I must say that children and women trafficking in Africa is very complex. This reality goes beyond the abuse of traditional deployments or labour migration. It represents a major paradox of our time especially for children; where our society agrees that children are the most valuable natural resource, yet they are being plundered through exploitative labour and trafficking; where adults agree that children should be given first priority but most economic and political decisions are made without childhood in mind; and where most families believe those children must be given the best start in life, but children are at a greater risk for poverty than any other societal group.
-Dr. Rima Salah

Isn’t it ironic that despite the existence of legislations such as the Children’s Act, 1998 and the Human Trafficking Act, 2005, and Ghana having ratified the ILO’s Convention 182, the convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, back in the year 2000, child labour (even in its worst forms) is still widespread in Ghana. Child labour still constitutes one of the major social problems facing the nation.

The Worst Forms of Child Labour as the name implies refers to those activities that expose children to serious hazards and affect their total development. These forms of labour include activities such as Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM), stone quarrying, fishing, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic and ritual servitude. 

Most research documents and observations perceived that some of the children engaged in the Worst Forms of Child Labour are as young as six years old. The problem is multifaceted. While some of these children are forced into these forms of work by people, others are compelled by circumstances such as poor parental care and inadequate extended family protection amongst other things. 

In famed gold mining areas such as Obuasi and Tarkwa, and in places as obscure as the villages surrounding the Bosomtwi, artisanal mining, mostly involving children, goes on.

In Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM), which can also be referred to as subsistence mining, children are exposed to so many hazards. ASM in itself is not illegal. However, there are those who have breached the laws and are operating without license, thus illegally, in the ASM sector (i.e. “galamseyers”). Notably, it is among the “galamseyers” that children are often engaged in mining operations. This is a point well noted by Gavin Hilson of the University of Reading, UK in a study bordering on the eradication of child labour in the ASM sector in the Upper East Region. 

Though often working with adults in the same fields, children are more vulnerable and at greater risk because of their immature bodies. There is constant exposure to toxic chemicals which are likely to have serious effects on their health. The prolonged exposure to the chemicals used increases the risk of them getting diseases like cancer. 
The tools used in mining which are usually designed for use by adults, and the crude methods often employed by the “galamseyers”, pose a great danger to the children. Activities such as heavy poterage and standing for long hours also tend to have adverse effects on the children. Mention can be made of osteo-muscular aches. 
Children in Artisanal and Small-scale mining just like their counterparts in “stone quarrying” are prone to suffering from lung and other respiratory infections due to the constant inhalation of dust and stone particles. This, in part, is due to the fact that rarely are they provided with the safety gears these kinds of activities require. Also, the unsanitary conditions, and even the lack of access to adequate healthcare in the event of contingencies all form part of the hazards children are exposed to. 

Poverty is often cited as the reason why they engage children in these activities. It is true that most of these forms of labour are symptomatic of the fundamental problem of poverty. The question however is that, is the excuse of poverty enough reason for children to be pushed into these activities? 

Also, for those children who engage in these forms of labour “willingly”, one wonders if nothing can’t be done by way of presenting them with more humane and reasonable alternatives other than literally watching them “throw” their lives away? 

Where are their parents and the family relations? Where are the Social Welfare Officers? Where are all the institutions tasked with seeing to the wellbeing of these children?

What has being the end of the legislations made to enhance the growth and development of the child?

There is the blatant flouting of many of the legislations and provisions meant to enhance the wellbeing of these children. One such provision is the one on the involvement of children in night work. Section 88 of the Children’s Act, the Prohibition of Child Labour at Night, states that no person shall engage a child in night work. Night work according to the Act comprises work between the hours of eight o'clock in the evening (8pm) and six o'clock in the morning (6am). 

As late as nine o’clock in the evening (9 pm) children can be seen engaging in labour activities that include hawking and serving as “mates” (conductors) for drivers. These bring to the fore common instances of laxity in the enforcement of the law. At some Police barriers, drivers with under aged boys serving as mates (conductors) freely drive through without being apprehended.

