Theandnbsp;Sudanese Minister of Interior,andnbsp;Lt. Col. Ismatandnbsp;Abdel Rahman, has acknowledgedandnbsp;a significant increase in human traffickingandnbsp;inandnbsp;the country.
The Minister saidandnbsp;in a press statementandnbsp;on Monday that human trafficking did not exist in Sudan before 2007. He stated that theandnbsp;phenomenon is “becoming worrisome”, in particular in the eastern Sudanese states of Kassala,andnbsp;El Gedaref,andnbsp;and Red Sea, and the five Darfur states.andnbsp;
He announced that an international conferenceandnbsp;to combatandnbsp;human trafficking will beandnbsp;hosted byandnbsp;Khartoumandnbsp;in October.andnbsp;
Sudanese officialsandnbsp;have been accused of being involved in the trafficking.andnbsp;In December last year, a report compiled by European researchers, “http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/Small_HumanTrafficking-Sinai2-web-3.pdfThe Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond”,andnbsp;stated that “It appears that there is a close collaboration between Eritrean traffickers and Sudanese security, military and police officials. Members of the Rashaida and Hidarib tribes in East Sudan are also involved in the abductions in Sudan and in Eritrea”.
Sudan is not a party to the UN Human Trafficking protocol.
Map: Key routes relating to trafficking of Eritreans from refugee camps in eastern Sudan (Human Rights Watch)