03/26/2003

Sudan's children, who have not known peace for the last two decades, suffer widespread rights abuses, including assault, rape, forced displacement, forced starvation, forced underage recruitment, slavery, killing, and burning of villages, schools, churches and hospitals, according to the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Refugees International, are very concerned about the conditions these children face on a daily basis and jointly call for immediate action in its new Watchlist Sudan Report. In this 34-page report, the Watchlist details current violations and the accumulated effects of abuses committed by the government of Sudan and armed opposition groups, of which the principal group is the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).

The Watchlist is a consortium of NGOs that documents the impact of armed conflict on children and adolescents. The Watchlist works to improve monitoring, reporting and follow-up advocacy to protect the security and rights of children in specific armed conflicts. Already published are reports on Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

RI completed a humanitarian assessment mission to Kakuma Camp in Kenya last year, and so was able to provide information on the plight of the children left behind, most worrisome being the "Lost Girls of Sudan", as detailed on page 17 of the Watchlist Report.

The report coincides with renewed efforts hosted by Kenya to bring an end to the civil war in Sudan, and urges the warring parties and governments supporting the negotiations to ensure the success of the peace process. This report is being shared with members of the UN Security Council, other UN officials, NGOs, the media, donors and others.