law had been adopted and that free trade union elections had been carried out. In this context, he was presenting the rule of law for this specified situation and not otherwise. As to the supply of precedents to the Committee of Experts, the Attorney General had advised that no case of this nature existed as shown from the records of the ordinary courts. Traditionally, the verdicts issued by the tribal conciliation councils were considered to be of judicial power and enforceable as was the case in the ordinary courts. Finally, he affirmed the Sudanese Government's readiness to cooperate with the Committee of Experts and this Committee in the provision of any further information requested. In the meantime, Sudan was open to receive anybody who was interested to know about the situation as far as this case was concerned.

The Committee took note of the oral information supplied by the Government and the discussion which had taken place in the Committee. It regretted that, despite the guarantees given in 1992, the Government had not supplied on time a report for examination by the Committee of Experts. The Committee indicated its great concern with regard to the attitude of the Government, recalling that it formed part of the international community and that it was not sufficient to invoke tribal traditions in order to avoid implementing the provisions of this fundamental Convention. The Committee noted that the Government had stated that it had formed an investigatory committee, which had not been able to establish any of the matters alleged before the UN. The Committee recalled that this case referred to serious violations of human rights in respect of men, women and children, including forms of slavery, forced labour, abductions and looting, a situation which was systematic and organized. The Committee also noted that the Government had not dealt with the suggestion of the Committee to the effect that it consider forms of appropriate assistance from the Office, including direct contacts. The Committee noted that the Government had recently supplied a report on this Convention in Arabic. The Committee hoped that it would examine this report at its next meeting. Nevertheless, having taken into account the seriousness of the alleged matters and the fact that this case had been the subject of special paragraphs on two occasions without there being any verifiable progress, the Committee decided to mention this case in its report in the special paragraph concerning continued failure to implement.

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A Government representative stated that the observation of the Committee of Experts referred to allegations of the presence of "slaves and forced labour" in his country, which information it had previously received from the report of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1988 and 1989. He completely denied these allegations and repeated what his Government had emphasised during the Conference in 1989, namely that all Sudanese were totally free and had equal rights and duties. He stressed that his country prohibited any form or exercise of the slave trade and that in this connection his country did not feel obliged to provide any information since such practices did not exist in the first place. Furthermore, he issued an invitation to visitors from he United Nations or from the International Labour Organisation who so wished, to visit his country in order to verify that what he had said was true. Finally, he promised to provide a version of the Penal Code of 1990 in accordance with the request made by the Committee of Experts in its observation.

The Workers' members found the Government representative's reply to the request of the Experts to be unsatisfactory on various points. First of all, they noted that a report from the Government had not been received. Observations on this case had been made in 1989, 1990 and 1992 and this issue had been discussed at the Conference Committee in 1989. There was no difference between what the Government had said then and what the representative had stated in his declaration this year. From 1988 the Government had refuted the allegations contained in the United Nations documents concerning the capture and trade in slaves and referred to by the Committee of Experts observation. Furthermore, the Government denied the more recent allegations contained in the report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery of the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of 19 August 1991 which concerned children kept in slavery and used as domestic servants and which was also mentioned by the Committee of Experts in its observation. The Government representative's statement that there were no cases of slavery taking place because of the existence of laws that prohibited slavery was not at all convincing. The Workers' members wondered what the national authorities were doing to enforce these laws. More specifically, they wanted to know, as did the Committee of Experts, whether people who were guilty of extracting forced labour had been arrested, found guilty and if penalties had been imposed on them. Finally, the Workers' members said that they were not very sure what the laws were at the time. Although the Government had referred in its previous report to sections 311 and 313 of the Penal Code, the Committee of Experts had been informed that a new Penal Code had been promulgated in 1991. However, the Committee of Experts had not had the opportunity of examing this law in order to determine whether it satisfied the requirements of the Convention. Consequently, they expressed the deepest possible dissatisfaction both with the failure to report on the Convention and on the nature of the reply given by the Government representative.

The Employers' members associated themselves very much with what the Workers' members had said. The Committee had been familiar with these very serious allegations for many years, which had emanated from two bodies in the United Nations both of which had carried out careful studies on the matter, and both of which had come to the conclusion that there was still a certain amount of trade in slaves carried out and that children were kept in slavery and used as domestic servants. The Government representative's argument that slavery had been outlawed through domestic legislation and that, as a result, the Government did not need to do anything more, was very feeble. On the contrary, the Government was duty bound to do considerably more and had an obligation to inform the Committee of Experts accordingly. The Government could not simply rely on a law which contained a prohibition on forced labour but had to ensure that such practices no longer actually existed. Three years ago, the Committee of Experts, as well as this Committee, had asked for the necessary measures to be taken so that a satisfactory situation might be reached. However, three years later nothing had changed at all and, in view of the gravity of the allegations, this was a very regrettable situation. Moreover, the provisions of the Penal Code of 1988 needed to be reviewed but there was also the matter of the new text of the Penal Code of 1991. However, since the Government had not complied with its reporting obligation, this Committee was lacking information. All in all, this was a situation which constituted a serious infringment of the Convention.

The Workers' member from Sudan stated that the information contained in the report of the Committee of Experts had been taken from a book whose contents had been criticised by the Workers' Federation of Sudan. His federation's members had visited the region that was referred to in the book and had not encountered a single case that could be regarded as slavery. The whole issue of using children as slaves arose when there was a rebellion in the country. This issue was raised in the Organization of African Unity's Labour Committee in April 1991. This Committee adopted a unanimous resolution denouncing the rebellion that had taken place in southern Sudan since it involved the kidnapping of 15 children who were in fact used as domestic servants but, apart from this case, his organisation was not aware of any other case involving slavery. He assured the Committee that, if there were such a case, there would have been a general uprising against the Government. Finally, he invited the members of the Committee to go and see for themselves what was actually happening in this area in Sudan.

The Government representative reiterated that there were no demonstrated cases of slavery in Sudan. He indicated that he would be happy to provide a text of the Penal Code of 1991 to the ILO so that the Committee could take note of its contents.

The Workers' members stated that to visit the country would not add to the case in any sense whatsoever since the members of this Committee were not emissaries themselves but that it was the Committee of Experts who dealt with the information provided by the Government. Moreover, it was the Office that sometimes assisted countries who were unable to fulfil their obligations under the Convention. Because of the very serious nature of the case and the persistent refusal by the Government to deal with the points raised by both the Committee of Experts and by this Committee, they felt that this case required a special paragraph.

The Employers' members expressed that it was for the Government to say whether, and to what extent, its obligations were being fulfilled under this Convention. In order to highlight the urgency of the case and to emphasise this Committee's concern that the situation was not improving, they also believed that a special paragraph would make it clear to the Government that the Committee felt that it should finally act.

The Workers' member of Sudan stressed that he should not be blamed for trying to assist his Government. Moreover, this was not the case since he had been speaking on behalf of the workers of Sudan because this was a serious issue which concerned the forced labour of children.

The Government representative, in response to the comments made by the Workers' and Employers' members, indicated that all the information requested by this Committee would be submitted by his Government most diligently. His Government had agreed to have this case discussed because it had wanted to cooperate with this Committee. Although his Government would not mind having a special paragraph included in the Committee's report, he felt this would merely complicate matters further. He added that the Workers' member of Sudan had expressed his own views freely.

A Workers' member of the Netherlands indicated that Workers' members were free to express their views and to assist their governments just as certain Employers' members were free to do the same in other sittings of this Committee.

The Committee noted that the Committee of Experts had not been in a position to consider the situation as the Government had not sent a report. The Committee also noted the oral information given by the Government. It expressed its deep dissatisfaction, taking into account that no progress seemed to have been made since it discussed this case some years ago. It was under the impression that the Government confined itself to a simple denial of slavery existing in the country. In that respect, it felt bound to remind the Government that various United Nations bodies had reported on such cases and that the Conference Committee could not but consider those allegations not to be completely unfounded, as long as the Government did not report in full on the existing situation. It therefore expressed the hope, in the strongest possible terms, that the Government would send in such a report. It felt bound, in view of the very serious matter under discussion on the one hand, and the Government's attitude as mentioned before on the other hand, to set these conclusions in a special paragraph of the report.

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A Government representative, indicated, with respect to Article 25 of the Convention, that the information mentioned by the Committee of Experts which appeared in a document (E/CN,4/Sub.2/AC.2/1988/7/Add.1) of the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities concerned slavery and was received from the Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights. The speaker was surprised that the Committee of Experts' report had not referred to the report of the Working Group on Slavery which appeared in Sub-Commission Document No. E/CN.4/ Sub.2/1988/32 of 22 August 1988. In paragraph 16 of that latter report, it could be seen that information on slavery had been presented by the Anti-Slavery Society regarding certain problems posed in the context of the on-going conflict in Sudan. The Anti- Slavery Society and the Government of Sudan had then agreed to an on-the-spot visit in the following year in order to be able to obtain more detailed information. In the light of the Working Group's report, it was clear that the Anti-Slavery Society had agreed to withdraw the information it had presented on Sudan until the time it would have objective information gathered by a group composed of representatives of the Government and of the Anti-Slavery Society. A representative of the Society had gone to Sudan, where he had met the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as other competent authorities and certain other key Sudanese. In a letter addressed to Geneva, the representative stated his satisfaction at the visit; the Sudanese Government had, in accordance with the wish expressed by the Anti-Slavery Society, presented a joint document on this point, which had been submitted to the Commission on Human Rights at its last session.

The Government representative stated that there was no racial or religious discrimination in his country and that a spirit of tolerance, freedom and democracy reigned. The laws were applicable to all, whether strong or weak, subject or ruler, and the Government was making efforts to bring peace so as to ensure development and justice. The laws were in conformity with international labour standards and protected human rights; the application of the laws and the possibilities of seeking recourse under law guaranteed peace and personal safety. The legislation prohibited any form of exploitation or forced labour. There was no doubt as to the Government's commitment with regard to international instruments on the prevention of slavery and the slave trade, and Sudan had been among the first African countries to ratify the UN Convention on the abolition of slavery.

The Worker member of Sudan, after noting that he had been chosen as the representative of Sudanese workers without any interference whatsoever from the authorities, refuted what he termed false accusations contained in the report mentioned by the Committee of Experts, which could cause prejudice against Sudanese and disdain for their characteristic tolerance. The situation did not involve reports addressed officially to the Government of Sudan; the Government would have reacted in another way had the truth been alleged. The allegations were baseless. The Sudanese workers were vigilant in protecting fundamental freedoms and legitimate rights of citizens, such as the rights to freedom, dignity and justice, which were basic principles enshrined in the ILO Constitution. After indicating that his country enjoyed political and trade union freedoms that did not exist in many Third World countries, and that the political conflict between the Popular Movement of Southern Sudan and the Government was on its way to a peaceful resolution, the speaker concluded by stressing the humane and democratic traditions of the Sudanese nation, which could not tolerate false propaganda or fallacious rumours.

The Workers' members referred to the document of the UN Sub-Commission mentioned by the Committee of Experts. It had contained accurate information and the facts mentioned were so precise and so tragic that the Workers' members wondered how it could ever be shown that they were not true. The country should be visited by experts from the United Nations or organisations protecting civil liberties; the country should be open to the press so that journalists could travel freely to ascertain the facts, which would make it possible to determine the truth. The allegations cited by the Committee of Experts, corroborated by witnesses, were overwhelming. They dealt with, inter alia, the forced sale of children, especially boys, by their own parents, to unknown persons, with the parents having no hope of ever seeing their children again. The Workers' members hoped that efforts would be made to shed light on this matter, that objective information would be communicated in regard to the facts related, and that human rights would be respected.

The Employers' members stated that the situation was not very clear on some very serious matters dealing with slavery, and that it had not been possible to ascertain the facts to resolve ambiguities. The Government had not provided proof of the existence or nonexistence of legislation calling for effective penalties against slavery, in conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Employers' members shared the opinion of the Workers' members on this case.

The Government representative recalled that Sudan was a democratic country, in liberty, open to anyone who wished to find out on-the-spot what was happening; there was nothing to impede these efforts from being undertaken so that this could be confirmed in the eyes of the world. The speaker would inform his Government of the discussions so that full report could be prepared containing all the information requested to gain a more precise idea of the situation.

The Worker member of Sudan indicated that the question did not deal with the conflict between the Government and the trade unions, but rather was a matter involving the dignity of citizens. The trade unions would be the first to voice opposition to the Government if the situation were otherwise.

The Committee took note of the information provided by the Government representative and of the opinions and comments made during the discussion. The Committee noted he serious allegations cited by the Committee of Experts, which had a direct bearing on respect for the Convention, at least in practice. The Committee expressed the hope that the Government would take all necessary measures to ensure the application of the Convention and to ensure that penalties imposed by law for the exacting or forced labour would be truly effective and applied fully in practice. The Committee expressed the hope that the Government would in the near future be in a position to provide substantive information on measures taken in this regard.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously took note of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, punishing trafficking in persons with imprisonment of up to ten years. It also noted the establishment of a National Committee for Combating Trafficking (NCCT). The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, as well as on the activities of the NCCT, and on the adoption of any national strategy to combat trafficking in persons. It also requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure protection and assistance to victims of trafficking.

The Government indicates in its report that the National Strategy to combat trafficking in persons was adopted in 2016. Subsequently, a National Action Plan to combat human trafficking was developed for the period 2018–19. Its objectives were the prevention of trafficking in persons, protection and assistance to victims, investigation and prosecution of traffickers, and partnerships and cooperation. The Government states that a number of workshops and seminars were organized and staff trained on the issue of trafficking in persons. The Government further indicates that the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014 is implemented through specially established courts. However, the Committee notes the absence of information on the number of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers, as well as on the measures taken to support victims of trafficking.

The Committee notes that Article 57 of the Transitional Constitution of Sudan, signed on 17 August 2019, provides that all forms of trafficking in persons are prohibited. It also notes that the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014 was amended by the Act on Various Amendments of 30 April 2020 to tighten the penalties on trafficking in persons by doubling the prison sentences. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to implement the objectives of the National Action Plan to combat human trafficking, as well as the results achieved in this regard, and whether a new anti-trafficking plan has been developed. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the cases of trafficking of persons identified, investigated and prosecuted, as well as on the number of convictions handed down by the courts specially established for the implementation of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, and the specific penalties imposed on perpetrators. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken to ensure protection and assistance to victims of trafficking, as well as the number of victims who have benefited from such assistance.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Abductions for the exaction of forced labour and penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the practice of abductions for the purpose of forced labour in the context of armed conflict. It noted the Government’s indication in its last report that no evidence had been found regarding cases of abductions. The Committee further noted the United Nations Independent Expert’s indication in 2016 that fighting continued, particularly in Darfur between Government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdul Wahid, causing killings, abductions, sexual violence and displacement of civilians. The Committee noted the appointment of a Special Prosecutor for Darfur crimes, and the Government’s information that no prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor were related to cases of abductions for forced labour. The Committee accordingly requested the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the imposition of appropriate criminal penalties on perpetrators of abductions for the exaction of forced labour.

The Government indicates in its report that there are no records of abductions for the purpose of compulsory labour, and that the Special Prosecutor for Darfur crimes has not received any cases of abductions for forced labour. The Government states that the security situation in Darfur is stable thanks to the efforts of the transitional Government, which has made peace its priority.

The Committee notes the United Nation’s indication available on its website that a transitional Government was formed in August 2019 by the Transitional Military Council and the country’s main opposition alliance, for a three-year period leading up to democratic elections. The Committee notes that the General Framework for the programme of the transitional Government sets as one of its priorities to put an end to the war and build fair, comprehensive and sustainable peace. In this regard, practical measures include: (i) establishing and activating the Transitional Justice Commission and building the relevant compensation and reparation institutions; and (ii) creating units for psychological support and assistance for the victims of violations. In addition, the Committee notes that Article 6(3) of the Transitional Constitution, signed on 17 August 2019, provides that despite any provision in existing laws, there shall be no statutory limitations on war crimes and crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings, violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and offences relating to corruption and abuse of power committed since 30 June 1989. The Committee welcomes the formal signature of a peace agreement on 3 October 2020 in Sudan between the transitional Government and opposition groups. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to ensure that no cases of abductions for the exaction of forced labour occur in future and to guarantee that victims are fully protected from such practices. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the establishment of the Transitional Justice Commission, the compensation and reparation institutions and the units to support and assist victims of violations, and to indicate the activities that they have undertaken for the reparation and reintegration of victims of abductions for the exaction of forced labour.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee previously took note of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, punishing trafficking in persons with imprisonment of up to ten years. It also noted the establishment of a National Committee for Combating Trafficking (NCCT). The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, as well as on the activities of the NCCT, and on the adoption of any national strategy to combat trafficking in persons. It also requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure protection and assistance to victims of trafficking.

The Government indicates in its report that the National Strategy to combat trafficking in persons was adopted in 2016. Subsequently, a National Action Plan to combat human trafficking was developed for the period 2018-2019. Its objectives were the prevention of trafficking in persons, protection and assistance to victims, investigation and prosecution of traffickers, and partnerships and cooperation. The Government states that a number of workshops and seminars were organized and staff trained on the issue of trafficking in persons. The Government further indicates that the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014 is implemented through specially established courts. However, the Committee notes the absence of information on the number of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers, as well as on the measures taken to support victims of trafficking.

The Committee notes that Article 57 of the Transitional Constitution of Sudan, signed on 17 August 2019, provides that all forms of trafficking in persons are prohibited. It also notes that the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014 was amended by the Act on Various Amendments of 30 April 2020 to tighten the penalties on trafficking in persons by doubling the prison sentences. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to implement the objectives of the National Action Plan to combat human trafficking, as well as the results achieved in this regard, and whether a new anti-trafficking plan has been developed. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the cases of trafficking of persons identified, investigated and prosecuted, as well as on the number of convictions handed down by the courts specially established for the implementation of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, and the specific penalties imposed on perpetrators. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken to ensure protection and assistance to victims of trafficking, as well as the number of victims who have benefited from such assistance.