The truth remains that these children are often seen as economic reserves from which much can be gained by trickery or by force with, apparently, very little regard for their wellbeing. There may be social and economic benefits that may result from these activities, but no reason is good enough to justify the hazards these children are exposed to.

We should not lose sight of the physical, psychological and traumatic effects of these acts on the children. This often tends to promote acts of delinquency. Sometimes in seeking an escape from the toil and abuse some end up doing drugs, others resort to acts of thuggery and even robbery. Thus the initial problem of poverty is further aggravated.

In an interview with the West Africa Regional Coordinator of Free The Slaves (FTS), Mr Emmanuel Otoo, he intimated that it is important for the various organizations dealing with issues related to the welfare of the child to form strong social movements and networks to work towards the protection of the best interest of the child at all times. 

In highlighting other dimensions of the problem of “modern” slavery, touching on the issues of trafficking, forced adult labour and debt bondage, he stressed the need for further full scale studies into such cases to ascertain the nature, scope and dimensions, so that resources can be harnessed for its progressive and sustainable elimination. 

He stressed that law enforcement must be taken very serious and duty bearers at all levels must be well informed, trained and adequately resourced to deliver effectively to ensure the child is sufficiently protected.

He further stated that there is the need for NGOs working in this area to focus on effective participatory methods towards strengthening the capacity of communities to become resilient to child labour and trafficking. There is the need for communities to be empowered and trained so that on their own they will appreciate the dangers and the evils of slavery and child labour and say no to all forms of modern day slavery, no to trafficking and no to child labour in any form. 

A significant number of children are suffering from so many ills including deaths as a result of illegal and unacceptable activities such as fishing, illegal surface gold mining, domestic servitude, “stone quarrying”, and commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, debt bondage and contemporary slavery. There is the need for them to be saved, and the time to act is now. 

NEW DELHI: US-based clothing and accessories retailer GAP Inc plans to increase its sourcing requirements of textiles and clothing from India in 

the near future. The retail chain headquartered in San Francisco imports products worth a billion dollars annually from Indian manufacturers. 

In an open statement, Stan Raggio, Gap Inc’s senior vice president of international outsourcing, said, “We will continue to source from India. We work closely with many stakeholders and receive valuable and important help from the local NGO community that assists our ongoing effort to ensure that our products are manufactured in a socially-responsible way. Our efforts in this important area will continue.” 

This statement came after minister of state for labour and employment Harish Rawat said in a written reply to Lok Sabha that GAP has banned the import of Indian textile and clothing on the pretext of Indian units employing child labour. 

Terming the statement in Parliament as factually incorrect, AEPC chairman Rakesh Vaid said that such statements may harm Indian garment exports, which are already under stress due to global economic slowdown and have shown declining trends in the past ten months. 

The industry has taken positive steps such as external social audits, collaboration with local administration, non-governmental organisations and social activists, concerted action in child labour prone districts, examination of supply chain to ensure that exporters, suppliers and subcontractors conform to child labour laws, he added.

Malawi NGOs suspect prostitution will thrive at South Africa 2010

As the countdown to the 2010 FIFA world cup finals, holding in South Africa, begins, Malawi has stepped up efforts to curb human trafficking which could lead to prostitution.

Anti-human trafficking activists have the Malawi Network Against Child Trafficking (M-Nact), whose aims are to investigate, report and raise awareness on human trafficking ahead of the soccer fiesta.

The activists are afraid that Malawi's enormous social and economic problems could spark an exodus of Malawians towards South Africa which will host the biggest soccer event in the world in June 2010.

According to data released on Wednesday by M-nact, over 1,500 men, women and children in Malawi are trafficked for sexual and labour exploitations as well as organ removal every year.

Maxwell Matewere, a member of the network, warned that the football bonanza was poised to boost the leisure and tourism industries that may in turn spur human trafficking.

"There is already talk in South Africa to legalize prostitution," he said, adding: "This means poor Malawians will be enticed into such seemingly lucrative business."

