French and German Companies Tied to Slave Raids, Genocide in Sudan, Human Rights Activists Reveal (Press Release)

French and German Companies Tied to Slave Raids, Genocide in Sudan, Human Rights Activists Reveal

Anti-Slavery Group Calls on France and Germany to Stop Human Rights Double Standard

BOSTON, MA — The American Anti-Slavery Group expressed deep concern today over French and German policies of placing economic objectives ahead of the human rights of Southern Sudanese people forced into human bondage as part of the Sudanese government's genocidal jihad.

Dr. Charles Jacobs, president of the American Anti-Slavery Group, said: "The language of human rights flows smoothly from the lips of the leaders of France and Germany. But Franco-German hegemony is bad news for human rights, especially for victims whose oppressors are European Union partners. For nations who speak so loudly about their high principles now to be found abetting a trade of human beings is simply shocking."

The United States Congress and the Bush Administration have forcefully condemned Khartoum's state sponsored international and domestic terrorism and slavery. France and Germany, on the other hand, have sought to tone down the issue. In fact, the Franco-German duo has subverted the cause of eradicating modern-day slavery by cooperating with Khartoum.

France has provided Khartoum with military intelligence for the prosecution of the jihad, while French and German helicopters have been used for ethnic cleansing in southern Sudan's oil fields. Further, their subversion does not stop there. In concert, the Franco-German contingent persuaded the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to censor any utilization of the word "slavery" from official documents on Sudan, favoring instead the terminology of "abduction".

For the past twenty years, Sudanese slaves - mainly women and children - have been routinely beaten, raped, genitally mutilated, forced to convert to Islam and racially abused. The scale of this "crime against humanity" -- as slavery is identified under international law -- is colossal. With estimates as high as 200,000 slaves in captivity, "Old Europe" needs to rethink its policy.

Founded in 1994, the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) is America's leading human rights organization combating modern-day slavery worldwide. Based in Boston, the historic center of the American abolitionist movement, AASG works to extend the wave of emancipation to the 27 million people trapped in slavery today.

Dr. Charles Jacobs is available for interviews.