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Abductions for the exaction of forced labour and penalties. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the practice of abductions for the purpose of forced labour in the context of armed conflict. It noted the Government’s indication in its last report that no evidence had been found regarding cases of abductions. The Committee further noted the United Nations Independent Expert’s indication in 2016 that fighting continued, particularly in Darfur between Government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdul Wahid, causing killings, abductions, sexual violence and displacement of civilians. The Committee noted the appointment of a Special Prosecutor for Darfur crimes, and the Government’s information that no prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor were related to cases of abductions for forced labour. The Committee accordingly requested the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the imposition of appropriate criminal penalties on perpetrators of abductions for the exaction of forced labour.

The Government indicates in its report that there are no records of abductions for the purpose of compulsory labour, and that the Special Prosecutor for Darfur crimes has not received any cases of abductions for forced labour. The Government states that the security situation in Darfur is stable thanks to the efforts of the transitional Government, which has made peace its priority.

The Committee notes the United Nation’s indication available on its website that a transitional Government was formed in August 2019 by the Transitional Military Council and the country’s main opposition alliance, for a three-year period leading up to democratic elections. The Committee notes that the General Framework for the programme of the transitional Government sets as one of its priorities to put an end to the war and build fair, comprehensive and sustainable peace. In this regard, practical measures include: (i) establishing and activating the Transitional Justice Commission and building the relevant compensation and reparation institutions; and (ii) creating units for psychological support and assistance for the victims of violations. In addition, the Committee notes that Article 6(3) of the Transitional Constitution, signed on 17 August 2019, provides that despite any provision in existing laws, there shall be no statutory limitations on war crimes and crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killings, violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and offences relating to corruption and abuse of power committed since 30 June 1989. The Committee welcomes the formal signature of a peace agreement on 3 October 2020 in Sudan between the transitional Government and opposition groups. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take measures to ensure that no cases of abductions for the exaction of forced labour occur in future and to guarantee that victims are fully protected from such practices. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the establishment of the Transitional Justice Commission, the compensation and reparation institutions and the units to support and assist victims of violations, and to indicate the activities that they have undertaken for the reparation and reintegration of victims of abductions for the exaction of forced labour.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the enactment of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act in 2014 (Anti-Trafficking Act). It notes that under section 9 of the Act, trafficking in persons is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of three to ten years and under aggravated circumstances, the sentence of imprisonment is of five to ten years. The Committee also notes that a National Committee for Combating Trafficking (NCCT) has been established. Its functions include others: (i) the development of a national strategy to combat trafficking in persons; (ii) coordination with the relevant stakeholders on preventive measures to combat trafficking in persons; and (iii) the development of awareness raising campaigns by organizing conferences, issuing guidelines and educational tools on the issue of trafficking. Moreover, the Committee notes that under section 28 of the Act, victims of trafficking shall be exempted from judicial fees pertaining to action for compensation for such injury as may be sustained, as a result of their being subjected to any of the offences under the Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, including the activities of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking, in terms of preventing, suppressing and punishing trafficking in persons. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether a national strategy to combat trafficking in persons has been adopted and to provide information on its implementation. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure protection and assistance to victims of trafficking.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that in regions of the country where there was armed conflict, the abduction and forced labour of thousands of women and children had taken place. The Committee noted the allegations from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that there continued to be serious problems with regard to abductions for the purpose of forced labour, as well as compensation for victims of forced labour. The Committee also noted that in his 2013 report, the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan indicated that in the three areas of Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, outbreaks of fighting have led to widespread human rights violations and large-scale displacements. The Independent Expert pointed out that widespread human rights violations and large scale civilian displacements due to the persistence of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and armed opposition groups continued to occur in the region of Darfur (A/HRC/24/31, paragraphs 11 and 13). Moreover, the Committee noted the information from the Report of the Secretary-General on the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), of 14 October 2013, that between 1 April and 30 June 2013 there were 21 abductions in which the local civilian population was targeted, and ten such abductions between 1 July and 30 September 2013 (S/2013/607, paragraph 26). In this regard, the Committee requested the Government to take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations and impunity.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that no evidence has been found regarding cases of abductions. However, the Committee notes from the 2016 report of the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, that during the reporting period (from October 2015 to June 2016), the security situation in Darfur was marked by an escalation in fighting between Government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdul Wahid. The Independent Expert was concerned by the detrimental effects of the conflict on civilians in the light of allegations of human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law, including indiscriminate killings, destruction and burning of villages, abduction of and sexual violence against women, as well as large-scale displacement of civilians. Moreover, during the first five months of 2016, around 80,000 people were reportedly newly displaced across Darfur. An additional 142,000 people were also reportedly displaced (A/HRC/33/65, paragraphs 41 and 42). In light of the above, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to put an immediate stop to cases of abductions for the exaction of forced labour and to guarantee that the victims are fully protected from such abusive practices. The Committee also reiterates the need for the Government to take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations and impunity, which would help to ensure the full observance of the Convention. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, detailed information on measures taken in this regard.

Article 25. Penalties for the exaction of forced labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that special courts were established in some conflict regions to eradicate any activity involving forced labour, and that a Special Prosecutor for Darfur crimes had been appointed. The Committee also noted that in his 2013 report, the Independent Expert raised concerns about the slow pace of prosecution of the Darfur conflict-related crimes (A/HRC/24/31, paragraph 43). The Committee requested the Government to indicate the number of prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor for Darfur which relate to abductions for the exaction of forced labour, as well as the number of convictions and the nature of penalties applied.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that with regard to the statistical information on the number of prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor for Darfur, none of the prosecutions were related to cases of abductions for forced labour. The Government also indicates that various institutions currently exist to facilitate access to justice to victims of human rights violations, including the National Human Right Commission and the High Council for Children. Recalling the importance of imposing appropriate criminal penalties on perpetrators so that recourse to forced labour practices does not go unpunished, the Committee requests the Government to take immediate and effective measures in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistical information on the number of prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor for Darfur which relate to abductions for the exaction of forced labour, as well as the number of convictions and the specific penalties applied.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.

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Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. The Committee notes the enactment of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act in 2014 (Anti-Trafficking Act). It notes that under section 9 of the Act, trafficking in persons is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of three to ten years and under aggravated circumstances, the sentence of imprisonment is of five to ten years. The Committee also notes that a National Committee for Combating Trafficking (NCCT) has been established. Its functions include others: (i) the development of a national strategy to combat trafficking in persons; (ii) coordination with the relevant stakeholders on preventive measures to combat trafficking in persons; and (iii) the development of awareness raising campaigns by organizing conferences, issuing guidelines and educational tools on the issue of trafficking. Moreover, the Committee notes that under section 28 of the Act, victims of trafficking shall be exempted from judicial fees pertaining to action for compensation for such injury as may be sustained, as a result of their being subjected to any of the offences under the Act. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the Combating of Human Trafficking Act of 2014, including the activities of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking, in terms of preventing, suppressing and punishing trafficking in persons. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether a national strategy to combat trafficking in persons has been adopted and to provide information on its implementation. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure protection and assistance to victims of trafficking.

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Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that in regions of the country where there was armed conflict, the abduction and forced labour of thousands of women and children had taken place. The Committee noted the allegations from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that there continued to be serious problems with regard to abductions for the purpose of forced labour, as well as compensation for victims of forced labour. The Committee also noted that in his 2013 report, the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan indicated that in the three areas of Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, outbreaks of fighting have led to widespread human rights violations and large-scale displacements. The Independent Expert pointed out that widespread human rights violations and large scale civilian displacements due to the persistence of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and armed opposition groups continued to occur in the region of Darfur (A/HRC/24/31, paragraphs 11 and 13). Moreover, the Committee noted the information from the Report of the Secretary-General on the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), of 14 October 2013, that between 1 April and 30 June 2013 there were 21 abductions in which the local civilian population was targeted, and ten such abductions between 1 July and 30 September 2013 (S/2013/607, paragraph 26). In this regard, the Committee requested the Government to take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations and impunity.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that no evidence has been found regarding cases of abductions. However, the Committee notes from the 2016 report of the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, that during the reporting period (from October 2015 to June 2016), the security situation in Darfur was marked by an escalation in fighting between Government forces and the Sudan Liberation Movement-Abdul Wahid. The Independent Expert was concerned by the detrimental effects of the conflict on civilians in the light of allegations of human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law, including indiscriminate killings, destruction and burning of villages, abduction of and sexual violence against women, as well as large-scale displacement of civilians. Moreover, during the first five months of 2016, around 80,000 people were reportedly newly displaced across Darfur. An additional 142,000 people were also reportedly displaced (A/HRC/33/65, paragraphs 41 and 42). In light of the above, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to put an immediate stop to cases of abductions for the exaction of forced labour and to guarantee that the victims are fully protected from such abusive practices. The Committee also reiterates the need for the Government to take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations and impunity, which would help to ensure the full observance of the Convention. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, detailed information on measures taken in this regard.

Article 25. Penalties for the exaction of forced labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that special courts were established in some conflict regions to eradicate any activity involving forced labour, and that a Special Prosecutor for Darfur crimes had been appointed. The Committee also noted that in his 2013 report, the Independent Expert raised concerns about the slow pace of prosecution of the Darfur conflict-related crimes (A/HRC/24/31, paragraph 43). The Committee requested the Government to indicate the number of prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor for Darfur which relate to abductions for the exaction of forced labour, as well as the number of convictions and the nature of penalties applied.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that with regard to the statistical information on the number of prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor for Darfur, none of the prosecutions were related to cases of abductions for forced labour. The Government also indicates that various institutions currently exist to facilitate access to justice to victims of human rights violations, including the National Human Right Commission and the High Council for Children. Recalling the importance of imposing appropriate criminal penalties on perpetrators so that recourse to forced labour practices does not go unpunished, the Committee requests the Government to take immediate and effective measures in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistical information on the number of prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor for Darfur which relate to abductions for the exaction of forced labour, as well as the number of convictions and the specific penalties applied.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.

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Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. The Committee previously noted that in regions of the country where there was armed conflict, the abduction and forced labour of thousands of women and children had taken place. The Committee noted the allegations from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) of August 2010 that there continued to be serious problems with regard to abductions for the purpose of forced labour, as well as compensation for victims of forced labour. However, the Committee noted that steps had been taken towards the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. It also noted the Government’s indications regarding the referendum and subsequent secession of southern Sudan to create South Sudan, the signing of an agreement in the east of the country and the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur. Nonetheless, the Committee observed in 2012 that hostilities and accompanying human rights violations, including abductions, continued in parts of the Sudan, particularly in Darfur and South Kordofan.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that forced labour has been eradicated in the conflict regions. In its report submitted under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Government indicates that it has put an end to cases of abduction and forced labour which were a direct by-product of the civil war and ancient long-standing tribal practices, particularly in south-west Sudan. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that the Advisory Council for Human Rights was entrusted in 2010 to follow up on the issue of the abduction of women and children. In this regard, the Government indicates that psychological and social support, education and training opportunities on skills have been provided to victims. The Committee notes the statement in the Report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, of 18 September 2013, that while the general human rights situation in the Sudan has remained unstable, especially in conflict-affected areas like Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, the Government continues to make progress in legislative and institutional developments aimed at improving the situation of human rights in the country (A/HRC/24/31, paragraph 16). The Independent Expert indicates that in the three protocol areas of Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile, outbreaks of fighting have led to widespread human rights violations and large-scale displacements (paragraph 13). Moreover, Darfur continues to be characterized by widespread human rights violations and large scale civilian displacements due to the persistence of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and armed opposition groups in the region (paragraph 11). In this regard, the Committee notes the information from the Report of the Secretary-General on the African Union–United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), of 14 October 2013, that between 1 April and 30 June 2013 there were 21 abductions in which the local civilian population was targeted, and ten such abductions between 1 July and 30 September 2013 (S/2013/607, paragraph 26). The Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to guarantee a climate of stability and legal security in which abductions and recourse to forced labour cannot be legitimized or go unpunished. In this regard, it reiterates the need for the Government to take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations and impunity, which would help to ensure the full observance of the Convention. Moreover, the Committee urges the Government to ensure the cessation and resolution of all cases of abductions in the country and to ensure the victims’ right to be reunified with their families. The Committee requests the Government to provide, in its next report, detailed information on measures taken in this regard.

Article 25. Penalties for the exaction of forced or compulsory labour. The Committee previously noted the Criminal Code provisions punishing the offence of abduction with penalties of imprisonment. However, the Committee also noted the Government’s statement that, within the context of the comprehensive peace process, an argument could be made for not pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for abductions and forced labour in the spirit of national reconciliation. Nonetheless, the Committee noted that United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1881 (2009) emphasized the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of human rights violations and that the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan recommended that the Government “ensure that all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are duly investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice promptly, in particular those with command responsibilities” (A/HRC/15/CRP.1, September 2010). In this regard, the Committee noted the appointment of the Prosecutor for the Special Court for Darfur, with jurisdiction over gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian laws since 2003 (S/2012/231, paragraph 83).

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that special courts were established in some conflict regions to eradicate any activity involving forced labour, and refers in this regard to the appointment of the Special Prosecutor for Darfur Crimes. Regarding the penalties imposed on persons who exacted forced labour, the Government indicates that it will send this information as soon as it is available. The Committee notes the information in the Report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, of 18 September 2013, that in January 2012 the Government appointed a new Special Prosecutor, the fifth appointed since 2003. The Independent Expert raised concerns about the slow pace of prosecution of the Darfur conflict-related crimes (A/HRC/24/31, paragraph 43). The Committee also notes the information from the Report of the Secretary-General on UNAMID, of 14 October 2013, that while the Special Prosecutor for Darfur had informed UNAMID that he had brought to trial nine cases of serious crimes resulting in 42 convictions, and was investigating another 57 cases, more specific information or access to hearings was not provided to UNAMID (S/2013/607, paragraph 7). The Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators of abductions and that penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of prosecutions undertaken by the Special Prosecutor for Darfur which relate to abductions for the exaction of forced labour, as well as the number of convictions and the specific penalties applied. It also requests the Government to provide information on measures being taken to prosecute forced labour violations in other parts of the country. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that information is made available on the application in practice of the penal provisions punishing the offence of abduction, as well as the provisions punishing kidnapping and the exaction of forced labour (sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Code), including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed.

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Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. For many years, the Committee noted the existence of the practices of abduction and forced labour exploitation, which affected thousands of women and children in regions of the country where an armed conflict was under way. The Committee repeatedly pointed out that such situations constituted gross violations of the Convention, since the victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions, and combined with ill treatment which may include torture and death.

The Committee also recalled that this case had been discussed on numerous occasions by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. In its conclusions adopted in June 2010, the Conference Committee noted the Government’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country and that steps had been taken towards the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. However, the Conference Committee observed that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour had been completely eradicated in practice and that there were no up-to-date statistics concerning the activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) showing the number of cases of identification of victims and reunification with their families. The Committee of Experts subsequently noted the report of the independent expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan (A/HRC/15/CRP.1) for the period from 1 May to 31 August 2010 indicating that while the Government continued to take steps towards democratic transformation, the general human rights situation in Sudan had deteriorated. The Committee further noted the allegations from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) of August 2010 that there continued to be serious problems with forced labour as well as compensation for victims of forced labour. The ITUC indicated that the practice of abduction and forced labour exploitation was still in place affecting thousands of women and children in armed conflict areas.

In this regard, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that it was committed to completely eradicating the phenomenon of abductions and to providing continued support to the CEAWC. Moreover, the Government stated that abductions had stopped, and that this fact had been confirmed by the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC). However, the Committee noted that this statement was in contradiction with other reliable sources of information, including from United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations. Therefore, while noting the Government’s renewed commitment to resolving the problem, the Committee urged the Government to redouble its efforts in order to completely eradicate forced labour practices. It expressed the firm hope that the Government would continue to provide detailed information on the liberation and reunification process, supplying updated and reliable statistics supported by CEAWC reports.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report of November 2011 that it is fully committed to the implementation of ILO Conventions. The Government states that it has adopted dialogue as the approach to resolving conflicts within the country. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s description of developments relating to the cessation of hostilities in the country, such as the continued implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005, the referendum and subsequent secession of southern Sudan to create South Sudan, the signing of an agreement in the east of the country which ended the armed conflict in this part of the country and the signing of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur between the Government and 20 armed movements in the region. With regard to cases of abduction, the Government indicates that psychological and social support, education and training opportunities on skills were provided, and that training programmes were organized for 78 social workers with regard to the tracking of children and family reunion. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that the majority of abduction cases which were recorded in the past occurred among tribes in the regions where there was an armed conflict, including the area which is now South Sudan, or in the regions subject to joint administration. In this regard, the Committee observes the information from various United Nations documents indicating that hostilities and accompanying human rights violations, including abductions, continue in parts of Sudan, particularly in Darfur and in Southern Kordofan.

With regard to Darfur, the Committee notes the information in the report of the Secretary-General on the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) of 17 April 2012 that the signatory parties to the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur continued to work towards the implementation of its provisions. However, this report indicates that, between December 2011 and April 2012, clashes between Government and movement forces occurred sporadically, particularly in Northern and Central Darfur (S/2012/231, paragraphs 3 and 18). This report indicates that the human rights situation in Darfur deteriorated during this period, and ten incidents of kidnappings involving local residents were reported (paragraphs 29 and 40). Moreover, this report indicates that UNAMID documented three cases of abductions (paragraph 43). In addition, referring to its comments made under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Committee observes that according to the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict of 26 April 2012, the country task forces on monitoring and reporting documented 45 cases of recruitment and use of children for armed conflict in Darfur in 2011, the majority of these incidents taking place in Government-controlled areas (A/66/782, paragraph 109).

With regard to Southern Kordofan, the Committee notes the information in the 13th periodic report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Sudan entitled “Preliminary report on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Southern Kordofan from 5 to 30 June 2011” that the Human Rights Component of the United Nations Mission to Sudan received several reports of alleged abductions or disappearances of people in the region. This report indicates that while precise figures are unknown, the victims were reportedly suspected supporters and affiliates of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (paragraph 30). Moreover, with regard to the Abyei area, the Committee notes that the information from the report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei of 24 March 2012 that the security situation remained tense and highly unpredictable owing to the continued presence of unauthorized armed forces in the area and that significant concern remained regarding the protection of civilians in Abyei (S/2012/358, paragraphs 2 and 23). This report also indicates that there had been no further developments with regard to the operationalization of human rights monitoring in the Abyei area (paragraph 24). Lastly, referring to the application of Convention No. 182, the Committee notes that according to the report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict of 26 April 2012, cases of recruitment and use of children in armed conflict significantly increased in Abyei, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan in 2011, including allegations of abductions of children with the aim of forcefully recruiting them (A/66/782, paragraph 114).