Matewere, who is also the Executive Director of Eye of the Child - a child rights NGO, said it was necessary that the media acted with urgency to sensitize the masses of the negative implications of the World Cup frenzy on Malawians.

Naile Salima, a gender advisor with the British charity Oxfam Malawi, said reports reaching M-Nact indicated that traffickers were already recruiting people in central highland district of Dedza and the lakeshore resort district of Mangochi.

"The media have a role to educate the public on how to prevent human trafficking," she said.

The coordinator of the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) for the Prevention of trafficking in women and children, Habiba Osman, urged NGOs to be proactive in preventing recruitnment, transportation and exploitation of potential victims.

"Malawi has enacted a Trafficking Bill which, unlike before, lays emphasis on prison terms for offenders in preference to fines which are easily paid by convicted persons," she said.

"There is urgent need to educate the people, teach them life-saving skills and empower vulnerable children, youths and families economically," she added.

M-nact plans to set up social services to reintegrate victims when they return to the country.

New Delhi, Jul 9 The National Commission for Protection of ChildRights(NCPCR) today suggested before the Delhi High Court that the employer of child labour should be punished with imposition of fine of Rs 20,000.

Submitting a composite scheme for abolition of child labour in the national capital territory, the Commission told the Division Bench ofChief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan that the employer of the child labour should be fined with Rs 20,000.

According the proposed scheme, a steering committee should be set up in each district in which the Deputy Labour Commissioner, district-level Health Officer, the concerned area DCP along with one representative from MCD would be the members of the committee.

The committee will set up a team to identify child labour in the area and rescue and rehabilitate them as per the scheme.
The Committee will provide education to the rescued children of any age group and later allow them, it added.
Accepting the draft scheme of NCPCR, the Division Bench said it would pass a detailed order after approving the scheme.

The Court was hearing a PIL filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan seeking its direction to take appropriate steps to abolish child labour in the city.

One of the victims of child trafficking, named Ping, has told the Guardian her story. Robert Booth says there's increasing pressure on the government to stop child trafficking.

Tania Branigan reports from Urumqi, in China's Xinjiang province, where fresh violence erupted yesterday amid worsening tensions between the Han Chinese and Uighur communities.

Michael Jackson was laid to rest yesterday. His memorial service was watched by millions of fans across the world. Oliver Burkeman was charting developments on his live blog.

Marwa al-Sherbini, 32, who was four months pregnant, was stabbed to death in a Dresden courtroom in front of her young son. Her husband attempted to intervene and was shot by a security official. As Kate Connolly reports, al-Sherbini's murder has sparked outrage in her home country, Egypt, where protesters accuse German authorities of complacency over racism.

Caroline Davis attends the unveiling of a memorial in London's Hyde Park to the 52 victims of the 7 July 2005 suicide bombings

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/audio/2009/jul/08/guardian-daily-podcast

Hope on horizon? IT firm HCL Technologies along with the Chennai Corporation and ChildLine are trying to identify and rescue child labourers. The scene at a mechanic’s shop in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: Information Technology company HCL Technologies has come forward to help the Chennai Corporation and ChildLine identify children who are employed as labourers and warn their parents and employers.

The drive, introduced as a corporate social responsibility initiative, was launched on July 4. Six HCL volunteers, two staff members from ChildLine and three field staff from the National Child Labour Programme (NCLP) have rehabilitated a few children. Each case is first brought up by employees from among the 20 centres of HCL in Chennai, who send in details of the child — his or her age, description of the work done and the location.

The company tabulates the data and its volunteers, along with the field staff, warn the employers, or admit the child labourers to a Corporation-run school.

“The first Saturday of every month is earmarked for this initiative, called ‘child rescue and rehabilitation.’ It will be an ongoing project where we may increase the frequency depending on the number of volunteers,” says A.S.M. Porres, regional head (community service council), HCL Technologies. So far, 100 associates have volunteered for the drive.
Mercy Joy Joshua, project director, NCLP, says it was the first time they have a corporate house helping them curb child labour.

