The Impacts of COVID-19 on Modern Slavery in Transition: A Case Study of Sudan

当2019冠状病毒病大流行袭来时，苏丹正处于民主转型阶段，包括重建国家机构，制定新的立法和治理框架，并承诺确保保护和促进人权。在这些活动中，政府展示了解决现代奴隶制问题和提高该国在美国国务院人口贩运报告中的排名的政治意愿。作为全球现代奴隶制盛行率第14高的国家，苏丹的有效应对工作将对全球反奴隶制产生重大影响。然而，尽管作出了新的承诺，这些活动仍然面临着经济紧张、资源和能力有限以及仍然需要确保该国的和平与稳定等障碍。COVID-19加剧了这些障碍，并为确保在过渡期间有效废除奴隶制提出了重大的新挑战。然而，这一流行病对苏丹现代奴隶制和反奴隶制对策的具体影响和影响仍然未知。这项研究将填补关于COVID-19大流行对苏丹现代奴隶制影响的关键知识和信息空白，并为适当的缓解和应对工作制定建议和指导方针。通过多层混合方法分析，我们的研究将寻求回答五个关键问题：(1)2019冠状病毒病如何影响苏丹现代奴隶制的动态和表现？(2) 2019冠状病毒病如何影响苏丹易受现代奴役的结构性、社区和个人因素？(3) 2019冠状病毒病如何影响苏丹反奴隶制政策和做法的制定和实施？(4)决策者和从业人员如何调整其反奴隶制工作，以应对这一流行病带来的持续挑战，这些措施在多大程度上取得了成功？(5)决策者和从业人员应采取哪些措施，以确保疫情期间和之后苏丹有效的反奴隶制治理？为了解这一流行病对现代奴隶制动态、脆弱性和应对措施的影响，本项目结合了三个层面的研究和分析：(1)对现有和新出现的证据进行全面审查；(2)对苏丹和国际政策和实践的关键线人进行深入访谈；(3)对关键利益相关者的补充调查。这些研究活动将为与在英国的苏丹幸存者合作制定以证据为基础的指导方针，以便在大流行期间和之后有效地制定政策和做法，解决苏丹的现代奴隶制问题奠定基础。与这些幸存者进行焦点小组讨论将确保受影响社区的声音形成政策和实践指导，并回应幸存者的具体需求和利益。这种方法不是将幸存者定位为研究对象，而是将他们定位为研究成果的共同创造者。该项目利用现有的专业知识和项目伙伴网络，在短时间内提供有意义的发现和产出。与作为研究参与者和使用者的主要利益相关者进行接触，确保从一开始就接受，并有助于促进吸收。项目合作伙伴将在整个项目和项目完成后积极工作，以确保研究结果嵌入正在进行的政策和实践过程中，以支持持久的变化。这项研究进一步嵌入到苏丹政治过渡的长期进程中，在这个过程中，反奴隶制和人权被视为优先事项。这为提出有意义的、基于证据的建议提供了机会，从而对苏丹未来的反奴隶制治理产生重大影响。这将支持苏丹的更大稳定和人权保护，这被认为是在更广泛的地区建立更大稳定的核心。

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Sudan was in the midst of a democratic transition, involving the reconstruction of state institutions, development of new legislation and governing frameworks, and a commitment to ensuring the protection and advancement of human rights. Amongst these activities, the Government demonstrated the political will to address modern slavery and improve the country's rating in the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report. As the country with the 14th highest prevalence of modern slavery globally, effective response efforts in Sudan would have a meaningful impact on global antislavery. Yet, despite renewed commitment, these activities faced the obstacles of economic strain, limited resources and capacity, and the ongoing need to ensure peace and stability in the country. COVID-19 exacerbated these obstacles, as well as presenting substantial new challenges to ensuring effective antislavery in the transition. Yet, the specific impacts and implications of the pandemic on modern slavery and antislavery responses in Sudan remains unknown. This research will fill a critical knowledge and information gap on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on modern slavery in Sudan, and formulate recommendations and guidelines for appropriate mitigation and response efforts. Through multi-layered, mixed methods analysis, our research will seek to answer five key questions:(1) How is COVID-19 impacting the dynamics and manifestations of modern slavery in Sudan?(2) How is COVID-19 influencing structural, community, and personal factors that underpin vulnerability to modern slavery in Sudan?(3) How is COVID-19 affecting the development and implementation of antislavery policy and practice in Sudan?(4) How have policy-makers and practitioners adapted their antislavery efforts in response to the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic, and to what extent have these measures been successful?(5) What measures should be adopted by policy-makers and practitioners to ensure effective antislavery governance in Sudan during and after the pandemic?To understand the impacts of the pandemic on modern slavery dynamics, vulnerabilities, and responses, this project combines three layers of research and analysis: (1) a comprehensive review of existing and emerging evidence; (2) in-depth interviews with key informants in policy and practice in Sudan and internationally; and (3) a supplementary survey of key stakeholders. These research activities will form the foundation for the development of evidence-based guidance for effective policy and practice to address modern slavery in Sudan during and after the pandemic, built in collaboration with UK-based Sudanese survivors. Focus group discussion with these survivors will ensure the voice of affected communities shapes policy and practice guidance, and responds to the specific needs and interests of survivors. This approach positions survivors not as the subjects of research, but as co-creators of research outputs. The project takes advantage of the existing expertise and networks of project partners to deliver meaningful findings and outputs in a short timeframe. Engagement with key stakeholders as both participants and users of the research ensures buy-in from the outset, and helps to facilitate uptake. Project partners will work proactively throughout the project, and on completion, to ensure findings are embedded in ongoing policy and practice processes, to support long-lasting change. This research is further embedded in a longer-term process of political transition in Sudan, in which antislavery and human rights have been considered a priority. This provides the opportunity for meaningful, evidence-based recommendations to significantly influence Sudanese antislavery governance into the future. This will support greater stability and human rights protections in Sudan, recognised to be central to building greater stability in the region more broadly.