The Committee therefore urges the Government to redouble its efforts in order to ensure the complete eradication of any forced labour practices in the country and, in particular, to ensure the resolution of all cases of abductions in the country and to ensure the victims’ right to be reunified with their families. Furthermore, the Committee urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to guarantee a climate of stability and legal security in which recourse to forced labour cannot be legitimized or go unpunished. In this regard, the Committee reiterates the need for the Government to take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations and impunity, which would help to ensure the full observance of the Convention. Lastly, noting the Government’s request for the technical assistance of the ILO, the Committee hopes that the Government will take all the necessary measures, with the Office’s assistance, in order to ensure full compliance with the Convention, both in law and in practice, and that the Government will provide, in its next report, information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 25. Penalties for the exaction of forced or compulsory labour. The Committee previously noted the Criminal Code provisions punishing the offence of abduction with penalties of imprisonment. However, the Committee also noted the Government’s repeated indication in its reports that the CEAWC, which was initially of the view that legal action was the best measure to eradicate the abductions, had been requested by all the tribes concerned, including the DCC, not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes were not successful. The Government stated that within the context of the comprehensive peace process, an argument could be made for not pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for abductions and forced labour in the spirit of national reconciliation. Moreover, the Committee noted the Government’s statement to the Conference Committee in June 2010 that bringing perpetrators to justice would have a negative impact on helping people return or settle.

However, the Committee noted that the United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 1881 (2009) emphasized the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of human rights violations and urged the Government of Sudan to comply with its obligations in this respect. The Committee also noted that the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan (A/HRC/11/14, June 2009) reiterated the recommendation that all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law be duly investigated and that perpetrators be promptly brought to justice (paragraph 92(d)). Moreover, the Committee subsequently took note of the report of the independent expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan (A/HRC/15/CRP.1) for the period from 1 May to 31 August 2010 which recommended that the Government “ensure that all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are duly investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice promptly, in particular those with command responsibilities”. The Committee further noted that the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, in June 2010, noted with concern that there was a lack of accountability of perpetrators and strongly urged the Government to pursue its efforts, including through the CEAWC, to ensure the full application of the Convention, both in law and in practice. In addition, the Committee noted the allegations of the ITUC that the Government continued to refuse to punish forced labour offenders, insisting that such cases would be settled through the traditional community chief mediation process. In this regard, the ITUC indicated that there was no documented evidence of such an informal community mediation process having yielded positive results. The ITUC considered that the Government should strengthen the work of the CEAWC in terms of prosecution of perpetrators of abduction and forced labour, as a number of perpetrators remained unwilling to cooperate.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its most recent report that in 2010 the Advisory Council for Human Rights was entrusted to follow-up on the issue of women and children’s abduction, and that this was carried out by the CEAWC. The Government states that the cases of abduction which occurred outside of the region that is now South Sudan or the jointly administered territories were resolved through direct contacts through a joint committee made up of the Government and UNICEF. The Government also indicates that, at present, gathering statistics on this topic is not possible.

The Committee notes with regret the lack of up-to-date information on any investigations and prosecutions related to abductions and forced labour in the country or on the activities of the CEAWC. However, with regard to the situation in Darfur, the Committee notes that, according to the information in the report of the Secretary-General on UNAMID of 17 April 2012, the Sudanese Minister of Justice issued a decree in January 2012 to appoint the Prosecutor for the Special Court for Darfur, with jurisdiction over gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian laws since 2003 (S/2012/231, paragraph 83). The Committee also notes that the 13th periodic report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in the Sudan entitled “Preliminary report on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Southern Kordofan” of August 2011 recommends that an independent, thorough and objective inquiry be conducted into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law that occurred during the hostilities of Southern Kordofan, with a view to holding perpetrators accountable. This report recommends that immunities for members of the military and security forces be lifted to allow for prosecutions in compliance with due process and fair trial standards (page 12).

The Committee once again recalls in this connection that, under Article 25 of the Convention, “the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced”. The Committee therefore considers that the failure to apply penal sanctions in respect of perpetrators is contrary to this provision of the Convention and may have the effect of creating an environment of impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators of abductions and that penal sanctions be imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken through the CEAWC and the Special Court for Darfur regarding abductions related to the exaction of forced labour. The Committee also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that information is made available on the application in practice of the penal provision punishing the offence of abduction, as well as the provisions punishing kidnapping and the exaction of forced labour (sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Code), including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed.

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The Committee has noted the information provided by the Government to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in a communication received on 6 June 2010, to which it attached its response to the Committee’s comments made under the present Convention and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). It has also noted the discussion that took place, in June 2010, in the Conference Committee, which has requested the Government, in its conclusions, to provide a full report for examination by the Committee of Experts at its forthcoming session. The Committee has further noted the observations dated 26 August 2010 received from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), concerning the application of the Convention by Sudan, which was sent to the Government, on 7 September 2010, for any comments it may wish to make on the matters raised therein.

The Committee notes that no report has been supplied by the Government at the request of the Conference Committee, and no comments have been provided in response to the above observations by the ITUC. The Committee firmly hopes that the Government will provide a full report for examination by the Committee at its next session, as well as its comments on the observations by the ITUC.

Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. For many years, the Committee has been referring, in relation to the application of the Convention, to the continuing existence of the practices of abduction and forced labour exploitation, which affected thousands of women and children in the regions of the country where an armed conflict was under way. The Committee recalls that this case has been discussed repeatedly over the years in its own observations and on numerous occasions by the Conference Committee. The Committee has repeatedly pointed out that the situations concerned constitute gross violations of the Convention, since the victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions, and combined with ill treatment which may include torture and death. The Committee has considered that the scope and gravity of the problem are such that it is necessary to take urgent action that is commensurate in scope and systematic. The Government has been therefore requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to combat the practice of forced labour through abduction of women and children and to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2010, the Conference Committee noted the Government’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country and, in particular, information about the recent elections which were held in the country, which were considered as a new step towards the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. While noting these positive developments, as well as the Government’s renewed statement that after the end of the civil war abductions had stopped completely, the Conference Committee observed once again that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour had been completely eradicated in practice. In this regard, the Conference Committee noted with regret that the latest statistics concerning the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) activities (showing the numbers of cases of victims identification and reunification with their families) dated back to May 2008, and that no updated information of this kind had been provided by the Government. The Conference Committee noted once again 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 violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. It also noted with concern that there was a lack of accountability of perpetrators and that victim rehabilitation measures were not sufficient. The Conference Committee strongly urged the Government to pursue its efforts, including through the CEAWC, in order to ensure the full application of the Convention, both in law and in practice. It expressed the firm hope that the Government would provide detailed information in its next report for examination by the Committee of Experts, indicating, in particular, whether the cases of exaction of forced labour had stopped completely, whether the victims had been reunified with their families and received adequate compensation and rehabilitation, and whether perpetrators had been punished, particularly those unwilling to cooperate. Noting the Government’s request for technical assistance from the Office, the Conference Committee invited the ILO to provide the necessary assistance.

United Nations bodies. The Committee previously noted that, in United Nations Security Council resolution 1881 (2009), the Security Council had expressed concern at the continued seriousness of the security situation and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Darfur and reiterated its condemnation of all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in that region. The resolution emphasized the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes and urged the Government of Sudan to comply with its obligations in this respect. The Committee also noted a report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan (A/HRC/11/14, June 2009), in which the Special Rapporteur observed that, despite some positive steps in the area of law reform, improvement of the human rights situation on the ground continued to remain a significant challenge. Thus, in Darfur, human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law continued to be committed by all parties; in southern Sudan, several hundred civilians were killed in tribal conflict and attacks by Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and a number of women and children were abducted. According to the report, impunity remained an ongoing and serious concern in all areas of Sudan, allegations of violations of human rights were not duly investigated, many perpetrators of serious crimes had not been brought to justice and reparations had not been provided to victims. The Special Rapporteur reiterated all previously unimplemented human rights recommendations contained in her reports and, in particular, a recommendation to ensure that all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are duly investigated and that perpetrators are promptly brought to justice (paragraph 92(d)).

The Committee notes the report of the independent expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan (A/HRC/15/CRP.1) issued pursuant to Decision 14/117 by the Human Rights Council and noted by Resolution 15/27 adopted by the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/RES/15/27), which provided an overview of developments and activities during the period from 1 May to 31 August 2010. The report states that, during the abovementioned reporting period, while the Government continued to take steps towards democratic transformation, the general human rights situation in the Sudan deteriorated. In Darfur, clashes between government forces and the armed movements as well as inter-communal violence continued to cause further death and displacement among the civilian population. The situation in Southern Sudan continued to be characterized by “high volatility in localized areas affecting the civilian population, especially women and children, as well as increasing human rights violations by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)”. The report states that concrete measures aimed at ensuring law and order and addressing accountability and impunity should be urgently considered by both the national Government and the government of southern Sudan. The report reiterates all previously unimplemented human rights recommendations, including those made by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, and recommends to the Government, inter alia, to “ensure that all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are duly investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice promptly, in particular those with command responsibilities”.

Comments from workers’ organizations. In the observations dated 26 August 2010 referred to above, the ITUC noted that there continued to be serious problems with forced labour and compensation of its victims. According to the ITUC, the practice of abduction and forced labour exploitation is still in place affecting thousands of women and children in armed conflict areas. The Government continues to refuse to punish forced labour offenders, insisting that such cases will be settled through the traditional community chief mediation process. However, in the meantime, there is no documented evidence of such informal community mediation process having yielded positive results. The ITUC further alleges that there are still cases of involuntary returns of some abductees and extensive cases of unaccompanied children, most of whom have lost their families due to death and displacement in the war. The ITUC considers that the Government must strengthen the work of the CEAWC in terms of prosecution of perpetrators of abduction and forced labour, as a number of perpetrators remain unwilling to cooperate. Finally, the ITUC welcomes the Government’s willingness to accept technical assistance from the ILO.

The Government’s response. The Committee notes that the Government’s response to the Committee’s comments, attached to a communication received on 6 June 2010 referred to above, contains the information already supplied to the ILO in November 2008, in response to a communication by the ITUC dated 29 August 2008. This information relates, inter alia, to the activities of the CEAWC up to the end of April 2008, including statistics concerning documented cases of abductions and cases of reunification of abducted persons with their families, which has already been noted by the Committee. The Government confirms once again its strong and continued commitment to completely eradicate the phenomenon of abductions and to provide continued support to the CEAWC. It also reiterates its previous statement that abductions have stopped completely, which, according to the Government, has also been confirmed by the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC). For that reason, the Government has urged once again that this case be dismissed and its discussion stopped in the ILO, since it has already been satisfactorily dealt with according to the reports of the UN specialized agencies. Concerning the situation in Darfur, the Government reiterated its view that, since it was under examination by the UN Security Council and the African Union, the issues concerned should not be discussed in the ILO, in order to avoid duplication of work. As regards the prosecution of perpetrators, the Government repeated its previous indications that the CEAWC, which was initially of the view that legal action was the best measure to eradicate abductions, had been requested by all the tribes concerned including the DCC not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes are not successful. The Government reiterated its view that legal action takes a very long time and is very expensive, and that it could not build peace among the tribes concerned and did not correspond to the spirit of national reconciliation. The Committee also notes the statement of the Government representative to the Conference Committee in June 2010 that bringing perpetrators to justice would have a negative impact on helping people return or settle; however, the Government has credited those who wished to submit claims with available information. He also stated that the Government had done what it could to bring the perpetrators to justice, however it could not force people to bring up complaints, but just encourage them to do so.

While noting this information, the Committee strongly urges the Government once again to redouble its efforts in order to completely eradicate the forced labour practices which constitute a gross violation of the Convention, and in particular, to resolve the cases of abductions in all the regions of the country and to ensure the victims’ right to be reunified with their families. While noting the Government’s renewed commitment to resolve the problem, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will continue to provide detailed information on the liberation and reunification process, supplying updated and reliable statistics supported by CEAWC reports. Having also noted the Government’s repeated statement that abductions have stopped completely, the Committee observes with concern that this statement is in contradiction with other reliable sources of information. It again refers in this connection to the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. The Committee reiterates the need for the Government to take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations and widespread impunity, which would help to create better conditions for the full observance of the forced labour Conventions. Noting also the Government’s request for technical assistance of the ILO, the Committee hopes that the Government will take all the necessary measures, with the Office’s assistance, in order to ensure full compliance with the Convention, both in law and in practice, and that the Government will provide, in its next report, information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 25. Penalties for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour. The Committee previously noted the Criminal Code provisions punishing the offence of abduction with penalties of imprisonment, and requested the Government to take measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. The Committee has noted the Government’s repeated indication in its reports that the CEAWC, which was initially of the view that legal action was the best measure to eradicate the abductions, has been requested by all the tribes concerned not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes are not successful. The Government reiterates its view that, within the context of the comprehensive peace process, there is an argument for not pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for abductions and forced labour in the spirit of national reconciliation.

The Committee recalls again in this connection that, under Article 25 of the Convention, “the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced”. The Committee therefore considers that the failure to apply penal sanctions in respect of perpetrators is contrary to this provision of the Convention and may have the effect of creating an environment of impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour.

The Committee urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators, particularly against those unwilling to cooperate, and penal sanctions will be imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention. The Committee again requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the application in practice of the penal provision punishing the offence of abduction, as well as the provisions punishing kidnapping and the exaction of forced labour (sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Code), supplying sample copies of the relevant court decisions and indicating the penalties imposed.

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The Committee has noted the Government’s report dated 27 April 2008, received in May 2008, and the report of activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) annexed to it, as well as the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2008. It has also noted the observations dated 29 August 2008 received from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) concerning the application of the Convention by the Sudan, as well as the Government’s reply to these observations dated 2 November 2008, which was sent to the Office by means of communications dated 12 and 20 November 2008 and copied once again in a communication dated 9 January 2009.

Articles 1, paragraph 1, and 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. For many years, the Committee has been referring, in relation to the application of the Convention, to the continuing existence of the practices of abduction and forced labour exploitation, which affected thousands of women and children in the regions of the country where an armed conflict was under way. The Committee recalls that this case has been discussed repeatedly over the years in its own observations and on numerous occasions by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. The Committee has repeatedly pointed out that the situations concerned constitute gross violations of the Convention, since the victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions, and in combination with ill treatment which may include torture and death. The Committee has considered that the scope and gravity of the problem are such that it is necessary to take urgent action that is commensurate in scope and systematic. The Government has been therefore requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to combat the practice of forced labour through abduction of women and children and to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. The Committee has noted that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2008, the Conference Committee once again observed the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. The Conference Committee noted the measures taken by the Government, such as the progress achieved by the CEAWC in the liberation of abductees, as well as the Government’s efforts to improve the human rights situation in the country. However, it expressed the view that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour was completely eradicated in practice and expressed concern at the reports relating to involuntary return of certain abductees, some of them being separated from their families, including cases of displaced and unaccompanied children. The Conference Committee also noted with concern that there was a lack of accountability of perpetrators. It urged the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour and to take effective and urgent action, including through the CEAWC, to completely eradicate the forced labour practices and to put an end to impunity by punishing perpetrators, particularly those unwilling to cooperate. The Conference Committee again invited the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO and other donors to achieve this goal, bearing in mind that only an independent verification of the situation in the country could make it possible to determine that forced labour practices had been completely eradicated.

United Nations bodies. The Committee notes that, in the UN Security Council resolution 1881 (2009), the Security Council expressed concern at the continued seriousness of the security situation and deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Darfur and reiterated its condemnation of all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur. The resolution emphasized the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes and urged the Government of Sudan to comply with its obligations in this respect. The Committee also notes a report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan (A/HRC/11/14, June 2009), in which it is observed that, despite some positive steps in the area of law reform, improvement of the human rights situation on the ground continues to remain a significant challenge. Thus, in Darfur, human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law continued to be committed by all parties; in southern Sudan, several hundred civilians were killed in tribal conflicts and attacks by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and a number of women and children were abducted. According to the report, impunity remains an ongoing and serious concern in all areas of Sudan, allegations of violations of human rights are not duly investigated, many perpetrators of serious crimes have not been brought to justice and reparations have not been provided to victims. The Special Rapporteur reiterated all previously unimplemented human rights recommendations contained in her reports, and in particular, a recommendation to ensure that all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are duly investigated and that the perpetrators are promptly brought to justice (paragraph 92(d)).

Comments from workers’ organizations. In the observations dated 29 August 2008 referred to above, the ITUC pointed out that, despite the Government’s statement at the Conference Committee in 2008 that there had been no further cases of abductions and forced labour in the country, information from various sources provided evidence that abductions had continued in Darfur in the context of the current conflict there, and the human rights violations taking place in Darfur showed a marked similarity to those that took place in southern Sudan during the 1983–2005 civil war, including many documented cases of abductions for sexual exploitation and forced labour. The ITUC referred, in particular, to the November 2007 report on the situation of human rights in Darfur by the UN group of experts, to the March 2008 report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan and to the findings of the research conducted in 2006-–07 by Anti-Slavery International. While welcoming the fact that the Government had finally recognized the scale of the problem and had successfully resolved 11,300 cases of abductions, the ITUC expressed concern about the release and reintegration process. It referred, in particular, to the findings by UNICEF, according to which some of those being rescued were not genuine former abductees, some returnees were not going voluntarily and some families were being split with children being moved on unaccompanied. The ITUC also noted that, although the Government described 11,300 of the 14,000 cases of abductions as “resolved”, reunification with the family had only happened in 3,394 cases, which meant that less than one third of those involved had been reunited with their families. The ITUC continued to believe that the impunity that those responsible for abductions have
enjoyed – illustrated by the absence of any prosecutions for abductions in the last 16 years – was responsible for the continuation of this practice throughout the civil war of 1983–2005 and for the current continued abductions in Darfur. The ITUC therefore strongly supported a recommendation made by the Conference Committee in 2008 that “only an independent verification of the situation in the country could make it possible to determine that forced labour practices had been completely eradicated”. It stated that the Government should accept ILO technical assistance for a mission which should be given a mandate to review the extent to which former abductees have been successfully reintegrated into their communities.