“In a case in Mylapore, we warned the employer and made him give in writing that he will never employ a child again. In another case, a child working in a sweetmeat shop was admitted to the Indian Council for Child Welfare facility in Shenoy Nagar,” says the project director.

Speaking to HinduThe, Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said: “Helping us identify cases will enable us pursue the issue better. We encourage corporates to help us in our initiatives as this will go a great way in making the city a better place.”

WHILE HRD minister Kapil Sibal’s 100-day plan has drawn mixed reactions — we need to congratulate him on taking such bold steps as scrapping of class X board exams and suggesting the setting-up of an accreditation board to rate schools. The minister’s promise to also enact the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, which seeks to make education a fundamental right of every child in the age group of six to 14 years, however, needs deep consideration. In its present avatar the Bill suffers from major anomalies which must be given due consideration, before its enactment. Some major flaws are: 

• Children in the age group 0-6 years not covered 

The Supreme Court’s historic Unnikrishnan judgment in 1993, gave all children up to 14 years of age a Fundamental Right to Education. The court contended that the Fundamental Right to Life (Article 21) of the Constitution should be read in ‘harmonious construction’ with the Directive in Article 45 to provide free and compulsory education to children of 0-14 years, including those below six years of age. However, the 86 th Constitutional Amendment Act, Article 21A, limited the fundamental right to education to 6-14 years and this Act will further this huge mistake by not recognising the importance of the early years. This is in contradiction to India’s own commitment at the Jomtien Conference (1990), acknowledging expansion of early childhood care and development activities as an integral part of the ‘Education for All’ objectives. Globally, recognition exists that the early years are the most critical years for lifelong development. This recognition comes from various quarters, including evidence from brain research that ‘...neurological and biological pathways that affect health, learning and behaviour throughout life, are set in the early years...’ (Mustard, 2007). Research has noted that neglect during the early years can often result in irreversible reduction in the full development of the brain’s potential. On the other hand, research the world over has underlined the short and long term benefits of good quality early childhood care and development programming especially in contexts of deprivation, leading to improvement in children’s health, cognitive ability and performance at school. 

How can a Bill be enacted six decades after Independence and make this major error? India cannot afford to deprive its youngest 16-crore population of a right to nutrition, health and early childhood education as enshrined in the Convention of the Rights of Children, to which India is a signatory. By not including 0-6 years in the Bill, the country is also furthering gender discrimination, since it is always the girl who is left to take care of the younger siblings, thus, depriving her of her right to education. 

• Bill does not promote a common school system and legitimises inequality through a multi-layered system 

The Bill mentions in Chapter III 6(1) that it will be the responsibility of the state to provide free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school within a period of three years from the commencement of the Bill. With the MDG goals set for 2015, India cannot afford to wait this long and it should be enforced in a maximum of two years by the states. 

While 6(4) and(5) espouse that children should be given an equitable education as enshrined in the Constitution and economic, social, cultural, linguistic, locational, disability related barriers should not prevent a child from participating in and completing their education — there are no provisions to create an equitable infrastructure required for this task. Unless a common school system that encompasses all government, private and aided/unaided schools is envisaged with effective monitoring mechanisms to ensure quality of education, the Bill will not be able to meet its obligations. Also, the inequitable system of education within the government, eg Kendriya Vidyalayas, XI th Plan’s 6,000 model schools or the state governments’ Pratibha Vidyalayas (Delhi), Utkrishta Vidyalayas (Madhya Pradesh) or residential schools (Andhra Pradesh) — being allocated special funds needs to be investigated and equal funds made available to all existing schools to develop a common minimum standard. A schedule of norms for quality is missing from this Bill and must be given due importance. 

Also, the Bill must strive to work against creating a parallel and discriminatory system of alternative, non-formal education, into which are enrolled children from most disadvantageous circumstances, eg street and working children, children with disabilities, etc. The Bill must be categorical in making schools flexible and ready for providing education for diverse needs of children — why should a ‘one-size-fits-all’ system persist for education. 

