an for
use as cooks, porters, and combatants in its ongoing war against
Uganda; some of these children are then trafficked across borders
into Uganda or possibly the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
children are utilized by rebel groups and the Sudanese Armed Forces
and associated militias in the ongoing conflict in Darfur; during
the decades of civil war, thousands of Dinka women and children were
enslaved by members of Baggara tribes and subjected to various forms
of forced labor without remuneration, as well as physical and sexual
abuse; with the cessation of the North-South conflict and the
ongoing peace process, there were no known new abductions of Dinka
by Baggara tribes during 2005; however, inter-tribal abductions of a
different nature continue in Southern Sudan and warrant further
investigation
tier rating: Tier 3 - Sudan does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making
significant efforts to do so

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Suriname

Introduction Suriname

Background:
First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then
settled by the English in the mid-17th century, Suriname became a
Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of slavery in 1863, workers
were brought in from India and Java. Independence from the
Netherlands was granted in 1975. Five years later the civilian
government was replaced by a military regime that soon declared a
socialist republic. It continued to exert control through a
succession of nominally civilian administrations until 1987, when
international pressure finally forced a democratic election. In
1990, the military overthrew the civilian leadership, but a
democratically elected government - a four-party New Front coalition
- returned to power in 1991 and has ruled since, expanding to eight
parties in 2005.

Geography Suriname

Location:
Northern South America, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between
French Guiana and Guyana

Geographic coordinates:
4 00 N, 56 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 163,270 sq km
land: 161,470 sq km
water: 1,800 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Georgia

Land boundaries:
total: 1,703 km
border countries: Brazil 593 km, French Guiana 510 km, Guyana