Government’s response. In its 2008 report, the Government repeated the information already supplied to the ILO in May 2007 and provided the updated information on the activities of the CEAWC up to the end of April 2008. The Government confirmed once again its strong and continued commitment to completely eradicate the phenomenon of abductions and to provide continued support to CEAWC. The Government indicated in its report, as well as in its reply to the observations by the ITUC referred to above, that out of 14,000 documented cases of abductions, CEAWC had been able to reunify abducted persons with their families in 6,000 cases. However, the Committee has noted from the report of activities of the CEAWC, dated 27 April 2008, annexed to the Government’s report, that only in 3,708 cases abducted persons had been reunified with their families, including 310 new cases of reunification due to the recent funding by the Government of the Southern Sudan. The Government has confirmed once again its previous statement that abductions have stopped completely, which, according to the Government, has been confirmed also by the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC). For that reason, the Government has urged to dismiss this case and to stop its discussion in the ILO, since it has already been satisfactorily dealt with according to the reports of the UN specialized agencies. Concerning the situation in Darfur, the Government expressed the view that, since it was under examination by the UN Security Council and the African Union, the issues concerned should not be discussed in the ILO, in order to avoid duplication of work. Regarding the workers’ concerns expressed by the ITUC in its observations referred to above about the release and reintegration process, and whether the return of abductees is voluntary, the Government stated that such concerns had no factual base. It referred to the above report of the CEAWC, which contained a reference to a letter by the UNICEF Representative in Sudan, according to which no cases of forced return had been identified and several cases of unaccompanied children had been dealt with effectively at field level in the North. The Government also indicated in its report that it committed itself to provide all funds required to complete the remaining work, despite the fact that many international agencies had claimed that the remaining abductees were no longer abductees in the strict sense of the word and called upon CEAWC to avoid forced returns. As regards the prosecution of perpetrators, the Government repeated its previous indications that CEAWC, which was initially of the view that legal action was the best measure to eradicate the abduction, had been requested by all the tribes concerned, including the DCC, not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes are not successful. The Government considered that legal action takes very long time and is very expensive, it could not build peace among the tribes concerned and did not correspond to the spirit of national reconciliation. The Government also stated that it was not in a position to force people to pursue legal action. It also rejected the recommendation that there should be an independent verification of the work of CEAWC.

While noting these views and comments, as well as the Government’s renewed commitment to resolve the problem, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts in order to completely eradicate the forced labour practices which constitute a gross violation of the Convention and, in particular, to resolve the cases of abductions in all the regions of the country and to provide the means for victims to be reunified with their families. While noting the new achievements by CEAWC in the liberation of abductees, the Committee hopes that the Government would continue to provide detailed information on the liberation and reunification process, supplying accurate and reliable statistics supported by CEAWC reports. Noting also with concern that the Government’s statement according to which abductions have stopped completely is in contradiction with other sources of information available, the Committee refers again to the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations, which would help to create better conditions for the full observance of the forced labour Conventions. The Committee encourages the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO, in accordance with the proposal of the Conference Committee.

Article 25. Penalties for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour. The Committee previously noted the Criminal Code provisions punishing the offence of abduction with penalties of imprisonment, and requested the Government to take measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. The Committee has noted the Government’s repeated indication in its reports that CEAWC, which was initially of the view that legal action was the best measure to eradicate the abductions, has been requested by all the tribes concerned not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes are not successful. The Government reiterates its view that there is an argument for not pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for abductions and forced labour in the spirit of national reconciliation. The Committee recalls again in this connection that, under Article 25 of the Convention, “the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced”. The Committee therefore considers that the non-application of penal sanctions to perpetrators is contrary to this provision of the Convention and may have the effect of ensuring impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour.

The Committee expresses the firm hope that the necessary measures will at last be taken to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators, particularly against those unwilling to cooperate, and penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention. The Committee again requests the Government to provide, in its next report, information on the application in practice of the penal provision punishing the offence of abduction, as well as the provisions punishing kidnapping and the exaction of forced labour (sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Code), supplying sample copies of the relevant court decisions.

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Articles 1(1) and 2(1) of the Convention. Abolition of forced labour practices. 1. For many years, the Committee has been examining information concerning the practices of abduction and forced labour affecting thousands of women and children in the regions of the country where an armed conflict was under way. The Committee has pointed out on numerous occasions that these situations constitute gross violations of the Convention. These victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, and the work is performed under extremely harsh conditions, as well as the victims being ill-treated in ways which may include torture and death. In its earlier comments, the Committee considered that the scope and gravity of the problem were such that it was necessary to take urgent action that was commensurate in scope and systematic. The Government was therefore requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to combat the practice of forced labour through abduction of women and children and to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators.

2. The Committee has noted with interest the adoption in 2005 of the Interim National Constitution, which followed the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005. The Committee notes with interest that Part Two of the Interim National Constitution contains the Bill of Rights which promotes the human rights and fundamental freedoms, and that Article 30 of the Interim National Constitution specifically prohibits slavery and forced or compulsory labour.

3. The Committee has taken note of the Government’s report received in October 2006 and of the summary reports of activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) supplied in November 2005 and October 2006, as well as of the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2005. It has also noted the observations dated 6 September 2005, received from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU, now ITUC – International Trade Union Confederation), concerning the application of the Convention by Sudan, as well as the Government’s reply to these observations.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards. 4. The Committee has noted that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2005, the Conference Committee observed the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the practices of abduction and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee noted that, while there had been positive and tangible steps, including the conclusion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, it was of the view that there was no verifiable evidence that forced labour had been abolished. The Committee invited the Government to avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO and other donors to enable it to eradicate the practices identified by the Committee of Experts and to bring the perpetrators to justice. The Committee considered that only an independent verification of the situation in the country would enable it to determine that forced labour in the country had ended. The Committee decided that, in the framework of the ILO technical assistance, a full investigation of the facts be undertaken and requested the Government to provide the ILO with all the necessary assistance.

United Nations bodies. 5. The Committee notes that, in the UN Security Council resolution 1769 (2007), the Security Council noted with strong concern ongoing attacks on the civilian population and humanitarian workers and continued and widespread sexual violence. The resolution referred to the report of the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on the Hybrid operation in Darfur and the report of the Secretary-General of 23 February 2007. The resolution emphasized the need to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes and urged the Government of Sudan to do so and reiterated its condemnation of all violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur. The Committee also notes that, in the Decision 2/115, of the UN Human Rights Council concerning Darfur, of 28 November 2006, the Human Rights Council, while welcoming the Darfur Peace Agreement, noted with concern the seriousness of the human rights and humanitarian situation in Darfur and called on all parties to put an immediate end to the ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, with a special focus on vulnerable groups, including women and children. The Committee further notes a report on the situation of human rights in Darfur prepared by the group of experts mandated by Human Rights Council resolution 4/8 presided by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Sudan (A/HRC/5/6, of 8 June 2007), in which the experts group shared the concern of the Council regarding the seriousness of ongoing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur as well as the lack of accountability of perpetrators of such crimes. According to the recommendations contained in the report, all allegations of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law must be duly investigated and perpetrators must be promptly brought to justice (paragraph 43(h)).

Comments from workers’ organizations. 6. In the observations of 2005 referred to above, the ICFTU welcomed the fact that the Government had finally recognized the scale of the problem in its statement to the Conference Committee in June 2005 and, in particular, the Government’s indications that the CEAWC had successfully resolved, through documentation, retrieval and reunification measures, 11,000 cases of abductions. However, the ICFTU expressed concern about the assistance and reintegration of these individuals into Sudanese society. While welcoming the positive developments, such as the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the adoption of the Interim National Constitution, which provided a historic opportunity for the Government to resolve the issue of abduction and forced labour once and for all, the ICFTU expressed the view that it would not automatically lead to an end to abductions, exaction of forced labour and associated human rights violations, as events in Darfur had demonstrated. It also referred in this connection to the information concerning widespread and systematic cases of sexual slavery and forced prostitution, and called on the Government to ensure that such crimes are prosecuted and punished severely. The ICFTU believed that the impunity that those responsible for abductions and the exaction of forced labour have enjoyed – illustrated by the absence of any prosecutions for abductions in the last 16 years – contributed to the continuation of this practice throughout the civil war and more recently in Darfur. Finally, the ICFTU strongly supported a recommendation made by the Conference Committee that “only an independent verification of the situation in the country would enable it to determine that forced labour in the country had ended” and urged the Government to fully support and provide assistance to the ILO investigation on abductions in Sudan.

Government’s response. 7. In its 2006 report, the Government confirms its strong and continued commitment to completely eradicate the phenomenon of abductions and to provide continued support to the CEAWC. The Government indicates that, out of 14,000 cases of abductions, the CEAWC has already successfully resolved 11,000 cases and has been able to reunify abducted persons with their families in 3,394 cases. The Government has confirmed its statement to the Conference Committee that abductions have stopped completely, which, according to the Government, has been also confirmed by the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC). The Government states that the workers’ concern about the assistance and reintegration of the abductees has no factual base. As regards the prosecution of perpetrators, the Government repeats its previous indications that the CEAWC has been requested by all the tribes concerned including the DCC not to resort to legal action, unless the amicable efforts of the tribes are not successful. It also states that, within the context of the comprehensive peace process, there is an argument for not pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for abductions and forced labour since 1983 (and even before) in the spirit of national reconciliation.

8. While noting the Government’s renewed commitment to resolve the problem, as well as the progress achieved by the CEAWC in the liberation of abductees, the Committee strongly urges the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour in order to resolve the remaining cases of abductions and reintegrate the victims, thus putting an end to the long-standing and large-scale practice of the exaction of forced labour through abduction of women and children. The Committee refers again to the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in certain regions of the country. The Committee trusts that the Government will take urgent measures, in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant international bodies and agencies, to put an end to all human rights violations, which would help to create better conditions for the full observance of the forced labour Conventions.

Article 25. Penalties for the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour. 9. In its earlier comments, the Committee referred to a criminal code provisions punishing the offence of abduction with penalties of imprisonment, and requested the Government to take measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. While noting the Government’s view expressed in the report that, within the context of the comprehensive peace process, there is an argument for not pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for abductions and forced labour in the spirit of national reconciliation, the Committee again draws the Government’s attention to the provision of Article 25 of the Convention. This Article provides that “the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced”. The Committee considers that the non-application of penal sanctions to perpetrators is contrary to this provision of the Convention and will have the effect of ensuring impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour. The Committee therefore trusts that the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators, particularly against those unwilling to cooperate, and penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention. The Committee requests that the Government provide, in its next report, information on the application in practice of the penal provision punishing the offence of abduction, as well as the provisions punishing kidnapping and the exaction of forced labour (sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Code), supplying sample copies of the relevant court decisions.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 97th Session and to reply in detail to the present comments in 2008.]

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Abolition of slave-like practices

1. For a number of years, the Committee has been examining, in relation to the application of the Convention, information concerning the practices of abduction, trafficking and forced labour affecting thousands of women and children in the regions of the country where an armed conflict is under way. The Government was requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to combat the practice of forced labour through abduction of women and children and to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators.

2. The Committee takes note of the Government’s report received in October 2004 and of the Information Note about the activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) supplied in January 2004, as well as of the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2004. It also notes the observations dated 31 August 2004 received from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) concerning the application of the Convention by Sudan, which were transmitted to the Government in September 2004 for such comments as might be considered appropriate. As the Government’s report received in October 2004 contains no reference to these serious observations, the Committee requests that the Government communicate its comments with its next report.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards

3. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2004, the Conference Committee again expressed its deep concern at continuing reports of abductions and slavery, particularly in the region of south Darfur, and considered it necessary to invite the Government to take effective and quick measures to bring to an end these practices and to punish those responsible, thus ending the impunity. While noting the positive measures taken by the Government, the Conference Committee expressed the firm hope that the Government’s next report would describe the concrete results obtained and recalled that the Government could request technical assistance of the ILO.

United Nations bodies

4. The Committee notes that, in its decision 2004/128 of 23 April 2004 on the situation of human rights in Sudan (E/CN.4/DEC/2004/128), the UN Commission on Human Rights expressed its deep concern about the situation in Sudan, and in particular in Darfur - Western Sudan, and called upon the Government to actively promote and protect human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the country. The Committee also notes a report of the Representative of the Secretary-General on internally displaced persons "Mission to the Sudan - the Darfur crisis" (E/CN.4/2005/8 of 27 September 2004), in which he points out that "what the world is witnessing in Darfur has been occurring in the southern part of the country for almost the entire period of the civil war, including the burning of villages, killings, destruction and looting of property, the use of tribal Arab militias, the massive displacement of people from their land and abduction of children and women" (paragraph 16). The Committee further notes a report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on a situation of human rights in the Darfur region of Sudan (E/CN.4/2005/3), in which he referred to "sexual slavery" and "enforced prostitution" which "constitute crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against the civilian population" (paragraph 69). According to the recommendations contained in the report, "violations of human rights and international humanitarian law must be thoroughly and swiftly investigated and perpetrators must be brought to justice" (paragraph 97).

Comments from workers’ organizations

5. In the observations of 2004 referred to above, the ICFTU contested the Government’s statement to the Conference Committee in June 2004 that "abductions have stopped completely". The ICFTU refers to a report on a situation in Darfur issued by Amnesty International in July 2004, which contained information obtained from eyewitness accounts, concerning cases of abduction of women and children by the Janjaweed militia, including some cases of sexual slavery. Referring to the information received from various sources, including the United States Department of State country report on Sudan, the ICFTU alleges that abductions, which have been documented in previous years, have continued in 2003 and 2004. It also shares the views expressed by the Eminent Persons Group in its report of 2002 that these abductions are "the product of a counter-insurgency strategy" pursued by the Government, which "has failed to acknowledge its own responsibility for acts committed by militias and other forces under its authority".

6. Referring to a statement by the Government representative to the Conference Committee that there was no proof regarding the number of abducted persons and that the estimates confused cases of abduction with other cases of displaced persons, the ICFTU stressed that, according to the Dinka Chiefs Committee (DCC) estimates, there are some 14,000 people who have been abducted, and that this figure has been accepted by the CEAWC. According to the estimates from the CEAWC, DCC and other sources, there are still 10,000 abducted people waiting to be identified and reunited with their families. As regards prosecutions of those responsible for abductions, the ICFTU pointed out that it was not aware of any prosecutions brought to date and that, according to the Eminent Persons Group report, with regard to slavery and abductions, there had been no prosecution of a criminal case in the Sudanese courts during the past 16 years.

7. While welcoming the positive developments, such as the conclusion of three peace agreements in May 2004, the ICFTU expressed the view that it would not automatically lead to an end of abductions and associated human rights violations, as recent events in Darfur had demonstrated, and called on the Government to state publicly that all these practices are illegal and to give priority to prosecuting all those responsible for new abductions and those who are not cooperating with the CEAWC.

The Government’s response

8. In its 2004 report, the Government reiterates its condemnation of all forms of slavery and forced labour and confirms its commitment to cooperate with international organizations to eradicate the phenomenon of abductions. Further to the information on CEAWC field work activities supplied to the ILO in January 2004, the Committee notes from the Government’s report received in October 2004 and from the statement of the Government representative to the Conference Committee in June 2004 that, during the period from March to May 2004, the CEAWC was able to retrieve, with the Government’s funding, more than 1,000 abductees who rejoined their families, including those in the areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). The Government also repeats its previous statement that abduction has stopped completely. Referring to the above observations of 2004 by the ICFTU, in which this statement has been contested, the Committee hopes that the Government will respond to these observations and will continue to provide information on the application in practice of Presidential Decree No. 14 of 2002 on the re-establishment of the CEAWC, indicating, in particular, the number of abducted persons identified and released and the number of perpetrators prosecuted.

9. The Committee notes from the Government’s report and from the discussion at the Conference Committee that, in May 2004, the Government of Sudan signed three peace protocols, including a protocol on power-sharing, which contains provisions on human rights and fundamental freedoms and refers in this connection to international instruments, including those concerning the rights of the child and abolition of slavery. The Government stated that the implementation of these agreements would lead to the solution of the problems raised.

10. While noting these positive developments and the Government’s renewed commitment to resolve the problem, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour in order to combat the practice of the exaction of forced labour through abduction of women and children, which is conducted on such a massive scale in the country. The Committee observes once again the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the practices of abduction and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee observes that the situations concerned constitute gross violations of the Convention, since the victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions and combined with ill-treatment which may include torture and death. The Committee considers that the scope and gravity of the problem are such that it is necessary to take urgent action that is commensurate in scope and systematic.

Article 25 of the Convention

11. In its earlier comments, the Committee noted that, under article 162 of the Criminal Code, abduction is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment, and requested the Government to take measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. However, in its 2002 report the Government expressed the view that any prosecution that may be made against abductors at the present stage would lead to the collapse of the recommendations of tribal conciliation meetings being held among the various tribes concerned by abduction cases in an attempt to eradicate the phenomenon of mutual abduction within a framework of peaceful coexistence among tribes. The Committee notes from the Information Note about the activities of the CEAWC supplied in January 2004, as well as from the statement of the Government representative to the Conference Committee in June 2004, that the CEAWC was of the opinion that legal action was the best measure to eradicate abductions, while the tribes, including the DCC, had requested the CEAWC not to resort to legal action unless the amicable efforts of the tribes had failed.

12. The Committee points out once again that such an approach could have the effect of ensuring impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour. Recalling that, under Article 25 of the Convention, "the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced", the Committee trusts that the necessary measures will be taken in the near future to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators and penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention.

13. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indications in its 2002 report concerning the setting up by the Minister of Justice of special courts for the prosecution of abductors of women and children. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide, in its next report, information on the functioning of these courts in practice, indicating the number of courts established and the number of prosecutions made, and supplying sample copies of court decisions.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 93rd Session.]

CMNT_TITLE

Abolition of slave-like practices

1. For a number of years, the Committee has been examining, in relation to the application of the Convention, information concerning the practices of abduction, trafficking and forced labour affecting thousands of women and children in the southern regions of the country where an armed conflict is under way. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken with a view to eliminating the exaction of forced labour and to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators.

