Sudan vows continued efforts to combating illegal migration
March 13, 2018 (KHARTOUM) Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour has underlined his country’s readiness to participate in international efforts to combating human trafficking and illegal migration.
Swing arrived in Khartoum on Sunday evening on a three-day visit to discuss issues of migration with the Sudanese officials.
During his meeting with the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Sudanese Expatriates Affairs (OSEA) Karar al-Tuhami, Swing praised OSEA efforts in combating human trafficking and illegal migration as well as the transfer of knowledge.
He pointed out that his visit to Sudan comes within the framework of learning about the efforts of the OSEA in migration issues.
Swing hailed OSEA initiative to establish the Sudan Centre for Migration Studies, vowing to support and elevate the centre into a regional research and capacity building centre.
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, Khartoum in 2014 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 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)