A coalition of groups opposing slavery in Sudan are protesting President Bush's decision to reward the radical Islamic regime in Khartoum for alleged measures to curb human trafficking.
The Sudan Campaign said the decision to upgrade Sudan's slavery status yesterday from Tier III – the lowest possible ranking – to Tier II has been done without the State Department or Khartoum providing evidence of change.
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Switzerland, Israel, Chile, Hungary and Greece are among the Tier II states.
A State Department memorandum justifying the Sept. 21 presidential determination claimed the Sudanese government had made "significant efforts" to bring itself into compliance with U.S. anti-trafficking legislation.
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The head of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, or TIP, Ambassador John Miller, reported Sept. 27 that Sudan and five other countries had taken "real steps" to combat slavery, including: Establishing new police anti-trafficking units, arresting and charging traffickers, passing anti-trafficking laws, opening victims shelters, holding bilateral meetings to establish anti-trafficking cooperation and establishing victims hotlines.
The State Department's Memorandum of Justification defended the determination on the grounds that the Government of Sudan has made unspecified "commitments" to implement anti-trafficking measures during the next 12 months.
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But the State Department has not made public the details of the "action plan," which, according to the TIP office, is contained within a recently signed U.S.-Sudanese "bilateral" agreement.
Writing to Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice, the Sudan Campaign leadership contended the meager evidence provided by the State Department does not point to "significant efforts" to combat slavery on the part of the Government of Sudan.
Sudan Coalition leaders include Chairman Rev. Walter Fauntroy, President Joe Madison, John Eibner of Christian Solidarity International, Charles Jacobs of Anti-Slavery Coalition,, Faith McDonnel of Instiute on Religion and Democracy, Nina Shea of Center of Religious Freedom at Freedom House and Director Rev. Keith Roderick.
The leaders point out that the 2005 Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General documented cases of Sudanese government troops' involvement in "abductions and sexual slavery."
The campaign has called on Rice to immediately reverse the "fundamentally flawed" determination and to cooperate with non-governmental organizations in the establishment of a Task Force to Monitor the Eradication of Sudanese Slavery.
