By Nasratu Kargbo
President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission Dr. Omar Alieu Touray has said that over 75% of victims of human trafficking in West Africa are children.
Whilst presenting his speech at the Regional Conference of ECOWAS states on Ending Human Trafficking 2023 which was hosted in Sierra Leone at the International Conference Centre, Bintumani Hotel, Freetown, Touray explained that recent study has proven that children are trafficked for the purpose of forced labour.
He said the higher proportions of Trafficking victims are West Africa, adding that 99% of the victims are trafficked in the sub-region or in other countries.
The President stated that one of the key challenges facing West Africa is insecurity, driven by tourism, unconstitutional change of government and rebellion, organised crime, amongst others.
Touray noted that it is due to all the above-mentioned challenges that ECOWAS considers the fight against human trafficking as a moral and humanitarian obligation.
President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio said that the trends of human trafficking in the sub-region are alarming; stating that the recent United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report says child victims in West Africa are trafficked from rural to urban areas within their countries and across other ECOWAS countries.
He explained that many are forced to work as beggars, sex traders and labourers at mining sites.
Highlighting some of the challenges in the fight against trafficking, President Bio stated that the porous unmanned borders within ECOWAS continue to be a weakness as far as trafficking is concerned.
He stressed that one of their priorities as leaders in the sub-region should be prevention and ensuring that they increase awareness and education at the community level.
In addition, they should make sure they provide support to survivors by providing services in a dignified manner such as new livelihood opportunities to restore hope and legal opportunities, he said.
The President stated third in their agenda should be toughening their law-enforcement and judicial response to ensure that perpetrators of human trafficking are prosecuted which will make it a risky and expensive enterprise for them.
Ambassador- at- Large U.S Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Cindy Dyer via video said that aiding survivors in meaningful ways is critical in establishing victim-centred and trauma-informed anti-trafficking policies and strategies.
She stressed that they have a responsibility to ensure victims and survivors have appropriate access to protection services, noting that quality protection services are crucial to a comprehensive response in combatting trafficking.
She said human trafficking is a shared global challenge and that partnership is relevant to combating the menace, and that it offers an opportunity for them to work together to protect victims, especially those from vulnerable communities.
She noted that men and boys are often not thought of as trafficking victims, noting that many countries do not have trafficking shelters that can accommodate them. “We must ensure that we are providing protection to all survivors”.
She emphasized that holding traffickers accountable is paramount in their efforts to sustainably address the crime, admitting they cannot do so without effectively and adequately trained the criminal justice sector. Dyer stressed the need for law enforcement officials, prosecutors and judges to get comprehensive and consistent training on human trafficking, especially in ensuring that they engage victims in a trauma-informed and victim-centred manner.
The two-day conference organised by the government of Sierra Leone and ECOWAS in collaboration with the African Programming and Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES) will end today 26th April 2023.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (26/04/23)
