ACJPS: ‘Human trafficking surges in Sudan’

Human trafficking in Sudan has intensified dramatically since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023, according to a new report from the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS). The report, “Human Trafficking in Sudan: Roots, Context, and Current Challenges,” released yesterday, describes the crisis as “a humanitarian crisis and an organised crime” driven by “violence, fragile security, poverty, political conflict, and social divisions.”

The ACJPS warns that the collapse of judicial institutions and lack of legal oversight have enabled “systematic violations [to occur] with complete impunity.” The report highlights that “armed groups and organised gangs” are recruiting children, exploiting women, and smuggling people across borders, particularly in Khartoum, El Gezira, and Darfur.

Sudan’s strategic location and porous borders have made it “a major hub for human smuggling and trafficking networks,” with some operations allegedly colluding with “security officials or elements of the government forces.” These networks are accused of committing “ransom kidnapping, sexual slavery, forced recruitment, and forced labour.”

Women and girls constitute many victims, facing “sexual exploitation, forced marriages, or inhumane conditions.” Children are “forcibly recruited for military activities or exploited in begging and trade networks.”

Despite Sudan’s adoption of anti-trafficking legislation and ratification of international conventions, the report concludes that “the lack of political will, weak enforcement mechanisms, limited resources, [and] corruption within state institutions” have rendered these laws ineffective.

The ACJPS warns that “without recognising the scale of this disaster, thousands of people will remain vulnerable to exploitation, and suffering will persist.”

US trafficking report

Last year, the US State Department has downgraded Sudan to Tier 3 in its latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, the lowest ranking, indicating that Sudan is failing to meet minimum standards to combat trafficking and is not compliant with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000.

This marks a drop from Tier 2 in 2023, when Sudan was still considered to be making “significant efforts” to improve. Sudan now joins 13 countries identified as having a “documented policy or pattern” of state-sponsored trafficking, including Eritrea, Russia, Syria, and China. Tier 3 status can result in sanctions or cuts to non-humanitarian aid.

Despite the downgrade, former US President Joe Biden announced in October that Sudan would remain exempt from TIP-related sanctions, allowing continued access to development and global health assistance.

Read the full African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies report here: Human Trafficking in Sudan: Roots, Context, and Current Challenges