The United States on Thursday welcomed the release of a report this week on slavery in Sudan and called on Khartoum to take action to prevent the practice and punish slave traders.
State Department deputy representative Philip Reeker said the report, released on Wednesday in Khartoum by an international slavery commission, accurately portrayed the situation in Sudan relating to slavery, abductions and forced servitude.
”We are very pleased with the findings of the report,” Reeker told reporters, noting that the commission had confirmed that slavery existed in Sudan, something Khartoum has repeatedly denied.
He said Washington endorsed recommendations in the report calling for Khartoum to crack down on militias and government troops engaged in the slave trade and the enforcement of anti-slavery laws.
”Sudanese authorities must enforce laws against slavery and prosecute those involved,” Reeker said.
”The report further recommends strengthening institutions that identify and return abducted persons, and calls upon the international community to set up a monitoring mechanism to bring about an end to slave raids.”
The commission was set up in one of several agreements reached between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement by US special envoy John Danforth who is trying to broker and end to the country’s long-running civil war.
Earlier this week, Danforth said he would remain in the post and US officials said they would be boosting their support for Sudan peace efforts.
As part of that, Reeker said Washington would press hard for Khartoum to implement the anti-slavery recommendations in the report.
”Our first task is to ensure that the parties to the Sudanese conflict, in particular the Sudanese government, follow through on the steps they need to take to end slavery,” he said. – AFP
