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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 17 Jan 2020 : 17:52:37
People will always want to have a better life and there will always be CRIMINAlS and GREEDY people who will "help" in their quest , for MOMEY of course  in ways that are against the law and consideration for human life and dignity.
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Kebba Jeffang Last updated Jan 14, 2020
The Gambia government has gathered stakeholders on Tuesday in a two-day conference to analyse the situation of trafficking in persons as the country prepares to submit its periodic report later this year.
In September, 2019, The Gambia fell to tier 3 of the United States Department of Labor (DOL) ranking who announced the disbursement of $750, 000 (GMD 37.1 Million grant) to The Gambia to address the menace. The funding was released through the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for implementation.
The executive director of the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (NATIP), Tulie Jawara said the key stakeholders are invited to address the 2020 trafficking in persons’ report and the reporting questions.
“The Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2020 as amended requires the department of state to submit this report to congress by 1st June 2020 of each year. Responses are due to departments of state by February 14th 2020 and should cover the period from April 1st 2019 to March 31st 2020.
“Submissions of answers to the questions are requested by January 31st 2020 to permit the US embassy sufficient time to process the submissions and send final responses to the department of state not later than the close of business on 14th February 2020,” she stated at the opening.
stakeholders attending the the 2020 trafficking in persons event
NATIP was established by the revised Act of Parliament in 2007 which also addresses the creation of the Trafficking in Persons Act. The agency is under the purview of the Ministry of Justice, mandated to combat the menace.
“The Gambia as a country is complying with its international obligations and it has signed and ratified the Palermo Protocol (Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children. This also supplements the United Nations Convention against Trans-National Organised Crimes.”
“The Gambia is perceived to be a source, a transit point and a destination country for cases of trafficking in persons just like most of the countries in the world. The trafficking in persons is usually referred to as modern day slave trade,” Jawara stated.
She says as much as NATIP has its challenges, it equally has its success stories as alleged victims of trafficking were repatriated from Beirut thanks to the intervention of the government and were successfully reintegrated into society.
Several young Gambians were tricked and taken to some middle-east countries where they were subjected to the worst form of human rights violations, including a 23-year-old Fatou Badjie who was operated and lost her kidney to a dying old man, husband of her so-called master.
The Vice President of The Gambia, Isatou Touray blames the culture of silence as the cause of the long existing phenomenon, saying it was placed under the carpet.
“I am very happy to tell you that the government of the Gambia has zero tolerance to trafficking in persons,” she said.
Dr. Isatou Touray, Vice President of The Gambia
According to her, president Adama Barrow attaches high sense of commitment in ensuring the total combating of the menace as such practices equate to gross violation of human rights and dignity of the persons.
“The government will put all the efforts together and support all the relevant institutions to address the issue of trafficking in persons. It’s a human rights violation and also it has a gender dimension.
VP Touray believes that the needed efforts are beyond government as she calls for participation of non-state actors and NGOs.
“I think every civil society organisation or the non-state actors will see themselves part of it apart from what the government does. It’s not the plate for government alone but everybody who is engage in addressing human rights issues, violence against women, children and disability and people who do not have the opportunity or whose voices were never heard.”
According to her, she decided to call for a conference to engage stakeholders to show what has been done, what will be done and how we move forward on this matter. She notes that The Gambia is obliged to respond to the whole list of questions regarding the issue which needs the involvement of inclusive responses.
“This is why today we are all together to ensure that the report we are going to give is going to reflect the real situation on the ground. We have been but the weaknesses that we had were collaboration, communication and engagement from different aspects.
The Director General of the Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery at the Office of the President, Alagie Nyangado stresses the need for improvement in the ranking status in order to access beyond the US government’s humanitarian grant after slipping to tier 3.
“As a result, we were to be considered under the Millennium Corporation Challenge Account.
…for almost $250 million that has to be put on hold because our rating had gone up,” he said.
The Solicitor General, Cherno Marenah describes human trafficking as a major threat to the maintenance of rule of law public order. It is one of the worst forms of violations of human rights. He said the government has placed the issue of human rights at the centre of its priority since 2017.
“The Ministry of Justice, tasked to be implementing the human rights agenda of the government is committed to fighting all forms of human rights abuses including the trafficking in persons. Like all other trans-national organised crimes, human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry.”
According to ILO, force labour alone which is just one component of human trafficking generates an estimate 150 billion dollars in profit as per 2014. The ILO also estimates that over 20 million victims are trapped in modern day slavery.
