Creates working group to combat human trafficking

Mozambique will create a working group involving public institutions and civil society to combat the human trafficking that has affected about a thousand people in the country, especially women and children, over the last two years.The terms of reference for the creation of the working group were presented yesterday at a meeting in the Attorney General's office, where once again the need for the approval of the National Plan for the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons was pointed out."The document was referred to the competent bodies and, a year after its completion, still has not been approved," Assistant Attorney General Afonso Antunes said while presenting the report on human trafficking in Mozambique conducted in 2014 by the Higher Institute of International Relations (ISRI), with funding from the Save the Children fund.In the text setting out the guidelines of the National Reference Group for Child Protection and Combating Trafficking in Persons, Mozambique is described as "a country of source, transit and, to a lesser extent, destination," for forced labour, sexual exploitation and the removal of organs, mostly affecting women and children.The working group will be coordinated by the Attorney General's Office with the participation of various ministries, migration services and customs, public television and radio, the International Organization for Migration, the Save the Children fund and Mozambican civil society entities.

In line with the general objective of "strengthening the prevention, suppression, support, assistance and reintegration of victims of trafficking in persons", the reference group will also coordinate pressure for legislative reform.

According to the ISRI study, first published in October last year, an estimated 2,000 people were trafficked in Mozambique between 2012 and 2013, but only 20 to 30 cases have come to trial.At the presentation yesterday, Antunes said that this type of crime affects mainly rural and suburban areas, with poverty, lack of integration of the young and weak state capacity combining as causes.The deputy prosecutor also pointed out "the lack of institutional strategy, despite all the outlined plans, some times acting almost independently of each other", the lack of knowledge of the law at border posts and the "double victimization" to which those affected by this crime are subjected, often being treated as criminals themselves by the authorities.The judge also questioned the quality of internal controls, where victims are, for example, transported hundreds of kilometres from Nampula, in northern Mozambique, to the border between Ressano Garcia and South Africa, without any interception along the way. Antunes went on to warn that the perception of human trafficking is not the same across the country."There are communities that confuse child labour, itself considered socially useful," with human trafficking, as well as "families who have no problem handing over their children if they think they will have a better life, although they do not really have any guarantee that this will happen," he said.The human traffickers themselves are Mozambican and foreign individuals, the latter generally the ringleaders of organized crime networks, as with poaching and illegal mining, while the recruiters are often local citizens who act either negligently or without knowledge.Among its recommendations, the study suggests the improvement of border and internal controls, increased support for victims and dialogue with other Southern African countries.