Government commits to fighting human trafficking

At the commemoration of World Day Against Trafficking in Person held on Sunday, July 20, 2023, at Kabira Country Club in Kampala, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Gen. Kahinda Otafiire, stated that the Government is committed to eliminating human trafficking and thus asked other stakeholders to work closely with them for a successful implementation.

"We must not leave any citizen behind; instead, we must strengthen our efforts through collaboration." We thank both local and international partners for their assistance in combating human trafficking and raising community awareness." Lt. Gen. Joseph Musanyufu (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Internal Affairs) read Gen. Otafiire's message.

He said that human trafficking is a global issue that cannot be addressed on an individual basis, necessitating a collaborative approach.

"Uganda has porous borders, with 2698 kilometres of borderline with five different countries, but immigration has only 67 points." As a result, overcoming the vice presents a new obstacle."

The Chairperson Board of the Civil Society Coalition Against Trafficking in Persons, Dr. Annette Kirabira, reported that Uganda has made progress in combating this practise in recent years, with increased efforts towards investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases, an increased conviction rate of traffickers, with one of the offenders sentenced to life imprisonment, the suspension of labour recruitment companies involved in dubious dealings, and increased capacity.

According to the National Report on Counter-Trafficking 2022, a total of 1200 incidents of trafficking were registered, with 55.7% of adults and 44.3% of children involved. Domestic trafficking accounted for 89.3 percent of all instances, while international trafficking accounted for 10.7%.

She also urged stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy to combat human trafficking, in addition to having all law enforcement agencies enforce the laws in place and protect and assist victims.

According to Rachel Bikhole, Director of Public Prosecutions, the country recorded the highest conviction rate since the Prevention of Trafficking Act was enacted in 2009. The overall number of convictions in 2022 was 73, up from 30 in 2021.

"Trafficking is a serious crime with far-reaching consequences for the community. Many examples in Uganda receive media attention after being shared on social media, but many others go unseen in many families," she said.

Police Commissioner Julius Twinomujuni, the National Coordinator in the Coordination Office for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (COPTIP) at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, revealed that many youth are trafficked after being duped of job opportunities and thus urged people not to hire young people without conducting any background checks from their places of origin.

The subject of this year's events was "Reach every victim of trafficking, leave nobody behind." The civil society coalition against human trafficking and its allies organised the event.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Uganda, represented by Chief of Mission Sanusi Tejan Savage, handed over the National Trafficking in Persons Database to the Ugandan government at the celebration event.