AU boss cautions Uganda on human trafficking
Oct 16, 2009
THE African Union (AU) director for Citizen and Diaspora Directorate, Jamni Adisa, has warned Uganda of possible human trafficking.
BY JUDE KAFUUMA
THE African Union (AU) director for Citizen and Diaspora Directorate, Jamni Adisa, has warned Uganda of possible human trafficking.
This follows a recent warning by the US Ambassador to Uganda, Steven Browning, who expressed concern over the pace at which human trafficking was spreading.
Every year, millions of people are trafficked into modern day slavery, secretly transported across borders and sold as commodities. The International Organisation on Migration (IOM) contends that annual global human trafficking is worth between $7b and $12b, making it the third most lucrative criminal activity after narcotics and weapons trade.
The International Labour Organisation estimates 2.5 million people are trafficked and subjected to sexual or labour exploitation.
“With the AU summit coming to Uganda, the Government, should take advantage and be the first to implement the convention that protects refugees, returnees and IDPs,†Adisa said.
The US Trafficking in Persons 2009 report, released on June 17, identified South Africa particularly as a source, transit and destination country for trafficked men, women and children from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
“98% of the trafficking for sexual exploitation affects women and girls, while 56% of trafficking for labour exploitation also affects women more than men,†Gillian Ayango, the regional manager for governance and vulnerable groups at the Panos institute said.
Ayango disclosed that the vast majority of people trafficked across Africa and outside the continent are migrant workers and IDPs seeking to escape poverty and discrimination. “A number of people, especially women and youth, are desperate and looking for a better life more especially when displaced. Once the victim is in South Africa to meet her prospective employer, she is held captive and forced into labour or sex work,†Ayango revealed.
Meanwhile, the AU is set to launch the African Women Decade 2010-2020 in Addis Ababa next January.
“During the launch, a trust fund will be set up to empower the African woman at the grassroots to fight poverty,†said Andsen Tamala, the project coordinator at the AU gender directorate.
THE African Union (AU) director for Citizen and Diaspora Directorate, Jamni Adisa, has warned Uganda of possible human trafficking.
This follows a recent warning by the US Ambassador to Uganda, Steven Browning, who expressed concern over the pace at which human trafficking was spreading.
Every year, millions of people are trafficked into modern day slavery, secretly transported across borders and sold as commodities. The International Organisation on Migration (IOM) contends that annual global human trafficking is worth between $7b and $12b, making it the third most lucrative criminal activity after narcotics and weapons trade.
The International Labour Organisation estimates 2.5 million people are trafficked and subjected to sexual or labour exploitation.
“With the AU summit coming to Uganda, the Government, should take advantage and be the first to implement the convention that protects refugees, returnees and IDPs,†Adisa said.
The US Trafficking in Persons 2009 report, released on June 17, identified South Africa particularly as a source, transit and destination country for trafficked men, women and children from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Eritrea, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
“98% of the trafficking for sexual exploitation affects women and girls, while 56% of trafficking for labour exploitation also affects women more than men,†Gillian Ayango, the regional manager for governance and vulnerable groups at the Panos institute said.
Ayango disclosed that the vast majority of people trafficked across Africa and outside the continent are migrant workers and IDPs seeking to escape poverty and discrimination. “A number of people, especially women and youth, are desperate and looking for a better life more especially when displaced. Once the victim is in South Africa to meet her prospective employer, she is held captive and forced into labour or sex work,†Ayango revealed.
Meanwhile, the AU is set to launch the African Women Decade 2010-2020 in Addis Ababa next January.
“During the launch, a trust fund will be set up to empower the African woman at the grassroots to fight poverty,†said Andsen Tamala, the project coordinator at the AU gender directorate.