EAC States Risk Sanctions over Human Trafficking Laxity

Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda face sanctions from the United States for their laxity in dealing with human trafficking in the region. This comes after the countries were grouped among the ‘watch-list states’ in a report released by the U.S State Department last week.

The report reveals that these countries have become notorious sources and destinations for widespread trafficking. It also notes the increasing role of the family members of trafficking victims in facilitating this illicit trade.

In Burundi, friends, family members and neighbours of the victims lure them with promises of employment or education only to recruit them into forced labour. “Sometimes, these people collude with traffickers who force victims with disabilities into street begging activities,” the report states.

  EAC states are not doing enough to stop human trafficking (Photo courtesy of www.sanantonio.gov)

The same scenario plays out in Tanzania where young girls are forced into domestic servitude. Boys have also not been spared as some are forced into sex trade or forced labour at farms, fishing boats or mines.

The State Department Report also notes that sexual exploitation of children is increasing along the Kenya-Tanzania border. “Sex trafficking of girls is also prevalent in tourist areas within the country,” the report reads in part.

In Rwanda, older females entice young girls seeking to better their lives with room and boarding facilities before forcing them into prostitution as payment for their expenses. In some instances, there are loose prostitution networks, which supply other women or clients with young girls. These networks even operate in secondary schools and universities.

“The sex tourism industry at the Kenyan coast has benefited immensely from human trafficking within the country,” the report further reveals. Victims are forced into this trade by beach boys and even their own parents to gain money from tourists frequenting the coastal areas. Other areas that are notorious destinations for human trafficking include miraa cultivation areas in eastern Kenya as well as gold mines in Nyanza.

Sofia Rajab, the project manager-Counter Trafficking in Persons at the CRADLE-Children’s Foundation agrees that the Kenyan government’s efforts to curb trafficking in persons are not enough. “Sometimes the government is lax in protecting victims of human trafficking. For example, it took long to put measures in place for the operation of the Counter Trafficking in Persons Act,” she explains. Ms. Rajab states that it took a lawsuit from CRADLE against the government before the act could be gazetted in October 2012—two years after it had been passed in parliament.

According to U.S. State Department’s report, Middle East countries are common destinations for human trafficking in East Africa. Victims are often subjected to sex slavery and domestic labour exploitation.

Uganda was the only East African country missing from the ‘watch-list countries’ because of the government’s efforts to curtail the illicit trade. Nonetheless, human trafficking is still a major thorn in the flesh for the country.

Licensed employment agencies and security firms in Kampala recruit Ugandans to work as security guards and drivers in the Middle East. Later, these people complain of working under exploitative conditions that are similar to forced labour, such as, withholding of their passports, non-payment of dues and lack of food. Women are forced into prostitution in Malaysia after gaining recruitment as nannies, hotel staff or hair dressers.

What are your thoughts? Should combating human trafficking be a top priority for East Africa?

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Two African Migrants Sue France and Spain for Negligence

Two African migrants have sued the Spanish and French military for their failure to answer their distress calls while stranded in the Mediterranean Sea two years ago. The two were among 72 migrants who were marooned at sea while trying to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Abu Kurke, one of the two complainants, gave an account of the harrowing ordeal, which claimed the lives of 63 people. “We waited for help but it wasn’t forthcoming. People started losing their lives after three days; others fell into the water and couldn’t climb back in,” he narrated.

Kurke, who was fleeing Ethiopia because of political violence, said that a helicopter that had provided them with water and biscuits never returned as its crew had promised. Indeed, The Council of Europe, Europe’s human rights body, conducted an investigation in 2012 that revealed the legal and institutional failures, which led to the incident. 

The indifference of the European military units was a contravention of international maritime law, which requires all vessels at sea, including military units, to offer help and answer distress calls. The units were then engaging in a military operation against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya.

The new complaint comes hot on the heels of the first one, which was thrown out by the prosecutor’s office in Paris after the French military denied responsibility. Enjoined in the second complaint are four civil rights groups including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). It seeks a judicial inquiry into the incident by an investigating judge.

According to the Guardian newspaper, which first exposed the story in 2011, 61 people, including two newborns, died on board the tiny dinghy while two others passed away after the boat ended up in Zlitan, Misrata in Libya. It was carrying 47 Ethiopians, seven Eritreans, seven Nigerians, five Sudanese and six Ghanaians.

Stories of African migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe are not uncommon. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that 58,000 migrants used the route to reach Europe in 2011. The commission cited the Arab uprising as the main reason for the upsurge in migrants, which was the highest figure since 2008. 1, 500 people were not lucky and lost their lives within the same period.

The dangerous journey to Europe usually involves an energy-sapping trek across the Sahara desert where many migrants die from thirst. Crossing the Mediterranean brings with it the risk of drowning as was witnessed in the case of Abu Kurke and his companions. The risk is even greater when the boats are unworthy and are manned by the migrants themselves who may not be experienced in steering the vessels to safety.

Unaccompanied minors and pregnant women are often the most affected by the inhumane conditions, which characterise the journey across the Mediterranean into Europe.  The boats are often too small to accommodate the large number of passengers while basic necessities, such as, food and water are usually inadequate. Rape and beatings are also common occurrences during these harrowing trips.

As if that is not enough tribulation, there is the risk of being shot down by border guards. Simon Cheung, a Libyan-based UNHCR Senior Protection Officer reveals that cases of migrants reaching their destinations with gunshot wounds are common.

Organised criminal groups have been the main beneficiaries of African migrants’ desire to reach their destinations. Taking advantage of the latter’s problems, these groups charge a fee to ferry migrants across the sea into Europe. For example, a trip from West Africa through the Libyan coast en route to Europe costs between $2,000 and $3,000.

Some migrants end up as slaves of the criminals upon reaching their destination where they engage in various dangerous activities to pay off the debts owed to the groups. The fear of deportation to their homeland forces these migrants to toe the line of the criminal groups.

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