Unisa online - Human trafficking shames us all

Mr Johan Kruger (UNODC National Project Coordinator for Trafficking in Persons), Prof Carol Allais, Prof Mandla Makhanya & Dr Jonathan Lucas

"We must realise that it is always those who are most vulnerable in society who find themselves the victims," said Prof Mandla Makhanya, Unisa's Pro-Vice-Chancellor, at the launch of the Global report on trafficking in persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on 25 February 2009 in the Film Auditorium on the Muckleneuk campus. He emphasised that it is necessary to put systems in place to ensure that a problem of this nature does not continue to pose a threat to our communities. Dr Jonathan Lucas, the UNODC Regional Representative for Southern Africa, asserted that it is vital to have worldwide legislation that covers all aspects of human trafficking. "Until you have the legislation, you cannot do anything about human trafficking, as law enforcement agencies will not look at offences that they cannot prosecute," he emphasised. "Once legislation is in place, efforts must be made to increase convictions." Based on data gathered from 155 countries, the report offers the first global assessment of the scope of human trafficking and what is being done to fight it. It includes an overview of trafficking patterns, legal steps taken in response, and country-specific information on reported cases of trafficking in people, victims and prosecutions.

Prof Carol Allais, Sociology Department, conducted the research for the Southern African section of the global report. This comprised the situational analysis of the 11 Southern African countries mentioned in the report. According to Prof Allais, "as we become more aware of the problem of human trafficking, the need for accurate data becomes more pressing."

She drew attention to the purposes of the United Nations Protocol against Trafficking in Persons, the foremost international agreement in this area and to which South Africa is a signatory. These purposes include the following:

• To prevent and combat trafficking in people, paying particular attention to women and children.
• To protect and assist the victims of such trafficking, with full respect for their human rights.
• To promote cooperation among States Parties in order to meet these objectives.

"Only with a stronger knowledge base relating to trafficking trends and responses," Prof Allais emphasised, "can governments and other stakeholders develop national frameworks, structures, policies and processes to address the phenomenon of human trafficking."

According to the report, the most common form of human trafficking (79%) is sexual exploitation. The victims of sexual exploitation are predominantly women and girls. Surprisingly, in 30% of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking is the norm.

The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18%), although this may be a misrepresentation because forced labour is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation. Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children comprise the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa).

Although trafficking seems to imply people moving across continents, most exploitation takes place close to home. Data show intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms of trafficking in people.

The report shows that in the past few years the number of Member States seriously implementing the Protocol has more than doubled (from 54 to 125 out of the 155 states covered). However, there are still many countries that lack the necessary legal instruments or political will.

"Exploiting human beings by other human beings is being done with impunity," said Dr Lucas, "and this human trafficking shames us all. We must do all that we can to put an end to this scourge."