Trade in human beings irks African Union

Home12th June 2011
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The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has blacklisted five member states in EAC and IGAD regions for being the gateway for trafficking in persons (TIP) en route to ‘promised land’ in southern Africa and Europe.
Kenya and Tanzania as well as Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan in EAC region and IGAD region respectively appear in the list made public in Arusha recently at an AU/EAC meeting on trafficking and smuggling of human beings.
At the high profile two –day meeting, Naomi Shiferaw, Union Liaison officer, presenting an overview of a review done in December 2010, said the countries have been the hub for the illegal TIPs business.
This business is happening even though countries like Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania have programmes promoting the rights of children and protecting them from trafficking in particular, she said.
For example, Kenya has a special unit within Interpol that deals with TIPs issues while Djibouti-Ethiopia and Djibouti-Yemen have developed joint border controls dealing with TIPs. Plans to replicate similar best practice between Kenya and Ethiopia are also under way.
Shiferaw further said Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda criminalise all forms of TIP while Ethiopia only criminalises trafficking in women and children for forced labour and prostitution.
“Sudan criminalises sex trafficking, abduction, luring and forced labour,” she told the meeting.
EAC Peace and Security expert, Leonard Onyonyi concurred with the report that Kenya and Tanzania have been used as transit to traffic persons to South Africa. “We are planning a regional meeting in Kampala, Uganda to discuss the issue and come up with a possible solution,” Onyonyi told the gathering.
TIP targets particularly women and children. “The human trafficking in the IGAD region especially for women and children is approaching alarming proportions,” an expert, Caroline Njuki, said calling for prevention measures to be taken soon.
Njuki said human trafficking refers to buying and selling of human beings as commodities to meet global demands for commercial sexual slavery or forced labour, which is both illegal and immoral.
”Women and children form the most significant share of human trafficking victims owing to the latent, yet lucrative sex tourism industry that prevails and flourishes in most third world countries,” Njuki told The Guardian on Sunday the sidelines of the IGAD, EAC and AU convention. She said human trafficking has direct and sometimes indirect connections with the illegal arms and illicit drug trade industries.
The IGAD region, Njuki noted, has experienced internal and international displacement as a result of civil strife and natural disasters.
This created vulnerable populations, amongst them women and children, who have fallen prey to trafficking in the hope for a safer, better existence.
“There area also those who have approached existing smuggling cartels to facilitate their movement especially to the Middle East and Gulf States and a final destination in Europe,” she told the meeting.
Other victims have been deceived of existing ‘green pastures’ and lucrative jobs abroad only to find being trapped in enslavement and unable to return to countries of origin as often their travel documents are confiscated.
AU’s core message is to ‘curb both the supply and demand’ aspects of trafficking. AU also suggested prevention of trafficking by reforming the laws, protection of victims and prosecution of traffickers.
The main objective of the workshop was to equip participants with the necessary information, contact-points and skills to design for finalising IGAD and EAC communication and awareness raising strategies.
These strategies are expected to identify specific target groups. Also the AU wants its message to be elaborated for wide, efficient and effective dissemination using appropriate media and channels across EAC and IGAD regions.
Back to their respective home countries, the delegates who attended the meeting were expected to design comprehensive national communication and awareness campaigns based on the regional strategies for implementation.