IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 234

Regarding the human rights situation in Sudan and Mauritania, including

the practice of chattel slavery and all other forms of booty.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 4, 1998

Mr. PAYNE submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Regarding the human rights situation in Sudan and Mauritania, including the practice of chattel slavery and all

other forms of booty.

Whereas the Government of Sudan and the Government of

Mauritania have perpetrated a prolonged campaign of

human rights abuses and discrimination;

Whereas the 1997 Country Reports on Human Rights of the

Department of State has documented numerous such

abuses by both governments;

Whereas since Sudan’s independence in 1956, the Khartoum

Government dominated by northern Arabs has been fighting against the Christian and animist South;
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Whereas the Government of Sudan is not able to pay their

militias and has encouraged the militias to take slaves as

compensation;

Whereas the Christian Solidarity International estimates that

tens of thousands of black slaves are owned by Arabs in

northern Sudan;

Whereas the Sudanese Government’s Popular Defense Force

(PDF) enslaved 18 women and children during a slave

raid on four villages—Tiomthet, Mabior Nyang, Ajok and

Achorou—in northeastern Bahr El Ghazal on November

30, 1997;

Whereas the slave raid is the most recent of a long series of

such raids undertaken as part of the ruling National

Islam Front (NIF) regime’s self-declared jihad (holy war)

against the predominantly Christian and Christian and

animist South;

Whereas the Government of Mauritania detained two human

rights activists and a lawyer following the broadcast on

French television of a documentary on slavery;

Whereas the Government of Mauritania has carried out illegal searches that has culminated in the arrest of

Boubacar Ould Messaoud, Maitre Brahim Ould Ebety,

and Cheick Saad Bouh Kamara on January 17, 1998, for

broadcasting a documentary on slavery;

Whereas the Government of Mauritania ratified the United

Nations Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and

Slavery, and has officially abolished slavery in 1905,

1960 and 1980, however, despite being a party to these

agreements, slavery still exists in Mauritania; and

Whereas Sudan is a party to the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights, the African Charter on Human
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and People’s Rights, the Slavery Convention, and the

Convention on the Rights of the Child, however, despite

being a party to these agreements, slavery still exists in

Sudan: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) calls upon the Government of Sudan and

4 the Government of Mauritania to honor their obliga5 tions under the Universal Declaration of Human

6 Rights and the Convention on the Abolition of Slav7 ery to prosecute slave owners to the fullest extent

8 under the anti-slavery laws of each such country and

9 to educate individuals being held as slaves concern10 ing their legal rights;

11 (2) calls upon both governments to surrender

12 and release all slaves and return them to their

13 homes;

14 (3) urges in the strongest terms that both gov15 ernments investigate abuses of slavery;

16 (4) urges the United Nations Security Council

17 to condemn these acts of slavery by both govern18 ments;

19 (5) deplores the fighting of the National Islam

20 Front (NIF) which has caused untold suffering for

21 the people of Sudan;
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1 (6) advocates the strengthening of the border

2 between northern and southern Sudan;

3 (7) encourages human rights organizations to

4 facilitate a safe passage for slavery victims to and

5 from conflict zones;

6 (8) commends the Clinton Administration for

7 sanctioning Sudan and monitoring the acts of Mau8 ritania with respect to slavery; and

9 (9) urges in the strongest possible terms that

10 the Secretary of the Treasury should not waive any

11 of the current sanctions that are in place against

12 Sudan.

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