Amicus brief

Human rights law dimensions of human trafficking

National Human Trafficking Resource Center

Backpage.com

NJ Coalition Against Human Trafficking

INTRODUCTION

In Darfur, violence against civilians has resulted in the deaths of around 300,000 
civilians and the displacement of 2.7 million people since 2003. The atrocities 
committed in Darfur are so gruesome that the President of Sudan, Omar Al-Bashir, 
has been charged with perpetrating genocide on his own people by the Prosecutor 
of the ICC, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.

​

To date, an estimated 1500-2500 refugees from this conflict have fled to the U.S. 
Although now safe from the violence, it is apparent that these Darfurians continue 
to suffer from different kinds of trauma: The medical or psychological trauma 
directly related to the atrocities they have suffered, the challenges resulting from 
displacement from their homes, and the difficulties from resettling and adjusting to 
a new country and society. Many of these refugees have lost family members, 
possessions, connection to the lands, their way of life, and their community.

SERVICE

Mental Health Care

​

We work with professional therapists who can offer initial mental health assessments to the women we encounter and determine whether a further referral might be in order.

​

Translator

​

Our Network relies on the assistance of reliable translators and interpreters who work with the Marilyn S. Broad Fellow to assist the Darfurian refugees.

WOMEN OF DARFUR

Darfurian women are particularly vulnerable members of an insular community that often lacks access to decent health, social or legal services. These women are at risk of being disenfranchised because of mental or medical health problems, discrimination in the community because of past sexual violence or because of poverty due to a lack of income generating skills. Some even face homelessness. Many Darfurian women are in critical need of assistance, both for their own sake and for the sake of their children and their communities. This need is made even more pressing by the fact that the next calendar year is likely to see an additional influx of Darfurians to the United States.

​

It is clear that access to the right kind of legal, medical, or social support at the right moment can make a radical difference in the lives of these women. The IJP is already very active in this area, and in the past, it has provided individual emergency aid on a case-by-case basis. Now, we are expanding to provide aid on a case-by-case basis as part of a larger emergency response mechanism to reach more women and families.

​

Our goal is to coordinate an organized network of health care, social services, legal professionals, and others to assist Darfurian women and their families in the United States. And, ultimately, our hope is that this Network will be sustainable and function on a peer-to-peer basis, being led by Darfurian women themselves and making the IJP’s response actions unnecessary.

WHY THE IJP

In the spring of 2005, the Prosecutor of the ICC opened an investigation into the crimes committed in Darfur after the United Nations Security Council referred the matter to the Court. To date, the ICC has issued arrest warrants against four members of the Sudanese government, including President al-Bashir, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

​

Shortly after the arrest warrants were issues, the IJP founders, Wanda M. Akin and Raymond M. Brown, began working with members of the Darfurian Diaspora in the United States who wanted to know more about the legal proceedings at the ICC. Akin and Brown soon took on the task of gathering the stories of the genocide victims and submitting their applications to participate in the trial against President al-Bashir. Today, Akin, Brown, and the IJP team have interviewed close to 100 Darfuris in the United States and other countries around the world.

​

For many Darfurian women, the IJP is often the first and only place where they share their stories. It may be their first opportunity to break their silence and discuss the horror of witnessing family members die, sexual violence, and/or domestic violence. Recognizing that the IJP might be the only organization the women ever talk to, we feel obligated to expand our activity from listening and recording these experiences to addressing the most pressing needs of the women, such as healthcare, mental health care, temporary lodging, legal advice, and more.