2. The Committee has noted the information contained in the Government’s report and its annexes, including supplementary information on the field work activities of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) supplied in October 2003, as well as the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2002. It has also noted the observations received in September 2002 and September 2003 from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) concerning the application of the Convention by Sudan, which were transmitted to the Government in October 2002 and September 2003 for such comments as might be considered appropriate. The Committee observes that no such comments have been received from the Government so far and trusts that the Government will communicate its comments on these serious issues in its next report.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards

3. In its conclusions adopted in June 2002, the Conference Committee again expressed its concern at the serious situation in Sudan. While noting the willingness of the Government to collaborate with the various international institutions and the plan of action which the Government had formulated for the eradication of forced labour practices, the Conference Committee was bound to observe that all the information provided, inter alia, by workers’ organizations, the UN Special Rapporteur and the members of the Committee, demonstrated the persistence of forced labour in Sudan and the inadequacy of the measures taken by the Government to combat this situation. It noted in particular the lack of penalties imposed on those responsible and urged the Government to establish and strengthen the machinery for prevention, identification and punishment. The Conference Committee noted the Government’s refusal to accept an ILO direct contacts mission and again decided to place this case in a special paragraph of its report as a case of continued failure to implement the Convention.

United Nations bodies

  Special Rapporteur

4. The Committee has noted the interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Sudan (UN document A/57/326), transmitted to the General Assembly on 20 August 2002, as well as the report issued on 6 January 2003. The reports include the findings of his visit to Sudan in February-March and September-October 2002, as well as an update on the overall situation based on information collected since then. The Committee has noted that the Special Rapporteur recorded with appreciation a number of steps taken which may lead to an improvement of the human rights situation in the Sudan. He observed, however, that in general, in spite of the commitments made, the overall human rights situation has not improved. As regards abductions, the Special Rapporteur noted that, in an attempt to strengthen the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), the President of the Republic had moved the Committee directly under his supervision, while providing it with full-time chairmanship and appropriate resources. However, according to the report, no steps had been taken on the prosecution of any person found guilty of new abductions and no specific policy had been put in place aimed at discouraging murahalleen from practising abductions. The Special Rapporteur called upon the Government to do more with a view to eradicating abductions and to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice, thus ending the impunity from which they had benefited so far.

5. The Committee has noted that, in its resolution of 19 April 2002 on the situation of human rights in Sudan (E/CN.4/RES/2002/16), the United Nations Commission on Human Rights again expressed its deep concern about "the abduction of women and children by murahalleen groups and other government militias and their subjection to forced labour or similar conditions" and "continuing violations of human rights in areas under the control of the Government of Sudan, in particular". The Committee has also noted the statement of the Special Rapporteur to the UN Commission on Human Rights in 2003, in which he pointed out that, "in spite of some new commitments, so far human rights abuses have not decreased neither in the north nor in southern Sudan and the overall human rights situation has not improved significantly", and that some sources describe CEAWC as "massively dysfunctional".

Comments from workers’ organizations

6. In the observations of 2002 and 2003 referred to above, the ICFTU refers to a report (issued on 22 May 2002) of the Eminent Persons Group, which consisted of eight members from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Norway and France. The Group has visited the country to investigate slavery, abductions and forced servitude. The report contains references to estimates of the total number of people abducted made by the CEAWC and Dinka Chiefs Committee (14,000), as well as by UNICEF and Save the Children (between 10,000 and 17,000). The ICFTU concludes that the previously made estimate of between 5,000 and 14,000 is consistent with those made by other organizations and strongly supports a recommendation made by the Eminent Persons Group that systematic field based research carried out by independent researchers is still needed.

7. The ICFTU refers to a communication from the CEAWC to Anti-Slavery International dated 30 August 2001, in which it was noted that the number of abductees documented by CEAWC remained at only 1,200; it alleges that only 34 women and children have been released and returned home since September 2001, which shows that the process of the identification and release of abducted women and children has been extremely slow. Referring to the information contained in the statement by the Special Rapporteur to the 58th Session of the Commission on Human Rights and in the report of the Eminent Persons Group referred to above, the ICFTU alleges that the Government has not taken adequate steps to prevent further abductions and particularly has failed to bring forces, fighting on its side, under strict military control. It also refers to the statement in the Eminent Persons Group’s report, according to which, with regard to slavery and abductions, there has been no prosecution of a criminal case in the Sudanese courts during the past 16 years. As regards the announcement by the Minister of Justice, in November 2001, of the setting up of two tribunals in West Kordufan to prosecute those responsible for abductions, the ICFTU referred to the Eminent Persons Group’s statement in its report that, to the best of its knowledge, at the end of May 2002 the courts had not yet been established. While welcoming the Government’s commitment to strengthening and supporting the work of the CEAWC, the ICFTU expresses the view that the CEAWC’s stated intention of accomplishing its mandate in a one-year time frame appears extremely optimistic and shares concern of the Eminent Persons Group that it underestimates the scale and nature of the problem.

8. In its comments received in 2003, the ICFTU refers to a report published in January 2003 by CEAWC’s chairman, which states that approximately 2,000 cases of abductions have been documented since 1999, and that 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". The ICFTU is of the opinion that, given the comments by the Special Rapporteur referred to above and the limited progress made by CEAWC in the last two years, the assessment that more than 11,000 cases could be identified and reunified in one year seems entirely unrealistic.

Government’s response

9. In its 2002 report, the Government reiterates its condemnation of all forms of slavery and forced labour, as well as similar acts considered to be crimes penalized by the Penal Code. The Committee has noted the adoption of Presidential Decree No. 14 of 2002 on the re-establishment of the CEAWC, which attached its work directly to the President of the Republic and gave it a mandate to investigate reports which point to the occurrence of abduction cases and to prosecute any person suspected of committing, supporting or participating in the abductions of women and children. The Decree provides for a possibility to establish similar committees at the province level. In the supplementary information on CEAWC field work activities supplied to the ILO in October 2003, the Government informs of the retrieval and documentation of 506 abductees through more than 20 field missions to many locations in South Durfur and West Kordofan. The Committee has also noted that CEAWC has prepared an annual project plan of action for the retrieval of the remaining abductees to be completed within 12 months from the date of availability of the required funds. The Government also indicates that abduction has stopped completely. However, the ICFTU states in its 2003 communication that the fact that CEAWC has not received any new cases of abductions does not indicate that abductions have stopped, since CEAWC does not have the capacity to gather information on abductions and investigate reports and is therefore not in a position to document new cases unless they are brought directly to it. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of Decree No. 14 in practice, indicating, in particular, the number of abducted persons identified and released and the number of perpetrators prosecuted, as well as the information on practical implementation of the CEAWC’s plan of action referred to above. Please also indicate whether similar committees have been established at the province level, and if so, provide information on their practical functioning.

10. The Committee has noted the Government’s indications concerning the setting up by the Minister of Justice of special courts for the prosecution of abductors of women and children. Referring to the above allegations of the ICFTU on this subject, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the functioning of these courts in practice, indicating the number of courts established and the number of prosecutions made, and supplying sample copies of court decisions.

11. While welcoming some of the positive measures taken by the Government and the Government’s expressed renewed commitment to resolve the problem, the Committee urges the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour and to take a stronger stand to combat the practice of forced labour through abduction of women and children. The Committee trusts that the Government will soon indicate the concrete results obtained from measures taken.

Article 25 of the Convention

12. The Committee previously noted that, under article 162 of the Criminal Code, abduction is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment and requested the Government to take measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. However, in its 2002 report, the Government informed the Committee about tribal conciliation meetings held among the various tribes concerned by abduction cases in an attempt to eradicate the phenomenon of mutual abduction within a framework of peaceful coexistence among tribes. The Government expressed the view that any prosecution that may be made against abductors at the present stage would lead to the collapse of the recommendations of those meetings.

13. The Committee observes that refraining from prosecuting abductors could have the effect of ensuring impunity for abductors who exploit forced labour. It recalls that, under Article 25 of the Convention, "the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced". The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures in the near future to ensure that legal proceedings are instituted against perpetrators and penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, as required by the Convention.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 92nd Session and to reply in detail to the present comments in 2004.]

CMNT_TITLE

Abolition of slave-like practices

1. For several years, the Committee has been examining, in relation to the application of the Convention, information concerning the practices of abduction, trafficking and forced labour affecting thousands of women and children in the southern regions of the country where an armed conflict is under way, but also in regions under government control. In its last observation, the Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken with a view to eliminating the exaction of forced labour. It requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, and to provide copies of the court decisions made. The Committee requested that the Government supply full particulars to the Conference at its 89th Session and to report in detail in 2001.

Conference Committee on the Application of Standards

2. In its conclusions adopted in June 2001, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards expressed its profound concern at the serious situation in Sudan. It urged the Government to initiate systematic actions concomitant with the magnitude and gravity of the problem and to reply to the questions raised by the Committee of Experts, in particular with respect to the relevant preventive measures, identification of those responsible for exacting forced labour and the imposition of appropriate penal sanctions. The Conference Committee noted that the Government representative rejected the proposal that an ILO direct contacts mission should visit the country to work with the Government in finding solutions to eradicate the practice of forced labour, but had announced that it would consider that possibility. The Conference Committee decided to include this case in a special paragraph in its report as a case of continued failure to apply the Convention.

3. The Committee notes the information provided by a Worker member during the discussion of the Conference Committee, indicating that in October 2000 two representatives of Anti-Slavery International (ASI) visited Sudan to assess the impact of the work of the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), an institution set up in 1999 and attached to the Ministry of Justice. The ASI representatives interviewed members of the CEAWC, the Dinka Committee, the Dinka community living in northern Sudan and former slaves living in three transit centres managed by the CEAWC. The information provided by the Worker member indicated that the ASI representatives found that government officials and others did not consider abducted persons who are absorbed into the household of another family, whether by sale, false adoption, marriage, or as a result of the passage of time, to be victims of human rights violations, let alone victims of slavery.

4. The Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Worker member, the CEAWC has not pursued its mandate by prosecutions, but instead has chosen to adopt a procedure for identifying those who should be released and securing releases, which involves the participation of representatives of both the Dinka and the community holding them. However, this process has been unacceptably slow.

Special Rapporteur

5. The Committee also notes the information which a Government representative provided orally to the Conference Committee. The Committee notes that the Government representative pointed out that the April 1999 resolution of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations General Assembly, referred to "kidnappings" and "abductions", but not forced labour. According to the Government representative, his Government did not deny that kidnapping was taking place and was "particularly common" among certain tribes.

United Nations bodies

6. The Committee notes that in its resolution of April 2001 on the situation of human rights in Sudan (E/CN.4/RES/2001/18), the Commission on Human Rights once again expressed its deep concern about "the abduction of women and children to be subjected to forced labour or similar conditions". Similarly, in a resolution adopted in December 2000 by the General Assembly on the situation of human rights in Sudan (A/RES/55/116), the General Assembly expressed its deep concern at "the occurrence, within the framework of the conflict in southern Sudan, of cases of forced conscription", and "the abduction of women and children to be subjected to forced labour or similar conditions".

7. The Committee also notes the Interim Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations on the situation of human rights in Sudan (UN document A/56/336), dated 7 September 2001.

8. The report of the Special Rapporteur includes the findings of his visit to Sudan from 9 to 14 March 2001, as well as an updating on the overall situation based on information collected since then. The Committee notes that in his conclusions and recommendations, the Special Rapporteur recognized that although some positive steps have been taken, he was of the opinion that there continues to be a need for a massive advocacy campaign. More specifically, the Special Rapporteur encouraged the Government of Sudan to take a public stand against abductions and in support of the CEAWC. He indicated that by the beginning of mid-2001, the CEAWC had only facilitated the return of approximately 550 abductees to their homes out of the total number waiting to be released, which was generally considered to between 5,000 and 14,000, although figures differed significantly, with some reports referring to much higher ones.

9. The Committee notes that the Special Rapporteur concluded that the Government needed to exercise all its influence on the Murahaleen. According to the Special Rapporteur, the Government shares responsibility, because the Sudanese army integrates the Murahaleen in its military action and in part finances, equips and deploys them. The Special Rapporteur believed that a clear and unambiguous policy on abductions would first of all avoid the recurrence of cases of abductions and allow the CEAWC to be more effective, particularly at the grass-roots level, thus facilitating the acceleration of the process of retrieval of abductees and the reunification of their families.

Comments from workers’ organizations

10. The Committee notes the observations provided by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in August 2001, which include information received from Anti-Slavery International (ASI). A copy of the ICFTU’s submission was forwarded to the Government on 18 October 2001 in order that it could make any comments thereon it considered appropriate.

11. The information compiled by Anti-Slavery International and provided by the ICFTU was also submitted in June 2001 to the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery of the Sub-Commission on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, of the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations. The Committee notes the indications of ASI that, although the number of women and children abducted and enslaved during raids has varied over the years since the civil war restarted in 1983, it is undoubtedly the case that slavery remains a reality in Sudan with thousands of people awaiting release and new abductions still taking place.

Government response

12. The Committee notes that in its report, received in November 2001, the Government indicates that in June 2000 a delegation from the CEAWC visited Pibor town in Jongli State to document 12 Dinka, Taposa, Nuer and Anyuak children who had been abducted by the Murie, a tribe from southern Sudan. The delegation returned to Khartoum in July 2000 and was able to document eight cases. The Government indicated that two abductees had been reunified in Bor town, and two brought to Khartoum for medical treatment. The Government indicated that in February 2001, the CEAWC reunited four children with their families in Wau town, and that with the cooperation of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, it managed to repatriate 118 Baggara abductees who had been held with the rebel movement in Yei town since 1997. These abductees reached Khartoum in March 2001.

13. The Committee further notes the response provided by the CEAWC, which appears to be on behalf of the Government, to Anti-Slavery International, concerning that organization’s report "Is there slavery in Sudan?". The CEAWC response, sent on 30 August 2001, indicated that abduction among tribes in the west and south of Sudan has existed as long as the tribes have, and that it has its deep roots in various economic, social and cultural conditions. Its growth has been fostered by geographic distance and weakness of infrastructure in those regions, and also by a lack of awareness, education and security among tribes. The CEAWC response indicated that rebellions leading to the civil war have played a large role in the reappearance and exacerbation of this phenomenon. According to the CEAWC, it has become difficult to use traditional mechanisms to resolve the problem of mutual abduction.

14. The CEAWC response indicated that abduction is made a crime under article 162 of the Criminal Code, not under article 161 which deals with enticement, and that abduction is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment. It also indicated that the slowness in procedures was the result of the more than ten years’ accumulated effect of the practice of abduction, and that the vastness of the targeted area and its distance from media prevented the Government from extensively disseminating a "culture" of human rights. The CEAWC stated that the number of abductees it documented was only 1,200, and that there were difficulties in documenting and treating cases other than abduction. The CEAWC pointed out that its objectives were to support peaceful coexistence through raising awareness, restoring trust, resolving tribal conflicts, and strengthening basic and developmental structures. The CEAWC indicated that when abductees were identified, the procedure followed was immediately to remove the abductees from the abductor and transfer them to peace centres. According to the CEAWC, it deals with special and complex cases and keeps the best interests of the abductee in mind. The final decision is left to the abductee in cases involving older children and married women.

15. The Committee notes the rejoinder of Anti-Slavery International to the comments of the CEAWC, which was communicated to the Government on 12 October 2001. ASI commented on the indication that there were only 1,200 abductees documented by the CEAWC, pointing out that this was in strong contrast to the estimate of the Dinka Committee that a total of some 14,000 people are believed to have been abducted since 1986. ASI observed that the number of abductees reported by the CEAWC was not appreciably greater than the number reported a year earlier, and it therefore emphasized its very considerable concern that the CEAWC appeared not to have been able to continue its work of releasing victims of abduction at a significant rate over the past year.

16. The Committee urges the Government to take a stronger stand to combat the practice of forced labour through kidnapping and abduction of women and children, which is conducted on such a massive scale in the country. This requires a firm and well-publicized approach by the Government in conjunction with official mechanisms for prevention, identification and penalizing such practices. The Committee trusts that the Government will soon be able to report on positive advancements in this respect.

Article 25 of the Convention

17. The Committee previously noted that the Government’s report did not contain information enabling it to ascertain compliance with the provisions of Article 25 of the Convention, under which "the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced".

18. The Committee noted that sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Act, 1991, pertain to abduction, kidnapping and forced labour, and that the penalty envisaged for the exaction of forced labour is only one year of imprisonment.

19. In its previous observation the Committee requested the Government to indicate the procedures for bringing to trial persons having exacted forced labour. The Committee further requested that the Government take the necessary measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, and that it provide copies of the court decisions made. The Committee strongly urges the Government to provide this information in its next report.

CMNT_TITLE

Abolition of slave-like practices

For several years, the Committee has been examining, in relation to the application of the Convention, information concerning the practices of abduction, trafficking and slavery affecting thousands of women and children in the southern regions of the country where an armed conflict is under way, but also in regions under government control. In its last observation, the Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to eliminate these practices, particularly in cases in which they are carried out with the participation of government troops and/or its allied forces. It also requested the Government to provide information on the investigations being carried out and details of the concrete measures taken, including the cases brought to justice and the numbers of convictions, penalties and remedial measures taken.

In its conclusions adopted in June 2000, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, while noting the positive measures taken by the Government, including the establishment of the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), expressed its deep concern at continuing reports of abductions and slavery and urged the Government to pursue its efforts with vigour. It also expressed the hope that the Government’s report would indicate that measures had been taken, including punishment of those responsible, for the application of the Convention in law and practice. The Conference Committee decided that its conclusions on the case of Sudan would be placed in a special paragraph of its report.

The Committee notes the observations made by the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) in a communication dated 16 October 2000, which were forwarded to the Government on 31 October 2000 so that it may make the comments thereon that it considers appropriate. The WCL’s comments, based on information collected by Christian Solidarity International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide, report the persistence of practices of the abduction of women and children, accompanied by violence with the aim of reducing these persons to slavery. According to the testimony gathered by Christian Solidarity International during several missions to the country (January and May-June 2000) "the raids for slaves are undertaken mainly by militias, which are formed into PDF units and by the regular army. They are accompanied by atrocities, such as murder, torture, rape (…) and the destruction of property. The main targets of these raids are the Dinka community of northern Bahr el Ghazal and the people of the Nuba mountains". The comments also refer to the persistence of practices of slavery on a large scale in areas controlled by the Government, and particularly in the areas of Darfur and Kordofan, and to "state slavery" which, according Christian Solidarity International, continues to exist in camps known as "peace camps" where, according to the above organization, hundreds of thousands of women and children are placed and the latter are obliged to attend Koranic schools, while the women are forced to work in private homes or on farms. Christian Solidarity Worldwide also refers to the participation of the National Islamic Front in the abduction and enslavement of hundreds of women and children used as agricultural labour in the north of the country. The documents provided contain a large number of testimonies of persons who have been abducted and who confirm that their experience coincided with the allegations that the Committee has been receiving for many years.

