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Home > Projects & Research > Child Protection International (CPI) : Case Background

Child Protection International (CPI)

Case Background

The Save Yar campaign at the University of Minnesota began after two young girls were stolen from their parents leaving no apparent hope for their recovery. Three-year-old Yar Mading and her 18-month-old sister Ajak were abducted in Southern Sudan’s Jonglei State on October 3, 2007.[1] Gunmen from the Murle community fatally shot their great-grandmother, grievously wounded their grandmother, and took the girls to raise as future spouses for their own children. In this poor and war-fatigued region, local authorities said they had no resources to find the girls, let alone return them to their parents.

Yar and Ajak havecome to represent all the young victims of a pattern of child abduction that has grown beyond the capability of the local authorities to control. Jonglei Governor Philip Thon Leek told the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance that in the last two years, raiders from the Murle community have abducted nearly 170 children from Jonglei and more than 270 children from neighboring Eastern Equatoria state.[2] The Governor pled for help from the U.S. and UN in recovering children.

Several problems underlie this crime wave

Guns
The Murle remain heavily armed, contrary to the U.S.-brokered peace treaty. Following the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between north and south Sudan, the government began a program to disarm civilian groups in Jonglei state including the Murle in December 2005.[3] The programs did not acknowledge the economic value of arms such as offering compensation for weapons turned over. Nor did the programs come with assurances of security. In late January 2006, confrontations between SPLA soldiers and civilians from various tribes and government-sponsored militia groups led to a dramatic death toll and an increase in arms coming into Jonglei state. Additional efforts at disarmament turned violent.

Ineffective International presence
The United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Sudan is mandated to "protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence, within its capability" as well as "to protect and promote human rights" particularly for vulnerable groups including children. But the mission in 2007 has about 10,000 personnel covering all of Sudan—almost 1,000,000 square miles and a population of 37 million. And UNMIS is not authorized to disarm any parties.

Ineffective National and Local Law Enforcement
One of the major problems areas with child abduction is the lack of resources to enforce protections. Police force are few and cover large areas of land and are not equipped with proper communication devices. These issues have been officially addressed before. In 1998, the Committee for the Eradication of Abduction of Women and Children was established, however it has been ineffective since 2006 due to lack of funding from the GOSS.

Health
The Murle’s interest in acquiring children may be related to the low fertility rates in their community. However, there have been no conclusive studies to prove or disprove these claims.

Unreconciled Ethnic Conflict
Sudan is an enormously diverse nation with several hundred different ethnic groups. While conflicts between the North and South are most recognized, many feuds between Southern ethnic tribes persist today. These conflicts stem from competition over natural resources such as land, water and cattle.

Economics
Jonglei state needs economic development. The U.S. Agency for International Development and other donor agencies have begun many projects from Juba since the treaty signing, but Jonglei is remote. USAID proposed a community demand-driven Local Economic Recovery Program (LERP) that was to begin in Jonglei, but funding in USAID/Juba’s Economic Growth portfolio is low, so the program is on hold.
The Save Yar campaign is committed to working with the Government of South Sudan and the international community to address the root problems underlying child abduction. At the same time we demand prompt action and respect for rights by all parties, official and civilian.

[1] Documented Oct. 25, 2007, by the UN Mission in Sudan’s OIC Child Protection Unit (N.J. Lokenga).

[1] Correspondence with John Marks of OFDA, Oct. 25, 2007. See also the UN’s Report of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Sudan, Aug. 29, 2007, pp. 8 & 11.

[1] UN report, 2006.

Birth Registration as a Deterrent to Child Abductions

Birth registration requires the registration of a child’s name, age, fingerprints and parentage. A child has a right to all of these things under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF reports that there are around 51 million unregistered births around the world each year (UNICEF). CPI is a strong advocate for registration because “birth registration is the first point of contact between the child and the state. It is the first and fundamental right in and of itself. And it is the door to other rights, providing a measure of protection against age-related exploitation and abuse” (African Child Forum).         

Birth registration is the fundamental realization of other human rights. It provides and monitors access to health care and immunizations. It ensures that children are enrolled in school and provides a legal framework for the protection of children from forced labor, forced marriage, and military conscription. A record of a child’s birth also aids in reparation and family union for children who have been the victims of abduction and trafficking. Birth registration is essential to the upholding the rights of all children.