Human trafficking is the illegal movement or coercion of people for exploitation mainly through forced labor or sexual exploitation using force, fraud or coercion. It includes types such as sex trafficking, forced labor and debt bondage. United Nations Office for Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) estimates that 50% of victims were trafficked into sexual exploitation, 38% for forced labor, 67% of people trafficked for sexual exploitation are women, 67% of people investigated or arrested for trafficking in persons are men and 33% women and 46% of trafficking victims are women, 34% are children and 20% are men.[1] Sex trafficking accounts for nearly 80% of trafficking cases worldwide while forced labor and debt bondage both involve involuntary servitude or modern-day slavery. Debt bond is a form where people are lure abroad with promises of jobs but are trapped through growing debts and confiscation of document.[2]
Human trafficking in Uganda commonly occurs through travel companies that recruit financially vulnerable individuals and send them to countries such United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan for exploitative labor. Upon arrival, victims are often deprived of their identification documents, leaving them at the mercy of their employers who subject them to abuse and in extreme cases organ removal. A Daily Monitor story, “Ugandans fly to death in hunt for jobs abroad” highlights the case of Judith Nakintu, who travelled to Saudi Arabia seeking a better life but later woke up in hospital with her kidney removed.[3] Traffickers use methods like violence, deception and targetting vulnerable groups who cannot easily seek help. In Uganda, cases also involve abuse of authority such as headmaster who exploited young boys under the guise of offering scholarships. With support from social workers and legal organizations, the offender was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.[4]
Human trafficking remains one of the fastest-growing illicit activities globally.[5] In Uganda v Umotoni[6], the accused was charged with human trafficking, aggravated child trafficking for transporting minor girls, who were promised supermarket jobs in Uganda, from Rwanda to Uganda for forced labor and sexual exploitation, despite claiming parental consent. (the girls had been sexually assaulted). The accused pleaded not guilty that she transported the girls to Uganda with their parents’ consent for a holiday. She was sentenced to eight years for aggravated child trafficking and trafficking
Human trafficking is a rapidly, inhumane practice targeting vulnerable groups such as children, women, the poor and those affected by pandemics. Its impact is devastating, causing physical and emotional harm, with victims sometimes facing murder, suicide or permanent separation from their families, highlighting the need for intervention.
In order to counter these trends, I suggest the following policies:
- At first, African states should ensure travel and identity documents are of such quality that cannot be easily misused and easily falsified or unlawfully altered. In most trafficking stories, trafficking organizations produce false identification and false travel documents for their victims, making it hard to return home from this brutal reality. Strict identity registration systems reduce human trafficking, it minimizes the duplicity of travel and identity documents, making it easy for authorities to identify false documents.
- Also, media plays a key role in exposing and raising awareness about human trafficking through news, TV and social platforms. For example, the BBCAFRICA EYE’s investigation, “the African Women Trafficked to India for sex” uncovered a network luring African women into exploitation, attracting million views and sparking public discussion. Similarly, campaigns like the University of Johannesburg’s Human Trafficking Awareness Week used social media to educate the public on risks and warning signs. Overall, media efforts support prevention but must ensure the protection and dignity of victims.
- Furthermore, strong, anti trafficking laws are needed to safeguard victim’s identities. Article 16 of the Model Law against Trafficking in Persons makes it an offence for a person without lawful authority to disclose information acquired in the course of official duties leading to identification of a victim or witness of trafficking in persons. International conventions, protocols, and domestic laws have been drafted. Many African anti-trafficking laws exist like Uganda’s Prevention of Trafficking in persons (PTIP) Act, 2009 and the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Regulations, 2019 but are often ineffective due to week legal systems. Strengthening law enforcement, training officials, combatting corruption and prioritizing trafficking cases in courts are essential to protect victims and curb growing crime. And creation of a National Coordination Office and a Multi-sectoral Task Force Committee for prevention of Trafficking in persons and other related issues.
- Apart from that, African countries should come up and strictly comply with identity registration systems. Developing technologies improve delivery of identification services, use of mobile devices to register births, SMS notifications and thumbprints to ensure that documents are not easily duplicated. Countries like Uganda have weakened birth registration system which makes it simple for the traffickers to pose as parents or relatives for these children or victims of human trafficking.
- In addittion, the communities could organize faith-based and neighborhood partnerships to host awareness events and community forums with anti-trafficking leaders or collectively support a local victim service provider, establish community laws against human trafficking. in Northern Uganda, there has been an establishment of the Community Action toproject implemented in Karamoja region by Terres des Hommes Netherlands aims at reducing child sex trafficking in Napak District, its activities include establishment and adoption of sub-county by-laws on child protection, train parents and caregivers of vulnerable children on how to identify trafficking risks, organize community dialogues and theatre plays on child sex trafficking, the by-laws in order to change the negative social norms. Such initiatives provide the community with information on trafficking, legal frameworks and referral mechanisms, hence becoming active agents passing on information from person to person, with an increased vigilance in prevention.
This piece was created as part of an essay competition organized by the Chair of African Legal Studies. Jesca Titin also took part. The winning submissions were featured in an exclusive booklet, which you can find here.
[1] https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/faqs.html.
[2] https://www.okoarefuge.org/modern-day-slavery-the-sad- reality- of-human-trafficking-in- africa/.
[3] https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/ugandans-fly-to-death-in-hunt for jobs-abroad-3850172.
[4] https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/Uganda/.
[5] American intelligence journal Vol. 30, No.1(2012), pp. 68-77.
[6] HCT-00-ICD-CR-SC-NO.003 OF 2014.
