CSI Press Release June 27, 2003

Aid Groups Meet to Confront Slavery in Sudan "Abductees" are "Slaves", says Member of GOS Committee

CSI, Mabil (Southern Sudan), Zurich, Los Angeles, June 26, 2003. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) has called for a continuation of dialogue with UNICEF and its partners on the issue of slavery in Sudan, following the participation of the two organizations in an anti-slavery conference held in Mabil, Aweil East County, Southern Sudan on June 17 and 18.

The Mabil Conference marked the first open dialogue between CSI and UNICEF since 1999 when UNICEF joined Sudan's National Islamic Front-dominated government in condemning the redemption of slaves by CSI and local Arab and Dinka civil society as "absolutely intolerable".

Addressing the Mabil conference, Dr. John Eibner of CSI hailed the dialogue with UNICEF as an "historic event that raises hopes for the imminent liberation of Sudan's slaves." Eibner also expressed the hope that dialogue and constructive cooperation between CSI, UNICEF and their various partners would continue after the close of the conference. "Everyone striving for the eradication of slavery has an obligation to work together to free the slaves now", Eibner concluded.

Among the other conference participants were representatives of the Government of Sudan's Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC), Save the Children Fund (UK), the Rift Valley Institute, the International Rescue Committee, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army.

The conference agenda focused on identifying the location of slaves, facilitating family contact and reunification, and supporting the reintegration of slaves into their families and communities.

Several Dinka participants informed the Conference that those to whom the Khartoum government refers as "abductees" are in fact "slaves". Among them was James Aguer of the CEAWC. "The people are slaves, not just abductees; abduction is only the beginning of slavery", Aguer declared. Aguer announced that he and his colleagues had already registered over 14,000 black slaves in northern Sudan, and that tens of thousands of additional enslaved women and children remain in bondage. In an interview with Eibner, Aguer encouraged CSI to intensify its efforts to free those still enslaved.

In the weeks preceding the Mabil conference, UNICEF and its partner organizations airlifted 62 freed slaves to their homes in Southern Sudan - the first such UNICEF-sponsored slave repatriation effort in over one year. UNICEF has now facilitated the liberation and return of approximately 200 Sudanese slaves since 1999, when it launched its program to combat the "abduction" of Sudanese women and children in conjunction with the Government of Sudan.

Over 80,000 black slaves have been freed and returned to Southern Sudan through the collective efforts of CSI and Arab and Dinka civil society since 1995. (end)

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