• Teachers 

The Bill continues to propogate discrimination against government school children as their teachers will still be deployed for census, elections and disaster relief duties(Chapter IV, 23). This is a complete abrogation of rights of children, particularly in times of disasters, when they are in urgent need of education to provide them a routine and ‘normalisation’. Moreover, the shutting down of schools during emergencies and disasters is a strong correlate to trafficking and ‘missing’ children. 

• Equitable quality of education 

RTE bill includes ‘provision of equitable quality of education’ as one of its objectives, but fails to define the term ‘equitable’ unequivocally. The term ‘equitable’ quality should refer to fulfilling certain minimum infrastructure, administrative (including those relating to teachers, library), financial, curricular, pedagogic, linguistic and socio-cultural norms. The Bill specifies norms for physical infrastructure (number of rooms, teachers, toilets, etc) but does not outline expectations on learning outcomes. Some of the mandates like ‘A child cannot be held back in any grade or expelled from a school till class 8 th ,” emphasise a no-detention policy, but makes no mention of the learning levels of children. In light of current learning levels as indicated in ASER Report (2009), the Bill must have provisions for a database to capture learning levels of children, with a special emphasis on first generation learners. 

• Child Labour 

Though the Bill prohibits any person from preventing a child from participating in elementary education, it does not adequately address the issue of child labour. The Bill refers to the Child Labour (prohibition and regulation) Act, 1986 (number 61 of 1986), and emphasises that no person shall employ or otherwise engage a child in a manner that renders her a working child. However, the Bill ignores the reality of majority of poor children who are employed in agriculture and who bear the burden of housework and sibling care. The Bill needs to categorically state that all forms of employment and engagement, which hinders the development of the child, should be banned and made a cognisable offence. 

• Children with disabilities 

The Bill says children with ‘severe or profound disability, (who) cannot be provided elementary education in a neighbourhood school, shall have the right to be provided education in an appropriate alternative environment as may be prescribed.’ This is against the principle of ‘inclusion’ and does not put the onus on the education system to meet individual needs of children. Whereas, the Bill has detailed the norms required of a school (teacher-pupil ratio, buildings etc), it is silent on the facilities needed to enable children with disabilities to attend school (such as ramps, Braille readers, etc). In this Bill, ‘disability’ has the meaning assigned by the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, which does not include such other disabilities as defined by the National Trust Act, 1999 (autism and cerebral palsy). 

While the enactment of a law making Right to Education a Fundamental Right has become necessary since the goal of universal elementary education has remained elusive despite being a Directive Principle for more than five decades, it is important that the Bill finds remedies for all the above glaring lacunae. 

The National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters {NAPTIP}, recently convicted three human traffickers. The traffickers, which include Jonah Osaarimwan, 25, Patience Aisomwan, 30, and Helen Aisomwan were sentenced to two years imprisonment without an option of fine. 

While Patience and Helen Aisomwan were sentenced to one-year imprisonment each for their role in the procurement of 17 young girls to a human trafficker, Gladys Joy Okonta, 30, for trafficking abroad. Both sentences are without an option of fine.

In the case of Okonta who is standing trial on charges of procurement and organising foreign travels for 17 young girls, which promotes exploitative sex trade, Justice Okeke reserved judgment for July 28 2009.  Delivering the judgment, Justice Okeke reiterated the stand of the court as the last hope for justice for victims of human trafficking, as she insisted that the accused person's plea of guilt does not mitigate the offence as preferred against them.
The Executive Secretary of NAPTIP, Simon Chuzi Egede, a lawyer, said the judgment is a strong statement in the condemnation of the crime of trafficking and a complete support of the judiciary arm to finally rid the nation of the crime. He said human trafficking is a sad commentary due to collapse of family values as it has become a family business, judging that the two female traffickers were from the same family who showed lack of respect for their own family as well as to life of the young and vulnerable ones.

Egede told THISDAY in Abuja recently that NAPTIP has been and will always be a trafficker's worst nightmare. He stated that the rate at which the courts are prosecuting these cases and securing convictions clearly shows a strong level of collaboration among “our partners and stakeholders. This conviction brings to 14 of the number of convictions secured by Sokoto Zonal Office of NAPTIP and 57 of the number of traffickers brought to justice by the agency since inception.”

