The event held at the Ocean Bay, was designed to arm participants with the requisite knowledge and to be able to recognise cases of Trafficking-In Persons in their pursuit of justice, thus upholding victim’s fundamental human rights.
The forum also sought to serve as an avenue to provide magistrates with essential knowledge relating to TIP, thus fostering a legal environment that upholds human rights and ensures justice for victims.
Joseph Y. Mendy, head of investigation at NAATIP, underscored the importance of the training especially for magistrates, saying combating human trafficking calls for the collective participation of all and sundry.
That, he added, is the reason why the agency is keen on conducting series of training to arm people with the requisite knowledge on human trafficking.
He described the practise as a heinous one and that to combatting the menace is not just a legal obligation but a moral one in view of severity to mankind.
He maintained that human trafficking is a crime that preys on the most vulnerable of society, acknowledging that with dedication and commitment of all, this lucrative enterprise will be supressed.
Isatou Dabo, executive director of NAATIP, explained this is a refresher training for all judicial officers, which they have split into two.
The first phase, she added, is the forum for the magistrates, while in the next phase, there are plans in place for same to be conducted for judges of the superior courts.
Dabo explained that the training is necessitated by the fact that when she joined the agency, they conducted counsel sessions for victims of trafficking of persons every Tuesday.
‘On one of these Tuesdays, I walked into the room as the session was ingoing. We had twelve girls that had been trafficked sitting in one room, but my attention was on one of them, who was sitting right at the corner in pale blue jeans; white T shirt, braids that she probably had for about two to three weeks.’
However, she lamented that the interesting thing was not the outfit that the girl was wearing at that point, what was interesting for her, was the sorrow, frustration and discouragement and everything that was manifesting itself from the girl’s demeanour and character at that very corner where she sat on that day.
‘As the session progresses, the girl was allowed to express why she was feeling that way. However, what the girl narrated was really heartbreaking and unimaginable.’
Dabo maintained that this calls for action not as judicial officers, but for the sake of humanity as everyone is vulnerable to trafficking in person, pointing out that in most cases, perpetrators use very impressive and persuasive tactics to lure people in what seems legitimate but end up being very dangerous and detrimental to human race.
To that end, NAATIP ED spoke about the gains registered by the agency amid challenges which include the setting-up of a hotline for victims of Trafficking In Persons, 9 cases presented to the Ministry for Justice for legal opinion, four of which have been mentioned at the High Court this month, to other conviction on trafficking in persons, among a host of others.
Deputising for the Chief Justice of The Gambia, Justice Mary Mama Yassin Sey, deplored that Trafficking in Persons, also referred to as human trafficking, is a form of modern-day slavery in which victims are subjected to force, fraud or coercion to compel them to provide commercial sex, debt bondage services or involuntary services.
‘Invariably, any minor under the age of 18, involved in commercial sex is a victim of human trafficking.’
Justice Sey reminded that in keeping with the terms of her international obligation, The Gambia enacted the Trafficking-In Person Act, of 2007, which she said, applies through the country and punishes all forms of human trafficking.
The Act, she added, criminalises both sex and labour trafficking and prescribed a penalty of 15years to life imprisonment and a fine between D50,000 and D500,000.
She however, pointed out that it is pertinent to note that Trafficking-In Persons (amendment) of 2010 has amended Section 28 of sub-section (4) of the 2007 Act by substituting the word (fifteen) the word (fifty) and in sub-section (5) by substituting the word (life imprisonment) with the word sentence of death.
That, she added, undoubtedly reflects the seriousness of the offense under the Act, affirming that human trafficking is a global issue that requires coordinated effort from various stakeholders including the judiciary.
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