31 Jul 2019

United States ambassador, Mr Craig Cloud, says concerted efforts are needed to dismantle the human trafficking challenge.

Speaking at a World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, Mr Cloud challenged all to step up commitment to collaborate with government, to raise awareness about human trafficking; saying community involvement could end the world human trafficking phenomenon.

He said in Botswana, unemployed women, the rural poor and agricultural workers, as well as young children were the most vulnerable to trafficking because they were often lured into a false promise of a better life.

He explained that traffickers exploited victims of modern slavery in every region of the world, who are then compelled into service for labour or commercial sex in the real world of industry and on the internet.

“The enormity of the problem can be daunting,” he added.

Mr Cloud said, in the face of this hard reality, Botswana worked to combat hard trafficking in persons. 

Government supported 15 workshops for front-line responders including child protection and law enforcement officers, district officers as well as border officials.

The ambassador stated that with US support, since 2017, with the latest just earlier this month, Botswana’s judges and magistrates participated in colloquia on Botswana’s 2014 Anti-human Trafficking Act to advance understanding of appropriate sentences for convicted traffickers.

Botswana, he said, also collaborated in a SADC trafficking in persons data collection system, which promoted critical information sharing with regional partners.

He said the police service included a section on human trafficking in its curriculum to educate recruits as well as providing in-service training for officers on the anti-trafficking law, victim identification, and investigation of human trafficking cases.

For his part, Member of Parliament for Ghanzi South, Mr Christiaan De Graff, said Botswana had  31 cases of human trafficking registered at the courts, which is an increase of 15 cases from the previous year.

Mr De Graff said human trafficking crimes were complex, therfeore required extensive resources and commitment to investigate and prepare for adjudication by the courts.

“I therefore think it is commendable that more cases have been detected and we are hopeful that they will be concluded timeously and the requisite restitution afforded to those that have fallen victims to this heinous crime,” he said.

He said for the past two years, government had been implementing a robust multi-pronged anti-human trafficking national action plan, which emphasised key thematic areas of  prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership.

Mr De Graff stated that the 2018 United Nations Global report on trafficking in persons indicates that 49 per cent of victims of human trafficking are women, 21 per cent are men, 23 per cent are girls and seven per cent are boys.

He said it further indicates that of all the women that are trafficked, 83 per cent are trafficked for sexual exploitation and of the male victims, 82 are trafficked for labour exploitation and 10 for sexual exportation.

He said the International labour Organisation (ILO) has reported that 72 per cent of human tracking victims worldwide are trafficked within the borders of their country of origin.

“We are therefore cognizant of the need for us to ensure that we continue to sensitise Batswana on the crime of human trafficking and so with great emphasis on unpacking what human trafficking means in the local context,” he stated.

Mr De Graff said Botswana remains committed to the international legal frame work and national anti-trafficking act to ensure that the crime of human trafficking is detected, and perpetrators are punished.

“We are also alive to the Botswana Sustainable Development Goals Road Map under Goal 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) which proclaims that Botswana will end abuse, exploitation, trafficking, all forms of violence against women and children.

On behalf of the human trafficking prohibition committee, Senior Assistant Commissioner, Mr Moore Gondo of Botswana Police Service explained that the human trafficking committee, which comprises of strategic key partners plays a pivotal role to combat human trafficking.

Mr Gondo stated that one of the key strategies in the fight against human trafficking is ensuring that members of the public are fully informed about the manner in which the crime is perpetrated, adding that the tricks and deception or means that are used by criminals to first recruit victims and finally keep them in a state of continual exploitation must be understood by the public.

In his vote of thanks remarks, Ghanzi East Sub-district Council chairperson Mr Dichaba Thupe said there was need to heed the message of joining government in the fight against trafficking in persons.

 

He said all should work harder to prevent trafficking in persons as well as assist government to protect its citizens from becoming victims. Ends