The Executive Secretary said the human traffickers who think that with the change in the leadership of the organisation would slow the campaign against the illicit business should better have a rethink because he has resolved to haunt them wherever they are. Egede who assumed duty as the boss of the organisation few months ago, while basking in the latest conviction by the courts however explained some of the challenge in the campaign against human trafficking.

“As you are very much aware, NAPTIP is a law enforcement agency and as with other law enforcement agencies, we deal with the crime of trafficking in persons and the major challenge that one would allude to would be the nature of the crime. The traffickers themselves are very much organised. They go into the villages and every nook and cranny of the country and lure the vulnerable children and women with false messages, coercion and all sorts of false presentations. 

“The victims themselves do not know what they are getting into. Most times, they buy what these people feed them with and then begin to dream of the financial wealth that would come out of these foreign trips. So the major challenge is even when they are apprehended, the victims are not ready to tell us all about the perpetrators of these evil trips. The more dangerous aspect of it is the fact that many of them are taken to the shrines and other institutions where oath of secrecy is administered on them,” he said.  On the other hand, he said some of the victims are threatened with death if they should reveal the identity of the traffickers. So it becomes very difficult for them to tell the story that would enable the agency apprehend a full time trafficker.  Again the Act, like all other laws is a public document which people are aware of, but there is the challenge where people are not able to accept or reconcile themselves with the provision of the Act vis-à-vis the cultural belief of the people. 

For instance, Egede noted that the area of internal trafficking- the syndrome of housewife and house girl, culturally is part of the society where a boy serves a master or a man brings his uncle's or aunt's daughter to take care of his children. Also, a businessman brings a young girl or boy to be an apprentice and all that. These, he said, are the areas the agency wants to reconcile between cultural practices and the law, because it is realised that children and their parents were actually being exploited.  

He said, “You bring somebody from the village and he/she lives with you, does not earn any money or go to school as he or she should while your own children are going to school. The people in the village believe that the children are living better lives over there in the city but the world knew and we have all come to agree that this is exploitation and child labour which must not continue. Some times, we have inadequate financial cooperation in the area of investigation and deportation of traffickers in destination countries.” 

According to investigation, a lot of Nigerians are trafficked into some North African countries where they are promised a passage to Europe as most of the trafficking is perpetrated across the land boarders in the Northern part of the country. Despite the efforts of the men and officers of the Nigerian Immigration and Police, because of the massive land boarder of the country, it is not possible to mount check points on every major road, so traffickers still find other illegal routes out of the country. Having succeeded in leaving the country, they go through other hideouts and camp in Niger, Libya and Morocco, en-route to Europe, hence the concentration of many Nigerian victims in those countries. 
Efforts have been made in the past; including NAPTIP officials in collaboration with other agencies in the country to have these stranded illegal immigrants deported. “Indeed, I would want to say that these countries take the menace very seriously. In Libya for instance, where official information is received, it is treated very promptly and these illegal immigrants are handed over to the police and are deported immediately. But as with other trans-national criminal organisations, traffickers have huge financial outlay at their disposal to influence concerned authorities in these countries and do all that it takes to avoid   being caught up by the law,” Egede said.  

The NAPTIP boss further told THISDAY that he is aware of the sophistication the traffickers are devising to carry out their illegal businesses. He however said that his agency is always ready to combat such acts. “It is true that their antics are becoming more and more sophisticated. But we have also been able to collaborate with several international organisations as well as adopt a national plan of action, which has been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and adopted by ECOWAS Council of Ministers.

“This kind of action is a comprehensive document which encompasses all strategies to deal with these problems. We have opened a new office in Maiduguri, which makes it three within the northern part of the country. The essence is to have operatives in those zonal offices that can easily be mobilised to the boarders to check trafficking and to apprehend traffickers. Again with the support of some European countries, we have developed several software and material. We have some materials that when traffickers are arrested and apprehended, their handset can be taken to our computer and all calls and messages within a period of time can be monitored and accessed. 

