State
House, Banjul, January 16, 2020 – The government of The Gambia is pursuing a
new “zero tolerance” policy against Trafficking in Persons (TIP), following the
formulation of aggressive counter measures to combat the menace in the country.
The Vice President this week formally presided
over a two-day high level meeting that brought together various government
departments and non-state actors to review the Gambia’s situational ranking
under the 2019 TIP Report published by the US State Department.
“His Excellency, President Adama Barrow
recognizes trafficking in persons as a grave violation of human rights and
therefore gave directives for a zero tolerance policy on it. It is the
responsibility of the State as a primary duty bearer to create the right
environment for combating trafficking in persons in all its forms,” she told
the meeting on Tuesday.
Following the downgrading of The Gambia to Tier 3 from Tier 2 ranking in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, President Barrow assigned the Department for Strategic Policy and Delivery (DSPD) at the Office of the President the responsibility of coordinating responses to the recommendations of the report.
Since then, this said Department, in collaboration with the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP), had worked with relevant stakeholders to come up with concrete actions to address the issues highlighted in the 2019 TIP Report.
A number of action points have already been
taken, including the assigning of more investigators to NAATIP, creation of
NAATIP focal points at major border entry points throughout the country;
documentation of all TIP cases reported, and the improvement of Safety measures
at Bakoteh Shelter for victims.
The Solicitor General at the Ministry of
Justice, Mr. Cherno Marenah, described human trafficking as “a major threat” to
the maintenance of the rule of law and public order. However, at the most basic
level, he added, it is one of the worst forms of the violation of human rights.
Like other forms of trans-national organised crimes, human trafficking is a
multi-billion dollar industry.
“The
factors and circumstances of human trafficking and exploitation in The Gambia
are varied and complex. Firstly, Gambia’s geographical location along the west
coast and our open borders has for a long time made the country a transit zone
for migrants mainly from West African countries enroute to Europe and the
United States,” he explained.
The booming tourism industry of the country
also serves a magnet for economic migrants and exploiters of persons. Similarly, The Gambia is also a source of, and
destination for the exploitation of children sent to study in religious schools
commonly referred to as the “Almudos”. In a number of cases, these children
ultimately find themselves as beggars on our streets as well as being engaged
in domestic servitude for their masters.
The Director General of the Department of
Strategic Policy Delivery, Mr. Alhagie Nyangado said the two days’ meeting
served the purpose despite the rating by the US State Department. For the
Office of the President, It is a national issue and the earlier the country
fights against it, the better for it.
During the review process, a set of
questionnaires were used to guide deliberations so as to come up with
comprehensive answers to The Gambia’s situation.
So far, nine new cases have been identified
for investigations and the government assigned three investigators from the
Immigration, state intelligence and the Police to further capacitise the
NAATIP’s investigation capabilities.
Mr Nyangado announced that aggressive
prosecutions will follow every investigations conducted. Government is also
working on establishing a hotline to facilitate public’s reporting of the
cases.
The Executive Director of NAATIP, Mrs. Toulaye
Jawara described the two-day meeting as an important national assignment that
added knowledge on trafficking in persons through information sharing and
learning of lessons with best practices.
