Coherent Policies and Stronger Laws to Address Human Trafficking

Ms Mould-Iddrisu (left) at a session on 'Human Trafficking' at the Commonwealth Law Conference held in London, UK, on 14 September 2005.

The globalisation of economies, the facilitation of human movement and the opening of national borders have impacted on human smuggling, said Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat's Legal and Constitutional Development Division, and initiatives are being strengthened at the national, regional and international levels to tackle this growing problem.

Ms Mould-Iddrisu was chairing a session on 'Human Trafficking' at the Commonwealth Law Conference held in London, UK, on 14 September 2005.

"On an annual basis, over 200,000 children in west and central Africa have been trafficked, while more than a million women and children in Asia and other parts of the world have been trafficked by organised criminal gangs for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation," she stated.

Ms Mould-Iddrisu emphasised that the prevention and protection of victims and the prosecution of perpetrators are vital to stop human trafficking.

Lord Slinn of Hadley, who was one of the speakers, said the trafficking of persons, which is defined as the illicit movement of people over national or international borders, including women and children in sexually and economically oppressive and exploitative situations for profit, is in violation of human rights and the rule of law.

"The work of enforcement agencies has become more difficult as barriers to trade and movement of individuals come down. Human smuggling can be dealt with only under international law and through co-operation, so there is an urgent need to harmonise legal frameworks and procedures to be consistent with international law," stated Lord Slinn.

Dr Meena Shivdas, Gender Adviser at the Social Transformation Programmes Division of the Secretariat, said the prevalence of repressive systems involving class, gender and ethnicity, has enabled human trafficking to occur. She noted that women are often trafficked into sex work, domestic or factory work, mail order marriages and sweat shops, while men are trafficked for construction work. Boys and girls are trafficked into work at the circus, brick kilns, hawking and begging, carpet weaving, camel jockeying and for the organ trade for transplants.

Chief Joy Ngozi Ezeile of the University of Nigeria's Law Faculty said growing poverty and low standards of living exacerbated by globalisation, the vulnerability of women, demand for commercial sex, conflict, inadequacy of law and enforcement have enabled human trafficking to thrive. She stated that some Commonwealth countries are part of the global problem either as the source, transit or destination countries, and stressed the need for urgent action to curb this booming business.

"Human trafficking is linked to HIV/AIDS, illicit drugs and the slave trade. There is a need to address the root causes of trafficking. Multilateral, bilateral, regional and national support are required to combat this major problem through a comprehensive, co-ordinated, multi-sectoral and targeted approach," said Chief Ezeile.

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