At a Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing today, Ambassador Mark Lagon, director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. State Department, discussed human trafficking from conflict zones in sub-Saharan Africa. UNICEF estimates that conscription of child soldiers affects more than 300,000 children under the age of 18 in more than 30 armed conflicts worldwide.

In December 2007, the United Nations noted that evidence suggests refugee and internally displace person (IDP) camps are often prime recruiting grounds for child soldiers because of the concentration of vulnerable children. Lagon said that human trafficking is modern day slavery.

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Reports of attacks on civilians in Northern Darfur.

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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing this morning to discuss “The Continuing Crisis in Darfur.” A long line awaited entrance to the hearing half an hour before it commenced, which Chairman Joe Biden (D-DE) cited as a testament to the resonance this issue has with the public. Biden, along with many other senators, said he believed the situation in Darfur is little improved since last year’s April hearing about a “Plan B” to stop the slow-motion genocide.

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Today Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was in Bucharest, Romania.  The SG met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and discussed tomorrow’s meeting on Afghanistan.  In a written statement, the Secretary-General indicated that the two “discussed various issues of mutual interest and concern, starting with the situation in Afghanistan, and Kosovo, the Millennium Development Goals, regional offices and fighting against crime. I am also grateful for the kind gesture to allow shelter to refugees.”

Later this week Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes will travel to the middle east to discuss partnership and collaboration between the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.  Mr. Holmes will meet with top-level government officials, and Red Cross affiliates.  On April 8th he will deliver the key-note address at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference.

Today the United Nations issued a report stating school enrollment in South Sudan is expected to surpass 1 million.  According to the UN, Last year enrollment was approximately 340,000 students; this year enrollment will be 1.3 million. Since 2007, in conjunction with the government of South Sudan, the ‘Go to School’ United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has worked to develop permanent education facilities, as well as construct a stable education infrastructure. 

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By Ellen Ratner

This past Sunday was Easter, arguably the most peaceful, joyous and hopeful celebration in all of Christendom.

As I glance outside my window, I can see the props of our wealthy civilization: Tall, sleek, buildings of glass and steel, late model automobiles, paved roads and stores offering an abundance of all that that makes life long, good and easy. Yet about one week ago on Palm Sunday, I looked out and saw something else. That day found me in a small village in southern Sudan. And what I saw were buildings of dried grass and open roofs, filled with people, some of whom did not resemble the people I see on the street today – they wore rags, not their Easter Sunday best. And these rags contained men, women and, heartbreakingly, children – so many, many children – who resembled only caricatures of human beings: Malnourished and stick thin, whose tight flesh hosted open, running and sometimes what might be gangrenous sores. Mothers’ breasts were dry; fathers and older male children were too weak to gather food that simply wasn’t there anyway.

These were the bodies of starvation and the faces of suffering. On Palm Sunday, I was in Southern Darfur.

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One recently freed South Darfur slave boy helps another open his sack of hope - these sacks will provide for the former slaves for months

Click “Read more” to see more photos. Note: some photos are graphic depictions of injuries.

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Ellen Ratner tells the pain of a freed slave’s life, and the hope of returning to her family. (1:15)

 

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Ellen Ratner describes the freeing of slaves on the border of Darfur. Some slaves are simply killed rather than sold, and even those that are freed often do not understand their freedom, not having known any other life. (1:52)

 

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Jack Rice speaks of the horrors facing a twenty year old slave girl living in Sudan after speaking with a freed slave. (1:29)

 

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Dan Patterson reports live in the sweltering heat of Sudan. Minutes after witnessing hundreds of slaves being freed, Patterson describes a world where people have lived in captivity for years, where freedom is “purchased”, and where murder and torture is a part of every day life. (2:03)

 

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