The Committee notes the observations provided by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in August 2000, a copy of which was forwarded to the Government on 18 September 2000.

The Committee notes the report by the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations on the situation of human rights in Sudan (UN document A/55/374), dated 11 September 2000. "During his mission, the Special Rapporteur received general information reiterating data collected previously, indicating that between 5,000 and 15,000 Dinka children and women had been abducted and transferred to the areas of the Arab Baggaara tribesmen. Abductions allegedly occurred during raids by Baggaara armed militia, maverick groups and bandits, or members of the government-affiliated People’s Democratic Front (PDF). Abductees are subsequently forced to herd cattle, work in the fields, fetch water, dig wells, do housework and perform sexual favours. Their treatment is extremely harsh: abuse, torture, rape and, at times, killing being the norm" (paragraph 30).

The Committee notes the report of the Canadian Assessment Mission, of January 2000, on human security in Sudan. The Mission was mandated by the Sudanese and Canadian Ministers of Foreign Affairs to independently investigate human rights violations, specifically in reference to allegations of slavery and slavery-like practices in Sudan. The report indicates that the core allegation of slavery in Sudan is not any sensational claim which can be criticized for inflation of numbers or ignorance of complexities, but that it is a matter of record. According to the report, it is the continued assault on lives and liberty of the Dinka people of Bahr el Ghazal by Arab raiders, the Murahleen first armed by the Government in 1985 and figuring in one way or another in the Government’s current war strategies. Three perpetrators of abduction operations are cited in the report: (1) "tribal groups have been known to organize raids with "representatives" from other Arab groups"; (2) "we believe there is formal recruitment by the Government of Sudan of militia to guard the train (which carries supplies from the north through Aweil and Wau to Bahr el Ghazal) from possible SPLA attacks. These Murahleen, who are engaged by the Government but not paid, attack villages suspected of supporting the SPLA on the way from Babanusa to Wau and back. Their booty consists not just of goods, but also of women and children and the question of abolishing the practice of abductions will remain for as long as such persons have no other pay than their "booty"; (3) joint punitive raids carried out by the Government and the Murahleen who, under the Popular Defence Act, enjoy the status of state-sponsored militia, the People’s Defence Force (PDF).

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the information provided orally in June 2000 to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards.

In its report, the Government reiterates its commitment to eradicate the abduction of women and children and to cooperate with the international community in this respect. The Committee notes that the Government has not responded to the observations made by the ICFTU in September 2000.

The Committee had previously noted the establishment in May 1999 of the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), with the mandate: to facilitate the safe return of affected women and children to their families as a matter of priority by giving full support (whether financially, administratively or otherwise) to the efforts of the tribal leaders concerned; to investigate reports of the abduction of women and children subjected to forced labour and similar practices; to bring to trial any persons suspected of supporting or participating in such activities and not cooperating with the CEAWC. The Committee also notes that CEAWC is also called upon to recommend measures to be taken for the eradication of this practice (the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children Order, 1999).

In his statement to the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (June 2000), the Government representative indicated that 1,230 cases of abduction had been addressed and that 1,258 abducted persons had been able to return to their families. Furthermore, he stated that fact-finding missions, shelters for victims of abductions and the establishment of outposts in affected areas were planned for the year 2000.

The Committee notes the report of the CEAWC for the period May 1999 to July 2000, which confirms the figure of 1,230 cases, as indicated by the Government in June 2000. However, the report indicates that 353 abductees have returned to their homes, in contrast to the figure of 1,258 cited by the Government representative in the Conference Committee. The report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights also cites the figure of 353 children who have been able to be returned to their families out of the 1,230 documented cases of abducted children who were traced and retrieved in field missions (A/53/374, paragraph 32). The Committee requests the Government to provide explanations concerning the differences in these figures for the number of persons who have been able to return home, as well as to provide copies of the future reports of the CEAWC on its activity.

With regard to the effectiveness of CEAWC the Committee notes that:

-  according to the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights, "despite the strong commitment shown by some members of the CEAWC, the process had been inordinately slow" and expensive. According to the Special Rapporteur, "no serious investigation had taken place of the root causes of this practice, possibly because of a lack of engagement of the top political leadership in the process or a reluctance to cooperate" (paragraphs 33 to 35). He also expressed his dismay at a further attack which had occurred after the establishment of the CEAWC: "on 21 February 2000, PDF allegedly attacked several villages in eastern Aweil and Twic counties, northern Bahr el Ghazal, killing 16 civilians, abducting some 300 women and children";

-  according to the conclusions of the Canadian Assessment Mission, "the creation of CEAWC is a first step, but so far an insufficient one, towards ending a practice, abduction into a condition of being owned by another person, which must be stopped";

-  the ICFTU in its observations, based on information compiled by Anti-Slavery International, reports the figure of 14,000 people originating in southern Sudan and now located in southern Darfur or southern Kordofan. Many of them, who are women and children, belong to the Dinka ethnic group and had been abducted from Bahr el Ghazal. Some are still subjected to forced labour and a very few of them, of the hundreds who have been freed, have been able to return home.

The information from Anti-Slavery International submitted by the ICFTU also refers to the militia accompanying the supply train for government garrisons in Aweil and Wao, towns in Bahr el Ghazal situated on the railway, and states that as long as such armed groups accompany trains into Bahr el Ghazal, it seems probable that the abductions will continue. Referring to abductions on 21 February 2000, Anti-Slavery International expresses the view that no measures have been taken by the Government to end the raids, in which unarmed civilians are abducted and taken into slavery or forced labour, nor has the Government provided the necessary resources to ensure that those who are freed are reunited with their families. As a result, some children whose release has been secured and who have left the Baggaara families for whom they were working have subsequently been detained by government officials, in the absence of adequate plans to arrange their return home. It states that the CEAWC has launched appeals for substantial amounts from donors, but that the Government of Sudan does not appear to be willing to participate in the fairly high costs of repatriation operations.

Article 25 of the Convention.  The Committee notes that, according to its mandate, the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) should bring to trial persons suspected of supporting or participating in the practices of the abduction of women and children.

The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain information enabling it to ascertain compliance with the provisions of Article 25 of the Convention, under the terms of which "the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour shall be punishable as a penal offence, and it shall be an obligation on any Member ratifying this Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced".

The Committee notes sections 161, 162 and 163 of the Criminal Act, 1991, respecting abduction, kidnapping and forced labour. The Committee notes that the penalty envisaged for the exaction of forced labour is only one year of imprisonment.

The Committee notes from the indications of Anti-Slavery International communicated by the ICFTU that the CEAWC has not recorded the identity of the persons who were detaining the women and children, apparently out of concern that they might refuse to cooperate through fear of prosecutions. According to Anti-Slavery International, this would have the effect of ensuring impunity for those who exploit forced labour.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the provisions of the Criminal Act under which persons found guilty of the abduction and imposition of forced labour will be charged and the procedures for bringing such persons to trial.

The Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that, in accordance with the Convention, penal sanctions are imposed on persons convicted of having exacted forced labour, and that it will provide copies of the court decisions made.

The Committee observes once again the convergence of allegations and the broad consensus among the bodies and agencies of the United Nations, the representative organizations of workers and non-governmental organizations concerning the continuing existence and scope of the practices of abduction and the exaction of forced labour. The Committee observes that the situations concerned constitute gross violations of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), since the victims are forced to perform work for which they have not offered themselves voluntarily, under extremely harsh conditions, and combined with ill treatment which may include torture and death. Moreover, such forced labour for most women involves the requirement to perform sexual services. While noting that a first step has been taken with the establishment of the CEAWC, the Committee considers that the scope and gravity of the problem are such that it is necessary to take urgent action that is commensurate in scope and systematic.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures which have been taken to bring the Government’s intention to bring an end to these practices to the notice of groups which are identified as being responsible for abductions, and it requests the Government to provide information on any further measure taken with a view to eradicating the exaction of forced labour.

The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to provide in its next report information on effective measures which have been taken to ensure compliance with the Convention.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 89th Session and to report in detail in 2001.]

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1. The Committee recalls that this case has been discussed repeatedly over the years in its own observations, and by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards which adopted a special paragraph on it in 1998. The Committee has examined allegations of abductions and trafficking of women and children, of forcible induction of children into rebel armed forces, and of children being forced to transport ammunition and supplies. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the efforts being made by the Government to investigate and to resolve the continuing allegations of slavery and slavery-like practices, particularly in the south of the country where an armed conflict is under way. The Committee asked the Government to provide various materials concerning the investigations being carried out, and details of the concrete measures taken, including cases brought to justice, and numbers of convictions, penalties and remedial measures. It notes the information contained in the Government's report and its annexes, but reiterates its previous request for detailed information on the practical measures taken and their effects.

2. The Committee also notes the comments received from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) on 28 September 1999, which were communicated to the Government on 6 October 1999 for any comments it might wish to make. This communication included substantial information compiled by Anti-Slavery International and by Christian Solidarity Worldwide which noted the positive measures outlined below, but expressed concern at continuing reports of abductions and slavery, and provided detailed information on a number of individual cases. The Government replied on 25 November 1999, in the same terms as its earlier report received on 8 October 1999. Those reports address some of the questions raised by the ICFTU in its communication.

3. The Committee notes that the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan reported to the Commission on Human Rights following a visit to the country in February 1999, that:

raids by the militia are a major source of violations of human rights. In Bahr-al-Ghazal, the Murahaleen militia (or the Mujahideen) often accompany the state-owned military supply train escorted by the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) ... According to consistent and reliable sources, the Murahaleen ... systematically raid villages, torch houses, steal cattle, kill men and capture women and children as war booty. Often, abducted women and children are taken up to the north and remain in the possession of the captors or other persons. The PDF are also said to take part in the raids. ... They follow an age-old pattern of rivalry and confrontation between the local Dinka and northern Arab nomads (belonging to the Baggara and Misseriya peoples) over grazing land and water. During fighting, both sides traditionally captured prisoners whom they reduced to slavery unless or until they were redeemed through ransom. Since the beginning of the civil war, these dying practices have been revived, allegedly with the - at least tacit - consent of the Sudanese authorities. ... (It is) difficult to establish whether regular troops also take part in the raids. According to certain accounts, the perpetrators were said to be wearing uniforms; whereas Muraheleen and other militia usually wear plain clothes. Although an auxiliary force, the PDF are directly under the control of the Sudanese authorities. (UN document E/CN.4/1999/38/Add.1, 17 May 1999, paras. 61-63).

4. Thus, the findings of the McNair report cited previously by the Government (and again communicated with the present report) that the abductions being practised by both sides are a traditional form of warfare and do not constitute slavery, must be read in the light of the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur to the effect that there is involvement in these activities of allies, or even troops, of the Government; and that if ransom is not paid these hostages continue as forced labourers or slaves.

5. In its reports, the Government condemns slavery in all its forms, stating that it is unconstitutional, illegal according to national laws and the international instruments ratified by Sudan, and morally unacceptable. The Government states that it accepts the terms of resolution 1999/15 of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (April 1999) urging it to facilitate the safe return to their families of women and children abducted in tribal fights, and to obtain the eradication of that practice which, the Government states, "has been going on in some parts of south-west Sudan since time immemorial".

6. The Committee notes with interest that in May 1999 the Government established the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC) "with full legal powers and mandate". The Government reports that CEAWC has been working closely with the international community, and in May 1999 it held a workshop with the representatives of a number of embassies and international organizations. A second workshop was held in July 1999, with UNICEF support, to formulate a comprehensive workplan.

7. The Government also indicates that measures have begun to be put into place to implement CEAWC's mandate, including measures to compile a detailed registry of cases of abduction. Concrete results were expected by mid-September 1999 following a field mission which was expected to identify, trace and reunify 200 abducted women and children and to identify another 300 within two months. The Committee notes the Government's stated goal of completely eradicating the abduction of women and children and addressing the root causes of the problem.

8. The Committee welcomes these positive measures, and encourages the Government to pursue them actively. It hopes that the Government will be able to indicate in its next report the concrete results obtained, including the number of persons reported to have been abducted, the number freed, and any penalties which may have been imposed in application of Article 25 of the Convention.

9. The Committee also notes that there has been no direct reply by the Government to some of the points raised by the ICFTU (see paragraph 2 above) and in its own previous comments. The Committee requests a response to those comments.

10. The Committee hopes the Government will continue to provide detailed information in its next report on the measures it is taking to eliminate these practices, with priority to situations in which they may be carried out with the participation of government troops and/or its allied forces. Any situation in which there is forced or compulsory labour is contrary to the Convention, though the measures necessary to eliminate will vary depending on the root causes. Clearly the situation is exacerbated by the continuing civil conflict, and the Committee notes with interest the measures being taken to reach a settlement. The Committee therefore reiterates its deep concern about this situation, while welcoming the Government's renewed commitment to resolving it.

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1. The Committee notes the Government's report, and the discussion in the Conference Committee in June 1998. In its previous observation, the Committee referred to allegations of the continued existence of slavery and slave-like practices, particularly in the south of the country, where an armed conflict is under way. Based on the information concerning the situation in Sudan submitted by the Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UN document E/CN.4/1997/58) and communications from the World Confederation of Labour, the Committee had mentioned problems such as abductions and trafficking of women and children, particularly by the Popular Defence Forces. It had noted the forcible abduction of children into rebel armed forces, and that children were forced to transport ammunition and supplies by those forces. The Committee had also noted that a Special Investigation Committee had been established by the Ministry of Justice and that the Government had stated that problems which occurred were related not to slavery as such, but resulted from tribal disputes. The Government had also stated that it was not its responsibility because the areas held by the rebels were outside its control. The Committee noted that there were serious contradictions in the information before it. It recalled the longstanding indications of widespread illegal imposition of forced labour, tolerated or encouraged by the Government. It invited the Government to renew its investigations and to provide detailed information on its findings.

2. The Committee notes that, in the Conference Committee, the Government reaffirmed that it had adopted a serious attitude and was genuine in investigating all allegations of slavery and related practices. The Government also referred to the conclusions of a report by an independent investigator (the "McNair Report"), that Sudanese law was clear in unambiguously criminalizing any slave-like practices, such as kidnapping, abduction, unlawful detention, forced labour and unlawful confinement, and punishing them with imprisonment. The Government stated that it was sparing no effort to take effective measures. It was ready to make progress through the Special Investigation Commission. A National Commission for Human Rights had recently been set up by the Government. The Government also referred to decisive action it had taken over time to release children or other victims, as documented by various organizations. Some situations arose where children or other persons had been taken hostage and later redeemed by the payment of a ransom.

3. The Government also indicated that there had been recent political and constitutional developments. Peace talks held in Nairobi in May 1998 resulted in an agreement of self-determination for southern Sudan, and this has been enshrined in the new Constitution. It was hoped that these developments would bring an end to the protracted civil war which was one of the main reasons for the issue in question. The Government again asked for technical assistance, including training; it was prepared to give information on any future developments and the work of the ongoing Investigation Commission.

4. The Committee notes that the Conference Committee stressed that this was a particularly serious case affecting human rights. It takes due note of the information given to the Conference Committee on measures being taken to track down and bring an end to practices of slavery and notes that that Committee welcomed, in particular, the achievements of the Investigating Commission. However, the Conference Committee expressed its deep concern and urged the Government to ask again for assistance from the Office, to address the substance of the problem, which would ensure that there would be a serious attempt to eliminate slavery throughout the country. The Conference Committee expressed the hope that the Government would provide details to this Committee on the concrete measures taken, cases brought to justice, number of convictions made and the penalties imposed as well as measures envisaged.

5. The Committee observes that the Government's report does not contain any new information, as requested by the Conference Committee. The Committee further observes that no new information has been received from employers' or workers' organizations or from the UN Commission on Human Rights.

6. The Committee recalls that under Article 1(1) and Article 2(1) of the Convention the Government has undertaken to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms, that such labour is work or service for which any person has not offered himself voluntarily, and thus that abduction, kidnapping, trafficking and slavery-like situations must be abolished. The Committee is aware of the difficult situation in the country, including the civil war, and notes the repeated statements of the Government that certain parts of the country are not under its direct control. The Committee recalls however that the application of a ratified Convention is the responsibility of the Government.

7. The Committee asks the Government to provide the full text of the "McNair Report" and to indicate the mandate given, over what period the report was drawn up and under what conditions it has been prepared. The Committee asks the Government to provide the text of the agreement on self-determination and the text of the new Constitution to which it has referred. It notes that the Government has asked for assistance from the Office, to address the substance of the problem, and awaits the outcome of this assistance.

8. The Committee further asks the Government to provide the report of the Special Investigation Commission and to give information on any progress achieved through that Commission; and any report of the National Commission for Human Rights on this question.

9. The Committee asks the Government to provide details of the concrete measures taken, cases brought to justice, numbers of convictions made, penalties imposed (having regard to Article 25 of the Convention) and remedial measures envisaged.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 1999.]

CMNT_TITLE

1. The Committee notes the discussion which took place in the Conference Committee in June 1997, and that the Conference Committee decided to include this case in a special paragraph in its report, and to mention it as a case of continued failure to implement a ratified Convention. The Committee also notes the detailed report which the Government has submitted following this discussion. The Committee notes in addition the Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Sudan, submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Sudan to the Commission on Human Rights at its 53rd Session (March 1997, UN document E/CN.4/1997/58), and resolution 1997/59 adopted by the Commission at that session. Finally, the Committee notes that a communication was received from the World Confederation of Labour (WCL) on 23 October 1997, and sent to the Government on 17 November 1997 for any comments it might wish to make. (This supplements the 1996 WCL comments referred to in the previous observation, a reply to which was included in the Government's report.)

