By Steven Ngauja in Kono
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, has embarked on the establishment of teams of task force across the country as part of implementation of the 2005 Human Trafficking Act.
A total of 13 district task force were set up between September 23 and September 28.
The move, according to officials, is part of the long delayed implementation of the 2005 Human Trafficking Act which was designed to counter the growing menace of human trafficking in the country.
IOM, with an affiliation with the United Nations, is an intergovernmental organization that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
Mangeh Sesay, National Project Officer of IOM, told representatives of institutions working on child protection and migration in Koidu Town on Friday October 25, that the formation of the district level taskforce on human trafficking is part of the next steps following the formation of the national taskforce in 2005, in compliance with the dictates of the Act. He told the gathering that the law has been largely ineffective due to its weakness but also due to the failure to implement its provisions.
Sesay added that the centralized operations of the task force in Freetown rendered it inefficient to achieve the goal of combating human trafficking, which he said gave rise to the need for the amendment of the Act.
According to Mr Sesay, the Act has already been reviewed and it’s in front of parliament for eventual enactment. He said with the amended Act, the fight against human trafficking will be enhanced.
Sesay lamented that since the passing of the 2005 Human Trafficking Act, not even a single individual has been found culpable, even though human trafficking continues in the country.
“The Human Trafficking Act of 2005 has proven to be weak and unable to address the issues of human trafficking in Sierra Leone because since its enactment, not a single person has been arrested or found culpable, even when human trafficking is practically all over the place,” he said.
According to the IOM official, over 100 victims of human trafficking have been repatriated to Sierra Leone from countries including Qatar and Mauritian, where those behind the trafficking ring are believed to be based. He said victims have been subjected to sexual slavery, hard labour and other exploitative experiences.
He also cited the growing trend of cross border and internal trafficking of persons, stressing that a major cause for concern is particularly internal trafficking of mostly vulnerable children and women from rural settings to urban centers.
Internal trafficking is a very common form of migration involving vulnerable girls and boys. Consequently, cities like Koidu are flooded with children of school going age bearing trays on their heads, selling. Many others engage in mining and timber lodging.
“What IOM has discovered is that domestic or internal trafficking is very common in this country, where friends and relatives entice vulnerable counterparts with employment, quality education, better life, which turn out to be deceitful,” he said.
Sesay called on potential migrants to always ensure that they move through legal means by obtaining the appropriate documents. He also suggested that the security apparatus at the porous border points of Sierra Leone be made efficient.
The Koidu session brought together stakeholders, including religious leaders. One of them, Sheikh Abu-Bakr Darameh, Public Relations Officer of the Inter-religious Council in Kono District, who is also a member of the district taskforce, later told Politico that the move of IOM is welcoming. Mr Darameh spoke about the role religious leaders play in encouraging this situation, often as future tellers who promise would-be migrants of success in their desired destination.
“I want to tell IOM, with every respect to the religious leaders, that we as religious leaders must not be left out in this movement because some of us suddenly transform ourselves into future tellers and deceive desperate and frustrated young men and women with claims that indeed they can travel overseas,” Darameh said.
Joseph Kai, district head of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs in Kono, welcomed the collaborative effort of the ministry and IOM.
With his ministry serving as the district coordinator of the task force, assisted by the Office of National Security, Mr Kai promised that there would be success in the fight against human trafficking in the district and the country at large.
© 2019 Politico Online
