Human Trafficking in Uganda:

Human trafficking is the recruitment or transportation or harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability.

It is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services or to engage in commercial sex acts or to illegally harvest their organs. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological. It can also be described as the giving or receiving of payments done in exchange of humans illegally for what they are yet to be used for. The motive for this is most cases a dangerous one.

Uganda is battling human trafficking. Men, women and children are trafficked from rural areas and communities and exported into bigger towns and cities for commercial sex, labour exploitation. Some of the countries they are destined to include Saudi Arabia, Oman Republic, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya. This was from the report of the US Department of States; Trafficking in Persons 2020.

The causes of this inhuman act in Uganda has majorly been a result of poverty, ignorance, lack of education, lack of human rights protections, weak laws and governance system, lack of safe migration options, conflict and natural disasters and cultural factors.

In 2021, the Government of Uganda reported investigating 421 incidents of human trafficking involving 501 suspects which is a significant increase compared with 214 incidents involving 154 suspects the previous year.

According to the Trafficking in Persons Report from 2020, coordination among stake holders is key in human trafficking. The National Action Plan for prevention of trafficking Persons launched in 2020 indicates that successful implementation requires coordination at different stages dealing with rescue and identification of victims, their protection, investigation and prosecution of criminals as well as preventive measures against crime.

The Coordination Office of Prevention of Trafficking in Persons (COPTIP) under the ministry of internal affairs coordinates all measures mandated in the action plan provides training for its member institutions such as law enforcement.

Awareness campaigns have been on about human trafficking have been on going. Masses have been sensitized about avoiding practices that promote human trafficking such as early child marriages, forced marriages, female genital mutilation among others. Ugandans are advised to individually expand awareness in communities we come from, know what to do and who to contact when need be. The Human Trafficking Awareness Day is commemorated on the 11th of January every year.

 

Written and Compiled by Prima Birungi

IAIF Program Assistant

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