Sudan, UK discuss combating of human trafficking

February 24, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan’s Attorney General Omer Ahmed Mohamed and his British counterpart Jeremy Wright have discussed ways to tackle human trafficking, forced labour and other related crimes.

The two officials, who met on the sidelines of the meeting of the Attorneys General in London on Friday, also discussed obstacles facing attorneys general work regarding coordination of efforts and exchange of criminal information at the pre-trial phase.

For his part, Wright stressed the need to strengthen cooperation between the two countries to include capacity building for the Sudanese side and enhance communication channels on the basis of the modern means of communication.

Sudan is considered as a country of origin and transit for the illegal migration and human trafficking. Thousands of people from Eritrea and Ethiopia are monthly crossing the border into the Sudanese territories on their way to Europe through Libya or Egypt.

In January 2014, the Sudanese parliament approved an anti-human trafficking law which punishes those involved with human trafficking with up to 20 years imprisonment.

Also, in 2014, Khartoum hosted a conference on human trafficking in the Horn of Africa, organised by the African Union (AU), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Sudanese government.

The East African nation has also forged a strategic partnership with several European countries and the EU to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

(ST)