On Wednesday, July 16, the House approved H. Res. 194, by voice vote, affirming its support of international efforts to abolish slavery and other human rights abuses in Sudan. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA), cites a State Department report on human rights, which estimates that as many as 15,000 women and children have been abducted during the past 15 years. A vast majority remain in captivity today, having been sold into slavery, used as forced labor, and drafted into the military. Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ) said, “Between 5,000 and 14,000 children have been abducted in Sudan since 1983. Millions of girls have been forced into domestic service worldwide while boys have been trafficked to the Gulf to work as menial laborers. While [the Government of Sudan] claims that there are laws in their country that prohibit slavery, there is no aggressive enforcement of those laws and no special courts dedicated to this singularly heinous practice against children.”
H. Res. 194 urges the United States to support Sudan’s re-classification by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights as an “Item 9” country. This designation would allow a Special Rapporteur to investigate and report the high level of human rights abuses that occur in the country. The resolution further recommends that the U.S. encourage the United Nations to reinstate sanctions against Sudan, and invites the European Union and the African Union to join in the effort to convince the Sudanese people to embrace international human rights standards.