“This is a very good technical assistant that we have received and only last month, the Italian government also donated another modern equipment (software) where we can also intercept some of these people within a particular area and our investigators would be able to follow the trend in trafficking and communication and other gathering of information would become easier and effective. So we thank the governments of those countries and our sponsors for being able to equip us in the most modern technology in this fight and I dare say we are one of the first that is being equipped with these technologies. We are very well equipped and focused on the fight and I believe our officers are equal to the task too,” the NAPTIP boss said.

He said the fight is in two forms: internally and within the boarders. The internal trafficking, he pointed out, gives a bit of headache because it has been very much entrenched in the cultural values. For instance, Egede mentioned the case of child begging in some parts of the country. Another difficult area is where 'madams' who run restaurants and beer palours recruit these young hands to help out in the running of such place, but unfortunately, many of them eventually turns out to become prostitutes under the supervision of their 'madam.'

He said these young girls are given away to their customers after they have patronised the restaurant. If NAPTIP want to intervene, the girls would not tell the real story as they leave in fear of being returned to the villages and so they are prepared to obey the instructions of the people who have brought them to the cities. While on the other hand, young able bodied men are moved to cocoa farms in the western part of the country where they do hard labour without worthwhile remuneration. 

“All these lie in our tradition where unsuspecting parents back home entrust their children and wards to these people who promise to give them better lives, not knowing that they are used for forced labour. These are the issues we are facing and we believe that the main focus should be public enlightenment so that we inform parents the intention of those that take their children and promise them better lives but turn out not to be true.

In that regard, Egede said all its zonal offices have been provided with some form of sensitization materials to inform the people about the trade so that they can devise means to reject juicy but fake promises of the traffickers. He believes that when people are aware of the real intentions of the traffickers, they would become less vulnerable.
He said “we are pleased to inform that the United States government has undertaken a project on public awareness, they have voted a very large sum of money for it and they are bringing an officer from Washington for this purpose. We believe that by the time it takes off more people will be aware of the evil of human trafficking and then prepare themselves against the traffickers and their antics.  We have also been in touch with Wale Adenuga Productions (WAP) for the production of a television drama series. If we have money to execute this, it will be very successful because over 50 million Nigerians would watch the programme. 

All these to Egede are testimonies that the organisation is making progress in the fight against human trafficking. “We are indeed making good progress; the statistics are very clear as we have stepped up our prosecution of the traffickers. I am pleased to report that recently, within one week we have had nine convictions. These people have been sentenced to jail terms without options of fine. We believe that these will give a clear message and signal to the traffickers that it cannot be business as usual. Again we have rehabilitated over 3,000 victims, and some of them were trained in various vocations.

“We are also supporting the rescued victims with finance to enable them establish small businesses. Many of them have made progress and are now useful to the society.  We have also raised a very high level of awareness, traveled around the country and worked with Nigerian communities in various countries to see how they would come in to assist in the rehabilitation of the victims.  So we have made a lot of progress in the spate of five years; we have also established various offices and accommodations in various parts of the country,” the executive secretary stated.

The organisation, he stressed, has been making so much progress that it was not surprised that the United Nation during its 2009 annual global report on trafficking in persons, Nigeria was elevated from tier two to tier one. Tier one meaning that it is the highest level of classification and through the hard work of his predecessor, Chief Mrs. Carol Ndaguba and the team she put in place, the agency has been able to achieve this feat in just five years. However, he believes with more vigour and determination, NAPTIP would sustain its status in tier one.

The elevation to tier one by the US Government definition, Egede said, is that the Nigerian government now fully complies with all efforts to eradiate trafficking in persons. That is to say that the country has put in place all necessary machineries, while government has shown that it is prepared to stop the menace by giving financial and all manner of support to ensure that trafficking in persons is eradicated. 

