Forum celebrates Anti-Human Trafficking Awareness Day

As the Journalists International Forum for Migration (JIFORM), in the awareness campaign against human trafficking, it calls for an end to the ungodly trade across the world just as it gave kudos to the Nigeria’s authority for their commitment to the war against the menace.

Recall that every January 11, is a date set aside for awareness against human trafficking, this year’s version is gathering momentum just as it started from the United States since 2000 and spread to the other parts of world.

The Forum’s President, Abayomi Ajibola, in a statement weekend said, “to this end, every hand must be on deck in Africa and other continents to halt the heinous crime against humanity,” declaring that, “this is the position of the JIFORM a Forum that comprises over 300 Journalists covering migration across the globe.”

Ajibola said that, declaration of support for the day by his organization was as a prelude to the July 30 World Anti-human Trafficking day initiated by the United Nations (UN) in 2013, calling for multi-dimensional approaches from nations to tackle human trafficking, which he described as a form of modern day slavery.

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The Forum boss regretted that, the inhuman business involves the illegal trading of people for exploitation or commercial gains rated   $150 billion industry as the second largest crime network according to the UN.

JIFORM therefore called for more supports for anti-human trafficking agencies with intra/inter-agency collaborations within and outside nations in Africa and beyond.

As a way out, according to Ajibola, the continent needs deliberate and sincere steps to revamp its economy in order to eradicate poverty, enhance youths/women empowerment and creation of multilateral platforms especially between Africa and the Middle East to facilitate negotiation of decent work for African migrants as being championed by Dr Princess A.K Ocansey, a member of the African Union Labour Migration Advisory Committee.

While noting that the Government of Nigeria deserves a path on the back for the commendable fight against human trafficking over the years through the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP), Ajibola however said there were still gaps to cover in the areas of preventive tactics, full commitment to financial needs and budget of NAPTIP and upgrading of the agency as both uniform cum arm bearing outfit through the legislative procedures.

Hos words: “Africa, starting from Nigeria, the most populous black nation that ranks 32 out of 167 countries with highest number of slaves put at 1,386,000 is in the dire need of realistic economic strategy to achieve it’s 2063 agenda particularly the 20th agenda on the frame work that anticipated the continent to take full responsibility for her financing and development that covers incomes, jobs, decent work, action against poverty, inequality, hunger and social security.

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“The fact remains that two thirds of the money from the illicit human trafficking figure ($99 billion) is generated from commercial sexual exploitation, while another $51 billion results from forced economic exploitation, including domestic work, agriculture and other economic activities through the smuggling routes from East, North and West Africa to Europe is said to generate $150 million in annual profits ($35 billion globally) for human trafficking.

“Further to the UN’s report which positioned Africa as the prevalent zone recording 9.24 million slaves with high vulnerability as one of the most affected zones of human trafficking estimated by the Global Slavery Index in July 2018 indicated that there were 40.3 million victims of modern slavery worldwide, 71% of whom are women and girls and 25% of whom are children.”

Concluding, Ajibola lamented that, “As at January 7, 2019, the number of children in slavery at almost 1/3 of all global victims. (99% of the 4.8 million victims of commercial sexual exploitation in 2016 were women and girls, with one in five being children (ILO, 2017). Women and girls represented 84% of the 15.4 million people in forced marriages, and 59% of 5 those in private forced labour stated by Alliance 2017 Report, of these lots, African are in large number.