Information before the Committee

2. The Committee has been referring for several years to allegations of the continued existence of slavery and slave-like practices, both in the areas under government control and in areas in the south of the country where an armed conflict is under way. Based on the information supplied by the UN Special Rapporteur, and on a great deal of independently generated information which has been forwarded by the WCL and discussed in the Commission on Human Rights and its subsidiary bodies, the Committee referred in its previous observation to "long-standing accusations of widespread illegal imposition of forced labour, tolerated or encouraged by the Government (which) have been made by the Special Rapporteur and flatly rejected by the Government". The Committee stated that it was "deeply concerned that the Government has not lived up to its renewed undertaking to "make all possible efforts to stop forced labour practices whenever it is established that they exist".

3. The information before the Committee includes detailed allegations that the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) which are allied with the Government, have conducted abductions and engaged in trafficking of women and children, in the context of the civil war in the southern part of the country; the allegations indicate that these actions are sometimes also taken by officers of the government forces. There are allegations of sexual abuse against women and child slaves. The Government itself indicates in its most recent report, as it has previously, that there are large-scale abductions carried out by the rebel forces over which it has no control, and the forcible abductions of these children into their armed forces or compulsion to act as porters for the ammunition and supplies of the rebels (see below). These allegations are placed in a general context in which, as the UN Special Rapporteur has stated, "the whole range of human rights recognized by the United Nations has continuously been violated by agents of the Government of Sudan or individuals publicly affiliated and working with it" and that "Members of different parties to the conflict in southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains, other than the Government of Sudan and those affiliated with it, have committed a series of abuses and atrocities against the life, liberty and personal security of Sudanese citizens in the areas under their control."

4. The report "Slavery in Sudan" published by Anti-Slavery International (May 1997) and communicated by the WCL, states that the main takers of slaves are government-armed militias from the Rezigat and Mesriya people from the neighbouring regions of Kordofan and Darfur and that other members of the PDF and some regular army officers are involved. It states that typically slaves are captured in raids by these forces on villages, and the captured slaves are then sold or bartered to smallholders who typically keep only a few slaves. It is stated that several thousand slaves are held in this fashion, but specifies that it has no indications that there is a large organized market for slaves.

The Government's report

5. The Government states in its most recent report, supplementing its communication to the Conference Committee, that a Special Investigating Commission was established by the Ministry of Justice by an Order of 4 February 1996 to investigate cases of forced and involuntary disappearance, which it states amount to 249 cases. On 5 March 1996, Decree No. 2 expanded its mandate so as to conduct investigations on cases of slavery, servitude, slave trade and similar practices; and on 21 May 1996 Decree No. 3 extended its composition to include non-governmental delegates and to entrust its presidency to the President of the Sudanese Body for Human Rights, an NGO. The report, received in September 1997, provides details of three field inspections carried out between July 1996 and January 1997, lasting from four to ten days each. The Commission also employed other methods to gather information, including advertising its availability to receive information and soliciting information from citizens. The Government states that the Commission made the following findings:

(a) Nuba mountain area:allegations of slavery and slave trading, including employing Nubian children as domestic servants of officers, and employing Nubian slaves in farms owned by those close to the Government. The Commission obtained no information which confirmed the existence of any such practices. Where there are Nubian servants, all are said to be registered employees and receive salaries. There was no information on any state or private farms in which Nubians are forced to work.

(b) Bahr el Djebel and Jungali governorate:allegations of abduction of a large number of children by forces allied to the Government from villages near the Babunasa-Wau railway in 1993, and the transfer of 27 students from this area to the El Gezira governorate in May 1996. The Commission found that the students had been transferred voluntarily for educational purposes, with the consent of their parents and under the supervision of the authorities. As for the allegations of abducted children, the Commission received no complaints from citizens, and received testimony that refuted the allegations.

6. The Government states that the problems which do occur are not related to slavery as such but rather, as it has indicated previously, result from disputes between the nomadic tribes in western Sudan and southern Kordofan, and more precisely between them and the Dinka tribe in Bahr Al-Gazal, over grazing land and water resources. It has previously indicated that there are, in such cases, instances of hostage-taking in local conflicts which do not constitute slavery. It adds that rebel groups are responsible for the disappearance of children because they abduct them and force them to join the rebel army, and sometimes children disappear temporarily because they are forced to transport the ammunition of rebel groups. The Government states that while this is not its responsibility because these areas are outside its control, it has taken many initiatives to end the civil war, and in April 1997 signed a peace treaty with some of the tribes concerned, which contains various human rights guarantees.

The Committee's comments

7. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government, and the information received from the WCL and otherwise on the kinds of forced labour and slavery practised in the country. It notes also that the Government has requested the technical assistance of the Office, following the suggestion to that effect made by the Conference Committee in June 1997, but that the assistance requested was the provision of vehicles to assist the Investigating Commission; the Office replied that other forms of assistance were envisaged, but that the kind of help requested would not be excluded in the context of a broader agreement for assistance.

8. The Committee is concerned to note the serious contradictions between the findings of the UN Special Rapporteur, several reputable non-governmental organizations, supported by submissions from the World Confederation of Labour, and the Government's own findings through the Special Investigating Commission. The finding that there are no problems of forced or compulsory labour anywhere in the part of the country controlled by the Government, is profoundly inconsistent with the other sources of information available. The Committee recalls the long-standing allegations of widespread illegal imposition of forced labour, tolerated or encouraged by the Government. It therefore encourages the Government to renew its investigations of the allegations made, and to provide detailed information on its findings in the next report. The Committee again requests the Government to take effective action to secure the observance of the Convention and to report on the concrete measures adopted, including information on any cases brought to justice, the number of convictions made and the penalties imposed.

9. As concerns instances of forced labour in the areas outside the Government's effective control, the Committee notes the information supplied concerning efforts to arrive at a peaceful settlement of the present civil war. It hopes that this will shortly come about, and that immediate and effective measures will also be taken in those areas as soon as the Government is able to do so, to apply its obligations under the present Convention.

CMNT_TITLE

1. The Committee has noted the Government's reply to its observation made in 1994 and the Government's report received 18 October 1996 on the application of the Convention. It also has taken note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan submitted to the Fifty-second Session of the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (document E/CN.4/1996/62 of 20 February 1996) and the Government's response contained in a letter dated 29 March 1996 from the Permanent Representative of the Sudan to the UN Office at Geneva (document E/CN.4/1996/145). The Committee further has taken note of a communication dated 1 August 1996 by which the World Confederation of Labour submitted comments on the application of the Convention, including a number of documents published by Human Rights Watch and Christian Solidarity International and articles published in The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Times. A copy of this communication was dispatched to the Government on 27 August 1996. The Committee notes that no comments have been received from the Government on the matters raised by the World Confederation of Labour.

Previous observation and the Government's reply

2. In its 1994 observation, the Committee took note of the report on the situation of human rights in the Sudan by the Special Rapporteur who visited the country in September and December 1993. (Commission on Human Rights, Fiftieth Session, 1994; document E/CN.4/1994/48 of 1 February 1994.) In the report the Special Rapporteur, referring to slavery, servitude, slave trade, forced labour, and similar institutions and practices, declared that reports and eye-witness accounts revealed a great deal of consistency with regard to the circumstances of abduction, the locations of destinations, the names of locations, where children and women are said to be kept in special camps, and where people from the northern Sudan, or even from abroad, reportedly come to buy some of these people. Sale or traffic of children seemed to be an organized and politically motivated activity, of mass character, on the level of non-regular armed forces, like the Popular Defence Forces and contingents of mujahidin in the conflict zones in southern Kordofan and Bahr El-Ghazal. The Special Rapporteur had received persistent reports and testimonies of abductions of children such as the abduction in summer 1993 of some 217 children, mainly Dinka. Referring to the fear of the population that these children had been sold as slaves in Darfur and northern Kordofan, he stated that the Government had taken no measure to investigate this case either at federal or at local level.

3. The Committee further noted the indications in the report that in September 1992 the authorities in the State of Khartoum launched a campaign of "cleaning" the city of vagrant children, collected in a systematic way and taken to camps. While the authorities claimed that children received vocational training, the Special Rapporteur concluded that the practice of collecting up street children was in fact mostly a case of arbitrary arrest and detention without due process of law. The treatment in the camps was very harsh. Non-governmental sources told the Special Rapporteur that a large number of the children, in majority southerners, mainly from Dinka, Shilluk and Nuer tribes, or from families displaced from the Nuba Mountains, were receiving military training and sent to the front.

4. Having noted that under section 163 of the 1991 Criminal Act, "whoever commits forced labour on any person by unlawfully compelling him to work against his will shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with a fine or with both", the Committee recalled that Article 25 of the Convention makes it an obligation on any Member ratifying the Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law for the illegal exaction of forced labour are really adequate and are strictly enforced. Consequently, the Committee requested the Government to provide full information on measures taken or envisaged to ensure the practical application of Article 25 of the Convention, and on measures taken to protect the Dinka and Nuba populations against practices contrary to the Convention.

5. In its reply to the Committee's previous observation, the Government stated that the Special Rapporteur had based his report on unfounded information, which made his report unreasonable, incredible and dishonest. This was illustrated by one example where he depended on previous allegations of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. He also explicitly endorsed the statements of persons with political motives - probably persons who did not even exist. He did not refer in his report to specific persons or authorities as sources of his information, and often attributed the commission of all acts to unknown persons, thus adopting the same method and attitude as those adopted by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in formulating accusations and false allegations against Sudan; these were all oral statements not based on any evidence.

6. The Government had previously replied in detail to the allegations of forced labour and slave trading referred to in documents E/CN.4/Sub/A(21)1987/71Add.1 and E/CN.4/Sub.2/1988/32. Both documents referred to the existence of slavery, slave trade, abduction of women in the southern part of Sudan among Dinka, Shilluk and Nuer peoples and the tribes of the Nuba Mountains. The Government referred the Committee to the report which contains its reply to the Special Rapporteur's allegations. Indeed, it was regrettable that the Rapporteur's report was based, as he himself stated, on reports and stories narrated by eye-witnesses, that is, on oral statements not acceptable from the Government's point of view; he had not reported a single event which he was able to say he witnessed or investigated himself.

7. As to the Rapporteur's visit to the street children's camps, and his allegations that such camps were but an excuse for arbitrary detentions and imprisonments, the Government's answer was that the problem of street children was faced by many other countries as well. The Government was applying a strategy which began with a search for the children's parents and ended with the return of these children to them. However, there were some children who preferred to live in the streets, lapsed into delinquency and refused to return to their homes. The Government had to take care of this category. The right to shelter was a human right, and street children were eminently eligible to enjoy it. The camps were not a place of arbitrary detention for those children, but a place to protect them and take care of them with the aim to educate and train them to be good members of society.

8. As to the Committee's request to take measures to protect the Dinka and Nuba populations against practices contrary to the Convention, the Government stressed that all Sudanese enjoy equal rights and protection without any discrimination.

1996 report of the Special Rapporteur and the Government's reply

9. The Committee has taken due note of these indications. It also notes that in his report on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, submitted 20 February 1996, the Special Rapporteur expressed his regret at the lack of interest shown by the competent Sudanese authorities with regard to the investigation of the cases brought to their attention over the past years, and also his concern that since February 1994 there had been an alarming increase in the number of reports and information emanating from a wide variety of sources on cases of slavery, servitude, the slave trade and forced labour. Although the Bahr El-Ghazal and Nuba Mountains area were the most affected by these phenomena, reports were received from all over southern Sudan of the abduction of men, women and children by the Sudanese army, the Popular Defence Forces (PDF), government armed local militia and groups of mujahidin fighting the war in southern Sudan on the Government's side. The abduction of southern civilians, men, women and children, whether Muslims, Christians or of traditional African beliefs, regardless of their social status or ethnic belonging, had become a way of conducting the war. During his fact-finding mission, the Special Rapporteur received detailed testimonies on regular abductions that had taken place in Gogrial and the surrounding locations during joint incursions by the army, PDF and armed militia, involving, at various dates between April 1994 and July 1995, the capture, detention and deportation to northern Sudan of civilians ranging in numbers from individual men to groups of several hundreds of women and children. Similarly, following an attack on 21 February 1995 by the government army on the village of Toror, Umgurban county, in the Nuba Mountains, it was reported that at least 250 civilians were abducted by soldiers. Relatives believe that those abducted were taken to one of the "peace villages" in Kordofan: Um Dorein, Agab or Um Sirdiba.

10. According to the Special Rapporteur, all the reports and information received indicated the direct and general involvement of the government army, PDF, government armed militia and mujahidin groups, backed by the Government of the Sudan and fighting beside the army and the paramilitary units, in the abduction and deportation of civilians from the conflict zones to northern Sudan. The places where those captured are temporarily detained before reaching their final destinations were also operated by army, PDF and/or mujahidin units. In the light of this information, the Special Rapporteur concluded that the total passivity of the Government after having received information for years regarding this situation could only be interpreted as tacit political approval and support of the institution of slavery and the slave trade. Repeated reports had indicated the involvement of local wealthy civilians, often well known for their close relations with the Government. All these practices had a pronounced racial aspect, as the victims were exclusively southerners and persons belonging to the indigenous tribes of the Nuba Mountains. Among the latter group, even Muslims were enslaved.

11. As regards more particularly the abduction of children, the Special Rapporteur indicated that some of the boys abducted from southern Sudan, as well as those rounded up from the streets of northern towns, were used as servants, while the girls became concubines or wives, mainly of soldiers and PDF members in northern Sudan. Another category of children, especially Dinka boys as young as 11 or 12, reportedly received military training and were sent by the Government of the Sudan to fight the war in southern Sudan. A further aspect that made the differentiation necessary was that children in the first category were, in a few cases, retrieved by their relatives and after long negotiations and after compensation had been paid to the captors were reunited with their families.

12. In its response of 29 March 1996 to the report of the Special Rapporteur the Government, recalling its earlier reservations against the Special Rapporteur, stated that it was not appropriate for the Special Rapporteur to raise the allegations contained in his recent report, including the finding that there was a tacit political approval to the practice of slavery, which he had previously failed to substantiate even after having visited the Sudan three times. The Government further stated that the Special Rapporteur had failed to establish, through the allegations and the hearsay evidence he had compiled in his report, that the right of ownership contemplated by the different international instruments on the subject had ever been exercised with the knowledge of the authorities in the Sudan over any individual in any part of the country. Moreover, Article 7 of the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery defined slave trade "as acts involved in the capture, acquisition, or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to slavery ...", i.e. that the element of intention was decisive. In the Sudanese tribal fights, which normally resulted in captives and prisoners of war on both sides of the conflict, there was no such intention, since the fights would only break out to get more pasture and water for the cattle and not to collect slaves.

13. In this regard, the Committee notes that in his report of 20 February 1996 the Special Rapporteur already commented on the alleged misrepresentation of tribal disputes involving the capture of some members of the other tribe pending settlement of the dispute. According to the Special Rapporteur, in most of the cases brought to the attention of the Government of the Sudan, the reported perpetrators belong to the Sudanese army and the Popular Defence Forces (PDF), which are under the control of the Government of the Sudan. Even in the cases involving members of different tribal militia, the slavery occurred within the context of the war and indicated a deliberate policy on the part of the Government to ignore or even condone this practice of slavery as a way of fighting the civil war by other means. Moreover, the argument that these practices occur on a tribal basis did not exonerate the Government from its responsibility of assuring the right to life, security and freedom of its citizens.

14. With regard to the involvement of the paramilitary forces, including the Popular Defence Forces, in the slavery practices described by the Special Rapporteur, the Government stated in its response of 29 March 1996 that the Special Rapporteur was ill-advised and that the reports given to him in relation to these forces were intended to mislead him. In fact, these forces were carrying on a noble mission of protecting the relief routes and fighting banditry and outlaws who regularly interfered with the relief operations.

15. Similarly, with regard to the abduction of children, the Government stated that the issue was not true and was either created by the Special Rapporteur or by the sources who provided him with the information. But if he had provided specific names of persons engaged in such illegal practices the Government would not have hesitated in taking immediate legal action against the persons involved, especially that the crime of abduction was punishable under the Sudanese Penal Code.

WCL comments and the Government's report

16. The Committee takes due note of these indications. It also has taken note of the comments made by the World Confederation of Labour in its communication dated 1 August 1996 and of the documents included. The WCL states that according to the information in their possession, slavery and forced labour persist in the Sudan, contrary to Convention No. 29 ratified in 1957; that militia groups, often with the approval of the authorities, continue attacking villages, stealing cattle, burning houses and abducting civilians - men, women and children - forcing them subsequently to work as slaves employed in the household, in agriculture or keeping livestock, that living and working conditions are terrible and that moreover, the victims are often maltreated, and the women raped. The WCL draws attention, in particular, to the testimony given in the 1995 report by Human Rights Watch on Children of Sudan - slaves, street children and child soldiers, which contradicts the Government's statements mentioned in the Committee's 1994 observation.

17. The Committee notes from the report by Human Rights Watch that it is based on research conducted in May and June 1995 in Khartoum, at the invitation of the Sudanese Government, and in March 1995 in Kenya and southern Sudan; that interviews in Khartoum were conducted in private with non-governmental people and agencies who requested anonymity for fear of government reprisals, while interviews in Juba, the largest town in the south, were controlled by Sudan security which terminated the visit before testimony regarding most abuses could be gathered in that town.

18. In its report, Human Rights Watch indicates that Arab militia, which have under the current Government been loosely incorporated into the Popular Defence Forces (PDF), were armed for the purpose of defeating the rebel SPLA by attacking its alleged social base in southern Kordofan and northern Bahr El-Ghazal, within raiding distance of the Arab raiders. The targets were principally the Nuba and Dinka peoples which to some extent were traditional rivals of the Arab tribes. In addition to being effectively licensed by state and federal governments to attack these civilians with impunity, the Arab militia were permitted to loot cattle, burn property, and take civilians captive. Army soldiers and officers as well as militia have captured and kept civilians as personal household slaves. These civilians, mostly women and children, were not captured for the purpose of criminal prosecution by the authorities. Nor were they captured as hostages in tribal negotiations. They were taken as war booty. They ended up far from their villages of origin, performing unpaid household labour and herding animals; some were sexually abused by their masters. The researchers had only the stories of those who managed to escape or were freed, who represented the tip of the iceberg. Many captured women and children were not bought or sold but simply kept by the soldiers or militia members who captured them. Although the current practices in Sudan did not include all characteristics of slavery, they did include several: slaves were outsiders, alien by origin (southern and Nuba African peoples), coercion could be used on them at will, and their labour power was at the complete disposal of a master. A group case described had a fortunate ending for the more than 500 captured women and children: a southern police officer was able to detach them from their military captors when they passed through his jurisdiction. Other cases illustrated, however, that those saved by official intervention continue to be in the minority. The report gives accounts of several group cases, as well as summaries of the testimonies of some of the individual victims of other raids, and of the people who helped them. The researchers found cases of children who were located after years by their families, or who succeeded in escaping. The families had to undertake the search themselves, with governmental assistance only where they chanced upon southerners among the police officers they met in their search. It was clear that existing legal remedies were not adequate to promptly free all of the stolen children. While in some cases described, legal procedures (administrative or judicial) eventually led to reunification of the child with his or her family, the legal route was costly and often fruitless.