“So to that extent, it shows that we have reached the level where the world is satisfied that we are doing what it takes to battle the traffickers. We have reached the level where the traffickers themselves would begin to feel that they are up against the law of the nation and that is very important. Again, it is very important because we are now in a position where we can get the maximum support and cooperation for their efforts,” a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Benue State said.

He emphasised that the conviction of the 13 traffickers recently would send a clear signal to traffickers that the road is now tough and it is not business as usual. He commended the Nigerian Police, Immigration Service and the Judiciary for a job well done. “As you know, ours is a small agency and we rely very much on the collaborative action of these agencies. Most of the arrests that are made are by the police and immigration services.  I must say that the judiciary has helped us so well because each case taken to court are held by very reputable judges and emphasis is not on option of fines, but jail terms. We are happy that the judiciary is living up to expectation and is also giving the maximum sentences and jail terms to the convicts,” Egede said with a sense of fulfillment. Consequently, THISDAY investigation showed that the National Assembly has aided the work of the agency by giving it a comprehensive law to guide its operations. The Act itself has provision for assets confiscation and sales, and use proceeds for the benefit of victims. It is established under the board headed by the Attorney General of the Federation. Once conviction is secured and assets of the trafficker connected with the crimes are traced and identified, NAPTIP goes back to the court with a motion for orders of the court to enable it have them confiscated and sold. 

Once the Court grants this, the movable and immoveable assets are sold and the proceeds are paid into the Victims of Trafficking Trust Funds. The agency however, has not succeeded so much in assets confiscation and sales because it does not have the technical knowledge and most of the traffickers as with other criminal organisations are based mainly in Europe, while those arrested in Nigeria are mere agents. 

However, two of the convictions NAPTIP secured recently involved the prosecution of a proprietor of a brothel in Lagos. Those are the rare cases where it actually apprehended the core people in the business that kept young girls and exploit daily. The agency has secured his conviction and the next thing the agency said it will do is to apply to the court to have the brothel confiscated and sold and proceeds paid into the coffers of the Trafficking Trust Fund. 
To seriously tackle or fight human trafficking, there is a need to look critically on what the law says about house helps because all these areas are captured in the NAPTIP Act. Egede said if a girl of about 25 to 30 years old who chose to go into prostitution as a profession, that is her choice. “Here we are talking of children who are not matured and cannot decide for themselves and are being lured into these places and then exploited. 

“The Child Right Act is very clear that a child of that certain age should be in school. So all we are now trying to do in collaboration with the state is to sensitise them to implement the child right act and the states that have not implemented them, we are urging them to adopt them. Once this Child Right Act is put together, you won't have young girls and boys that are being used as hawkers and street vendors. This is a challenge that we are all determined to face,” he emphasised. 

Though he added that poverty and economic backwardness is part of the problem, but he quickly argued that it is not all of it that is economic. For example, he said Edo State is in the forefront of human trafficking and most of the people apprehended are from that state, despite a lot of campaign in those areas. 

Again, he insisted that poverty is a major factor that lures people into the hands of the traffickers, but maintained that it is not an excuse that should be encouraged. He, therefore, warned prospective traffickers that NAPTIP like never before has been strategically positioned to go after them. “We will snuff them out from wherever they are,” Egede said. 

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Labour Watch has drawn the attention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to the “extremely high” prevalence of child labour in the desert State and the lack of effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, as well as the laws against child trafficking and child marriages.

A delegation of the Labour Watch met the Commission’s Member, Deepa Dikshit, during her visit here over the week-end and demanded a complete ban on child labour and effective steps for protection of children’s rights through the establishment of task forces in each district.

Labour Watch convenor Govind Beniwal pointed out that the figures released by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) after its 61st round recently had put 34.88 lakh children between 5 and 14 years in Rajasthan in the child labour pool.

“A staggering 22.8 per cent of children in this age group in the State are labourers,” he said.

The delegation called upon the Commission to recommend an increase in the age of children to 18 years for their inclusion in the child labour category and exert pressure on the Union Government to augment budgetary allocations for children.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/06/stories/2009070655400700.htm