Sudan has acknowledged that human trafficking occurs on a great scale in the refugee camps on its eastern borders in particular. During a regional conference on smuggling in the Horn of Africa this week, Sudanese ministers called for logistical support to chase human traffickers, and expressed readiness to cooperate with the international community.
This week, Khartoum hosted a conference on trafficking in persons in the Horn of Africa, organised by the African Union, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the Sudanese government. Fifteen countries and a delegation of the EU attended the meeting, during which a joint strategy and action plan combating human trafficking is due to be adopted.
Sudan’s Second Vice-President Hasabo Abdel Rahman reiterated his country’s commitment to combat trafficking together with neighbouring countries. Speaking in a press conference at the end of the meeting, he asserted that Sudan is a transit country for traffickers, and that they are active in refugee camps on the eastern Sudan’s border areas. Sudan’s Commissioner of Refugees, Hamad El Jazouli, revealed that Sudan recorded 102 cases of human trafficking during the year 2013.
The Interior Minister, Lt. Col. Ismat Abdel Rahman, stated on 29 September that particularly the Kassala, El Gedaref, and Red Sea states in eastern Sudan witnessed an increase in smuggling.
Eritrean refugees
Human Rights Watch accused Sudanese and Egyptian security officials of involvement in human trafficking and handing over Eritrean refugees to gangs in February this year.
Political instability and wars in the Horn of Africa make the region volatile and insecure, driving large number of people to quit their countries and cross to Sudan seeking to join Europe, Canada and the US.
This situation also created a market for smugglers and traffickers who request large amounts of money to facilitate their departure to their final destination.
Reporting by Sudan Vision, Radio Dabanga
Photo: The African Union Regional Conference on Human Trafficking and Smuggling in the Horn of Africa in Khartoum, October 2014 (Sudan Vision)