Seye Joseph
@seyetweets
One challenge that is posing as threat to the development of the world is human trafficking, its negative influence has become a major concern to the entire cause of human existence and it’s attracted serious attention both at the national and international levels.
According to a United Nation Children Fund (UNICEF) survey, more than 15 million children engaged in child labor in Nigeria and a sizeable percentage of them are trafficked children with young women and girls which are most vulnerable group that are recruited from rural areas within the country’s borders women and girls for involuntary domestic servitude and forced commercial sexual exploitation, and boys for forced labor in street vending, domestic servitude, mining, and begging. Nigerian women and children are taken from Nigeria to other West and Central African countries, primarily Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, Chad, Benin, Togo, Niger, Burkina Faso, and the Gambia, for the same purposes
It is to this end that Women’s Consortium of Nigeria, WOCON, a not for profit, non-religious, non-partisan and non-Governmental organization to the promotion and enforcement of women, children’s rights and the attainment of equality, development and peace with support from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), UNITERRA (Canadian Center for International Studies and World University Service of Canada), Ford Foundation and CECI seeked to proffer sustainable solutions to human trafficking in Nigeria and the way forward in combating the menace.
Speaking during the conference, the Executive Director of Women’s Consortium of Nigeria, Bisi Olateru-Olagbegi who was represented by Olukunle Adeogun, the Finance Director of WOCON at the briefing stressed the commitment of WOCON to the promotion of the rights of women and children that the organisation has pioneered against trafficking in Women in Nigeria in 1997
“WOCON’s focus on human trafficking dates back to 1997 when it participated in the first research study on the trafficking of women in Nigeria as part of an African Regional Study on trafficking commissioned by U.N Special Rapporteur on Violence against women and was also Part of
Lobby Group that lobbied for the human rights standard language approach during the negotiations for the adoption of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, suppress and punish Trafficking in persons, especially women and children in Vienna 2000”, she said.
The conference that was premised on the 47th Ordinary Session of the Authority Of Heads of State and Government within the framework of the Supplementary Act A/Sa.3./05/15 that relating to Equality of Rights
Between Women and Men for Sustainable Development in ECOWAS region with focus on human trafficking highlighted the Supplementary Act compels that Member States, of which Nigeria is a member, to adopt specific legislative
measures aimed at preventing human trafficking and provide comprehensive services to survivors of trafficking as well as ensure their social reintegration, put in place appropriate mechanisms to equip the Police and the Judiciary with the means to eradicate human trafficking networks at
the National, Regional and International levels, put in place harmonized mechanisms for data collection and reporting on the types and modes of trafficking in order to ensure effective programming, monitoring and evaluation.
Others include conclusion of bilateral and multilateral agreements to ensure better border management and to carry out joint and concerted action against human trafficking in relation to countries of origin, transit and destination, ensuring that capacity building campaigns are
organized for the police force and the judiciary, ensure the acceleration of national efforts in the fight against the factors that make people vulnerable to human trafficking including to create and revitalize national structures to fight against trafficking, establishment of a regional structure on the fight against trafficking, development of projects and programs for victims of trafficking, especially women and children, conduct of a regional study on the trafficking of women and
girls in line with nation and sub-regional strategies on the fight against this scourge and monitor and evaluate cooperation agreements among member states or signed with third countries in the fight against trafficking.
According to Olateru-Olagbegi the principles of the Supplementary Act affirms that Member States shall conform to the rules of international law in general and shall undertake to implement this Supplementary Act and
align their national laws, policies, strategies and programs to the provision of the Act to ensure gender equality and equity as well as strengthen the empowerment of women and girls and also cooperate to facilitate the development of the human, technical and financial capacity necessary for the implementation of this Supplementary Act.
She reaffirmed the commitment of WOCON to continue in the struggle against human trafficking by working harder to ensure the global war against trading in humans is completely won and called on Press, Stakeholders,
Government functionaries, Religious bodies, Community Development Associations and other fellow CSOs not to relent until the war against human trafficking is won.