19. In its report, Human Rights Watch also indicates that under-age boys have been drafted as soldiers and required to fight in the army or in government-sponsored militia, in violation of Sudanese law which sets 18 as the minimum age. In one case, a 10 year-old Dinka boy had been drafted into a Mundari tribal militia by government forces in 1991 and kept in service until he escaped in 1995. The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Independence Army (SSIA) also continued to recruit under-age soldiers while at the same time the SSIA cooperated with the UNICEF family reunification programme.

20. The Committee has further taken note of various reports and documents by "Christian Solidarity International", also referred to by the WCL. Evidence on Slavery, with Special Reference to Young Mothers and Children in Sudan, submitted in April 1996 by the Baroness Cox and John Eibner to the UN Commission on Human Rights, is stated to be based on first-hand experiences obtained during eight visits to Sudan between 1993 and 1996. Since the 1995 meeting of the Commission on Human Rights, the CSI delegates have undertaken three fact-finding missions to northern Bahr El-Ghazal to investigate reports by the Special Rapporteur drawing attention to the continuing practice in Sudan of chattel slavery involving children and related practices, such as the forcible placement of boys into military service, with 9,034 being kept in 20 detention centres in southern Kordofan alone at the end of 1995.

21. The CSI delegates have stayed in several locations in Bahr El-Ghazal, including Tirole, Marial, Mayen Abun and Nyamiell, and have visited other places such as Manyiel. They have:

- taken evidence from men, women and children who have been captured and taken into slavery;

- talked to families whose children are currently enslaved in northern Sudan and heard graphic accounts of barbarities perpetrated during the raids by Arab PDF (Popular Defence Forces) against black African towns and villages;

- met Arab traders who described the way in which African slaves are brought back from the north and sold to their families or, if they have no surviving family members, to the local community administrators;

- taken evidence from local community leaders and made resources available to them for the redemption of a number of enslaved children.

22. On the basis of eye-witness evidence and first-hand accounts, the CSI delegates testify to gross violations of human rights, encouraged or directly inflicted by the Government of Sudan, that include the enslavement of women, children and men from the south and the abduction of boys and young men from the Nuba Mountains and from the Beja people and their enforced conscription into the government army to fight against the people of the south. In their conclusions, which fully support the findings of the Special Rapporteur, the CSI delegates indicate that the institution of slavery is experiencing a revival on a large scale in government-controlled areas of Sudan. The number of chattel slaves held in northern Sudan is estimated to be in the tens of thousands. Government-backed militia regularly raid black African communities for slaves and other forms of booty. The slaves, in most cases children and young women, are taken north where they are forced to provide domestic and agricultural labour and to provide sexual services against their will - for nothing other than a minimum of food for survival. Some boys are forced to attend military training camps, where they are indoctrinated and trained to wage war against their own people. The raids undertaken by the government-backed militia are accompanied by atrocities. Captives who are deemed unfit to serve as slaves are generally tortured and/or killed. Men are systematically massacred. But Arabs of some of the Rizeigat clans who are opposed to the Government have ceased their raids and have signed and honoured local agreements with some of the Dinka chiefs calling for the return of slaves to their families in the south. Slave raids, together with conventional warfare and the denial of humanitarian aid, are among the means used by the Government to transform the ethnically diverse country into an Arab, Islamic State, against the wishes of the vast majority of its black African population. The devastating effects of this policy are tantamount to genocide. In support of these conclusions, an abundance of cases is referred to in detail.

23. Again, in their draft preliminary report on a June 1996 visit to destinations in northern Bahr El-Ghazal, their thirteenth to Sudan and neighbouring countries during the past three years, the CSI delegates confirm the conclusions drawn on the basis of previous visits. On the basis of detailed testimony by freed slaves, they add that several hundreds of slaves have been bought back, exchanging them for prices agreed with the local Dinka authorities. The African communities had to engage in these transactions as they were dependent on the Arab traders to bring back their people who had been captured and enslaved. The Arabs claimed they needed this money to reimburse them for the risks they take and for the costs of bringing back those who had been slaves. Thus the Government had created a slave trade through its incitement of the Arabs in the north to engage in a conflict for which they are not paid directly, but in which they are encouraged to keep whatever booty they can - including human beings. Also in June 1996 the CSI appealed to the High Commissioner for Human Rights on behalf of 8 year old Abuk Kwany, a slave of Ahmed Ahmed in Naykata, Sudan. Abuk was captured in March 1994 during a raid on her Dinka village, conducted by troops of the Government of Sudan. In April 1996 Abuk's father went to Naykata with a Sudanese police officer to free his daughter, who is now called by the Muslim name "Howeh", but the slave owner demanded 50,000 Sudanese pounds for her freedom. The policeman failed to force Ahmed to surrender the girl, and her father had to leave her in bondage.

24. In its comments, the WCL concludes from the various documents submitted by the CSI that forced labour and slavery continue in the Sudan, that according to the civilian authorities, there are about 12,000 children enslaved in the north of the country and their number is rising through the continuing raids. The WCL stresses that the responsible officers and soldiers know that they may pursue these odious acts with total impunity, even though they are contrary to national law, and that the Government fails to fulfil its obligation to protect its citizens and to prevent and punish such abuses.

25. The Committee notes that no comments have been received from the Government on the matters raised by the World Confederation of Labour. It also notes that in its report on the application of the Convention, received 18 October 1996, the Government states that Sudan strongly condemns all such practices wherever they exist because they are degrading to human beings and their dignity, and it undertakes to make all possible efforts to stop such practices whenever it is established that they exist. The Government adds that Sudan has totally fulfilled its obligation towards the 1995 decision of the United Nations General Assembly, which calls upon the Government to investigate accusations of slavery and practices similar to slavery, by establishing an investigation committee. This committee is now working in the Nuba Mountains and neighbouring areas to conduct an investigation into such accusations. The Government concludes by stating its commitment to applying the Convention, as the ratification of any Convention makes it a law which must be enforced.

The Committee's conclusions

26. The Committee takes due note of these indications. It notes that long-standing accusations of widespread illegal imposition of forced labour, tolerated or encouraged by the Government, have been made for years by the Special Rapporteur and flatly rejected by the Government. The same allegations have now been made in comments by the WCL, based on a variety of detailed reports stated to be based on first-hand evidence. In the circumstances, the Committee, while noting the Government's indication that an investigation committee has been set up and is working in the Nuba Mountains, is deeply concerned that the Government has not lived up to its renewed undertaking to take all possible efforts to stop forced labour practices whenever it is established that they exist. Recalling that under Article 1 of the Convention, the Government has undertaken to suppress the use of forced labour in all its forms within the shortest possible period, and under Article 25, it shall be an obligation on the Government to ensure that the penalties imposed by law for the illegal exaction of forced labour are really adequate and are strictly enforced, the Committee urges the Government to take effective action to secure the observance of the Convention and to report on the concrete measures adopted, including information on any cases brought to justice, the number of convictions made and the penalties imposed on the offenders.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 85th Session and to report in detail in 1997.]

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The Committee notes the report of the Government submitted during the 1993 Conference. It also notes the information provided by the Government to the Conference Committee in 1993 and the discussion which took place in the Committee.

In previous comments the Committee took note of several documents of the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities referring to allegations of slavery practices (in particular documents E/CN.4/Sub/AC2/1988/7/Add.1; E/CN.4/Sub.2/1988/32; E/CN.4/1992/55).

The Committee noted that under section 163 of the 1991 Criminal Act, "whoever commits forced labour on any person by unlawfully compelling him to work against his will shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with a fine or with both". The Committee also noted the statement of the Government representative to the Conference Committee in 1992 that all Sudanese were totally free and had equal rights and duties, that the law prohibited any form of exercise of the slave trade and that he did not feel obliged to provide any information since no allegations had ever been brought to a tribunal and that such practices did not exist in the first place.

The Committee further noted that in a document submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Anti-Slavery International referred to continued allegations of forced labour in relation not only to the Dinka populations but also to the Nuba and that in its report of January 1993 the Committee on the Rights of the Child had expressed its concern regarding the issues of forced labour and slavery and had requested additional information on these concerns (document CRC/C19, 2 March 1993).

The Committee requested the Government to provide detailed information on measures taken to ensure the practical application of Article 25 of the Convention.

The Committee notes the indications by the Government to the Conference Committee, as well as in its report, that the problems raised were related to conflicts of a tribal nature, such as conflicts over water sources and pasture, and had increased as a result of drought and desertification. Such conflicts were resolved through conciliation councils headed by wise men and tribal chiefs, operating according to customs and whose decisions were enforceable. The nature of the rules of customary law did not permit the establishment of precedents corresponding to those of an ordinary tribunal or court, which made it difficult to gather information. As concerned ordinary courts the Attorney General had advised that no case of this nature existed as shown from their records. A committee responsible for investigating the allegations referred to had made several visits to the region involved without noticing any evidence of the truth of the allegations.

The Committee notes that in its written reply to the preliminary observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child the Government likewise states that "situations which are completely different from slavery have been wrongly depicted as enslavement. In reality however they involve tribal disputes and arguments over pasture and water resources in some areas where there is an overlap between tribes. As a result each tribe involved in the dispute captures members of the tribe or tribes while waiting for the conflict to be settled according to tribal conditions and customs" (CRC/C/3/Add.20).

In its report the Government rejects all allegations of forced labour as unfounded and not corroborated by reliable sources or precise data, identity and residence of the persons concerned.

The Committee has also taken note of the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, who visited the country in September and December 1993. (Commission on Human Rights, 50th session, 1994; document E/CN.4/1994/48 of 1 February 1994). In the report the Special Rapporteur, referring to slavery, servitude, slave trade, forced labour, and similar institutions and practices, declares that reports and eye-witness accounts reveal a great deal of consistency with regard to the circumstances of abduction, the locations of destination, the names of locations, where children and women are said to be kept in special camps, and where people from the Northern Sudan, or even from abroad, reportedly come to buy some of these people. The report refers for instance to the case of an abducted boy forced to work on a farm guarded by armed men. Sale or traffic of children seems to be an organized and politically motivated activity of mass character, on the level of non-regular armed forces, like the Popular Defence Forces and contingents of Mujahedin in the conflict zones in southern Kordofan and Bahr Al-Ghazal. The Special Rapporteur has received persistent reports and testimonies of abductions of children such as the abduction in summer 1993 of some 217 children, mainly Dinka. The report refers to the fear of the population that these children have been sold as slaves in Darfur and northern Kordofan and states that the Government has taken no measure to investigate this case either at federal or at local level. Taking into consideration the oral and written testimonies received, the Special Rapporteur considers that the explanations of the Government are not satisfactory.

The Committee further notes the indications in the report that in September 1992 the authorities in Khartoum State launched a campaign of "cleaning" the city of vagrant children, considered as a threat to public order. It is reported that children are collected in a systematic way from all over the city and in some locations of the State, and taken to camps. While the authorities claim that children receive vocational training, the Special Rapporteur concludes that the fear is well-founded that the practice of collecting up street children is in fact mostly a case of arbitrary arrest and detention without due process of law. The treatment in the camps is very harsh. The purpose of the vocational training is in fact rigid disciplining of the children, in majority southerners, mainly from Dinka, Shilluk and Nuer tribes, or from families displaced from the Nuba mountains. Non-governmental sources told the Special Rapporteur that a large number of children were receiving military training and sent to the front.

The Committee recalls that Article 25 of the Convention requires that the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour be punishable as a penal offence, and moreover makes it an obligation on any Member ratifying the Convention to ensure that penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced.

The Committee requests the Government to provide full information on measures taken or envisaged to ensure the practical application of Article 25 of the Convention, and on measures taken to protect the Dinka and Nuba populations against practices contrary to the Convention.

[The Government is asked to report in detail for the period ending 30 June 1994.]

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The Committee notes with regret that the Government's report has not been received. It notes the discussion which took place in the Conference Committee in 1992. In previous comments, the Committee took note of several documents of the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (such as documents E/CN.4/Sub/AC2/1988/7/Add.1; E/CN.4/Sub.2/1988/32; E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/39 and E/CN.4/1992/55) referring to allegations of slavery practices.

The Committee notes the Government's statement to the Conference Committee that it completely denied these allegations. All Sudanese were totally free and had equal rights and duties. The law prohibited any form or exercise of the slave trade and the Government did not feel obliged to provide any information since no allegations had ever been brought to a tribunal and such practices did not exist in the first place.

The Committee notes the Criminal Act of 1991. It observes that, according to section 163, whoever commits forced labour on any person by unlawfully compelling him to work against his will shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with a fine or with both.

The Committee notes that in a document submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Anti-Slavery International refers to continued allegations of forced labour not only in relation with the Dinka populations but with the Nuba as well. It notes that the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its report of 29 January 1993 (document CRC/C19, dated 2 March 1993) has expressed its concern regarding the issues of forced labour and slavery and has requested additional information on these concerns.

The Committee recalls that Article 25 of the Convention requires that the illegal exaction of forced or compulsory labour be punishable as a penal offence, and moreover makes it an obligation on any Member ratifying the Convention to ensure that the penalties imposed by law are really adequate and are strictly enforced.

The Committee observes that the Conference Committee pointed out that various United Nations bodies had reported on cases of slavery and that those allegations could not be considered completely unfounded since the Government did not report in full on the existing situation.

In order to be in a position to consider the situation, the Committee asks the Government to supply full information on the measures taken to ensure the practical application of Article 25 of the Convention, and on the measures taken to protect the Dinka and Nuba populations against any practices contrary to the Convention.

[The Government is requested to supply full details to the 80th Session of the Conference and to communicate a detailed report for the period ending 30 June 1993.]

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The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It notes that the 1985 Constitution has been suspended and that the state of emergency is still in force, and it refers to its observation under Convention No. 105.

Article 25 of the Convention. 1. In previous comments the Committee took note of information received by the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1988 from the Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights (Anti-Slavery International) (UN document E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.2/1988/7/Add.1) concerning allegations of capture and trade in slaves arising in the context of civil unrest in the country. The Committee requested the Government to supply detailed comments on these allegations, and to indicate all measures taken to ensure that penalties imposed by law for the exaction of forced labour are really adequate and are strictly enforced.

The Committee noted the discussion which had taken place in the 1989 Conference Committee, the most recent report of the Government, and further information received by the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1988 and 1989 (UN documents E/CN.4/Sub.2/1988/32 and E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/39.

A representative of the Government stated to the Conference Committee in June 1989 that in his country any form of exploitation or forced labour was prohibited by law.

The Committee notes that the report of the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities (document E/CN.4/Sub.2/1991/41 of 19 August 1991) refers to information concerning children kept in slavery and used as domestic servants.

The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the measures taken pursuant to the provisions of the Penal Code to punish recourse to forced labour. The Government is asked to indicate in particular the number of cases in which persons have been prosecuted or punished for the exaction of forced labour in recent years and the penalties imposed on those found guilty.

The Committee hopes that the Government will do everything in its power to take the necessary measures to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the Convention.

2. The Government referred in its previous report to sections 311 to 313 of the Penal Code of 1983 prescribing penalties for recourse to forced labour.

The Committee has been informed that a new Penal Code was promulgated in 1991. It asks the Government to supply the text thereof.

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Article 25 of the Convention. In previous comments the Committee took note of information received by the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1988 from the Anti-Slavery Society for the Protection of Human Rights (UN document E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.2/1988/7/Add.1) concerning allegations of capture and trade in slaves arising in the context of civil unrest in the country. The Committee requested the Government to supply detailed comments on these allegations, and to indicate all measures taken to ensure that penalties imposed by law for the exaction of forced labour are really adequate and are strictly enforced.

The Committee notes the discussion which took place in the 1989 Conference Committee, the most recent report of the Government, and further information received by the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1988 and 1989 (UN documents E/CN.4/Sub.2/1988/32 and E/CN.4/Sub.2/1989/39).

According to this information, the Anti-Slavery Society reached an understanding with the Government for a visit to the country in order to have available in 1989 more precise information. In August 1989 the Anti-Slavery Society reported to the Sub-Commission that in December 1988 agreement was reached with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney-General's Office and the Ministry of Justice that a mission was to be organised by the Society to visit the Sudan in order to objectively assess the validity of allegations of slavery-like practices in the country. It was also reported that subsequent political developments had not yet made it possible for such a mission to be organised, but the Anti-Slavery Society remained in contact with government officials and hoped to be in a position to report on a proposed mission to the Working Group of the Sub-Commission at its next session in August 1990.

A representative of the Government, in comments to the Conference Committee in June 1989, stated that national legislation prohibited any form of exploitation or forced labour. The Government was committed to international instruments on the prevention of slavery and the slave trade, and Sudan had been among the first African countries to ratify the UN Convention on the abolition of slavery.

The Committee notes the Government's indication in its report that sections 311-313 of the 1983 Penal Code provide sanctions for exaction of forced labour. Under section 311 whoever unlawfully compels any person to labour against the will of that person, shall be punished with whipping or fine or with imprisonment. Under section 312 whoever kidnaps or abducts any person with intent that such person may be unlawfully compelled to labour against the will of that person, shall be punished with whipping or fine and imprisonment for one year. Under section 313 whoever for money or money's worth, transfers or purports to transfer the possession or control of any person to another with intent to enable such other person to confine such person unlawfully or to compel him unlawfully to labour against his will, shall be punished with whipping and fine and imprisonment.

The Committee asks the Government to provide full information on measures taken to apply sections 311-313 of the Penal Code, including details on the number of cases in which persons have been prosecuted and/or sentenced in recent years for exacting forced labour and on the penalties imposed on those found guilty.