ZORORAI NKOMO
Human trafficking or trafficking in persons are terms that are frequently used interchangeably. In some circles, it is referred to as modern day slavery’.
First and foremost, I would like to congratulate Zimbabwe on moving from Tier 2 Watch List category to Tier 2 in the recently released US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report for June 2023.
According to the June 2023 (TIP) Report, Tier 2 governments are those that fall short of the minimum requirements of the (Trafficking Victims Protection Act) TVPA but are making significant efforts to meet those requirements.
The TVPA, which was promulgated and subsequently enacted in 2000, is the first comprehensive piece of US federal legislation. It is premised on “3 Ps” in fighting human trafficking, which are Protection, Prosecution and Prevention.
The report also states that the Tier 2 Watch List category is made up of nations whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to do so, and for which the estimated number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly rising, and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions or there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased assistance to victims, and decreasing evidence of complicity in severe forms of trafficking by government officials.
The Tier 3 category consists of those countries which are not fully meeting the TVPA’s minimum standards, and these countries or states are failing to make significant efforts in fighting human trafficking.
Such a positive development for Zimbabwe clearly shows that despite grappling in fighting human trafficking there is will and efforts in trying to suppress trafficking in persons.
More than 180 countries including Zimbabwe either ratified or acceded to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.
This international law instrument is a supplement to the United Nations’ Convention against Transnational Organised Crimes which is usually referred to as the Palermo Protocol.
Article 3 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, provides that ‘Trafficking in persons’ means recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
This international Instrument further held that Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
Some sections of our society might think that the act of trafficking in persons only happens outside Zimbabwe. This is not always the case. This can happen domestically. Let me hasten to point out and briefly explain the main four forms of trafficking in persons which any person can encounter in Zimbabwe.
The first form of trafficking in person is sexual exploitation as espoused in Article 3(a) of UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and section 3(4) of the Zimbabwe’s Trafficking in Persons Act.
Majority of victims are women and girls. Official statistics for Zimbabwe especially from the National Aids Council show that more young girls are into sex work.
However, the majority of them are not able to negotiate safe sex. This is a clear indication that sexual exploitation is a problem in Zimbabwe. Although some would argue that its sex work, this is sexual exploitation which is another form of trafficking in persons. I will extensively deal with it in one of my articles soon.
Cheap labour is the second form of trafficking in persons. In 2016 Zimbabwean women were stranded in Kuwait after promising lucrative employment opportunities but later turned to forced labour. Forced labour as a form of human trafficking is difficult to detect.
People who are subjected to forced labour do not have job security, labour rights and protection from the law. This is a very sensitive topic which I will delve more into in my next article.
If proper and meticulous investigations are to be carried out today, some locally duly registered companies can be unmasked as perpetrators of human trafficking in Zimbabwe.
Thirdly, Sex trafficking of children is another form of trafficking in person bedevilling Zimbabwe. UNICEF in 2009 estimated that thousands of children were sold into the global sex trade every year.
To date this number has increased. These children according to UNICEF are coming from Africa, Asia and South America. During my time as a fulltime newsroom reporter, I visited various HIV hot spots in Zimbabwe such as Ngundu, Rutenga, Beitbridge, Hopley, Epworth, Mt Darwin just to mention but a few. In these areas I encountered very young people int sex work. Some appeared to be below the age of 18. What really disturbed me was sex work in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central Province, where one of the old sex workers were recruiting young girls into sex work.
In return they (recruited young sex workers) were paying the seasoned sex worker to have access to the rooms where they can service their clients.
They confirmed to me that their experience was horrible. There is no other term to define this heinous act than trafficking in persons.
The last but not least form of trafficking in persons is child labour as contemplated in Article 3(c) of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crimes. According to UNICEF over one million children are being trafficked every year for cheap labour.
Due to their inability to enter into a reasonable and sound contractual agreement, children are by nature susceptible to being used as cheap labor.
Many perpetrators of human trafficking are taking advantage of the legal disability of children and exploiting them.
Zororai Nkomo is a Zimbabwean journalist, lawyer and social justice activist.He writes in his own personal capacity. Can be contacted on zoronkomo@gmail.com
