Search
  1. Home
  2. Africa
  3. Southern Africa

Ministers act against human trafficking

    DAR ES SALAAM

    Home Affairs ministers from southern African countries on Friday ordered law enforcers in the region to intensify measures against human trafficking.

    In a statement issued at the end of their two-day meeting at a beach resort in Zanzibar, Tanzania, the ministers instructed police chiefs in the region to investigate the trafficking of humans within Africa and abroad, and said police in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries should cooperate in bringing to justice the individuals and gangs behind the phenomenon.

    "Ministers of Home Affairs from southern Africa have vowed to remove any obstacles facing law enforcers in the fight against human trafficking," said the statement.

    The ministers met under the auspices of the Southern African Police Chiefs Co-operation Organisation.

    Tanzanian Home Affairs Minister Omari Mapuri, the current chair of SADC home affairs ministers, expressed concern at "increasing levels in the trafficking of humans from Africa to other continents".

    According to the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM), South Africa is the regional centre of an intricate trafficking network that recruits women and children from Mozambique, Angola, Malawi, Eastern Europe, Thailand and China.

    IOM's Jonathan Martens told an anti-human trafficking conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, in June that trafficking in the region was conducted by four broad groups - organised crime, businesswomen, sex tourists and refugees.

    The ministers also pledged to review legislation in their respective countries to ease the transfer of evidence for criminal prosecution of suspects.

    For more details: South Africa regional centre for human trafficking

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join