Marena admits that The Gambia is not immune from the scotch of human trafficking and exploitation, citing the geographical location and the open-door policy as a factor of human trafficking and exploitation as a transit point.
https://www.chronicle.gm/gambia-begins-situational-analysis-on-trafficking-in-persons-ahead-of-submission-dateline/ |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 21 Jan 2020 : 15:31:03
The Excellent Quote below was made by Alhagie Nyangado, Director of Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery under the office of the President"
"Human trafficking represents a threat to international peace and security. It undermines rule of law, robs millions of their dignity, freedom and instead it enriches transnational criminals, terrorists, threatens public safety and national security everywhere’
Criminals and those persons making money from this illigal trade must be persued and dealt with in the srongest possible manner available under the laws of the county where it occours, a blind eye must not be turned by politicians and other powerful people,IMMIDATE ACTION MUST BE TAKEN, TALK TALK AND MORE TALK TALk MUST NOT BLOCK THE PATH OF ACTION
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on
January 20, 2020
State House, Banjul, January 16, 2020 – The Government of The Gambia is pursuing a new “zero tolerance” policy against Trafficking in Persons (TIP), following the formulation of aggressive counter measures to combat the menace in the country.
The Vice President this week formally presided over a two-day high level meeting that brought together various government departments and non-state actors to review the Gambia’s situational ranking under the 2019 TIP Report published by the US State Department.
“His Excellency, President Adama Barrow recognizes trafficking in persons as a grave violation of human rights and therefore gave directives for a zero tolerance policy on it. It is the responsibility of the State as a primary duty bearer to create the right environment for combating trafficking in persons in all its forms,” she told the meeting on Tuesday.
Following the downgrading of The Gambia to Tier 3 from Tier 2 ranking in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, President Barrow assigned the Department for Strategic Policy and Delivery (DSPD) at the Office of the President the responsibility of coordinating responses to the recommendations of the report.
Since then, this said Department, in collaboration with the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP), had worked with relevant stakeholders to come up with concrete actions to address the issues highlighted in the 2019 TIP Report.
A number of action points have already been taken, including the assigning of more investigators to NAATIP, creation of NAATIP focal points at major border entry points throughout the country; documentation of all TIP cases reported, and the improvement of Safety measures at Bakoteh shelter for victims.
The Solicitor General at the Ministry of Justice Cherno Marenah described human trafficking as “a major threat” to the maintenance of the rule of law and public order. However, at the most basic level, he added, it is one of the worst forms of the violation of human rights. Like other forms of trans-national organised crimes, human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry.
“The factors and circumstances of human trafficking and exploitation in The Gambia are varied and complex. Firstly, Gambia’s geographical location along the west coast and our open borders has for a long time made the country a transit zone for migrants mainly from West African countries en-route to Europe and the United States,” he explained.
The booming tourism industry of the country also serves a magnet for economic migrants and exploiters of persons. Similarly, The Gambia is also a source of, and destination for the exploitation of children sent to study in religious schools commonly referred to as the “Almudos”. In a number of cases, these children ultimately find themselves as beggars in our streets as well as being engaged in domestic servitude for their masters.
The Director General of the Department of Strategic Policy Delivery Alhagie Nyangado said the two days’ meeting served the purpose even if not for the issue of the rating by the US State Department. For the Office of the President, It is a national issue and the earlier the country fights against it, the better for it.
During the review process, a set of questionnaires were used to guide deliberations so as to come up with comprehensive answers to The Gambia’s situation.
So far, nine new cases have been identified for investigations and the government assigned three investigators from the Immigrations, state intelligence and the Police to further capacitise the NAATIP’s investigation capabilities. Nyangado announced that aggressive prosecutions will follow every investigations conducted. Government is also working on establishing a hotline to facilitate public’s reporting of the cases.
The Executive Director of NAATIP Toulaye Jawara, described the two-day meeting as an important national assignment that added knowledge on trafficking in persons through information sharing and learning of lessons on best practices.
https://foroyaa.gm/government-pursues-zero-tolerance-against-trafficking-in-persons/ |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 17 Jan 2020 : 18:03:56
January 15, 2020 4:30 pm by Fabakary B Ceesay
VP Dr. Isatou Touray
Officials at High Table
By: Alieu Jallow
The Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery (DSPD) at the Office of the President in partnership with International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the National Agency Against Trafficking In Persons (NAATIP) have on Tuesday 14 January 2020, kick start a two day working forum with key stakeholders in the fight against trafficking in persons as well as addressing 2020 human trafficking report.
Speaking on behalf of the president, Vice President Dr. Isatou Touray highlighted the government policy of zero tolerance in trafficking of persons as a violation of human rights. VP Touray stated that the US State Department report of 2019 in trafficking in persons found out that the Government of The Gambia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.
Mrs. Touray indicated that US TIP Report have ranked The Gambia from three down to tier two due to their weaknesses in communication, engagement and collaboration with the international agencies. She concluded by assuring the public of the government’s efforts to support relevant stakeholders to combat trafficking in persons.
Representing the minister of Justice, the Solicitor General and Legal Secretary, Mr. Cherno Sulayman Marenah said the Ministry of Justice will leave no stone unturned in bringing to justice perpetrators of trafficking in persons. The Solicitor General also lamented his Ministry’s inability to prosecute persons involving in human trafficking due to cultural and financial deficiencies. He cited societal barriers and the line between trafficking and smuggling in persons as there is no legal frame to prosecute such smugglers.
MissTulai Jawara Ceesay, Director of NAATIP indicated that human trafficking amended Act requires the department of state to submit the report to congress by 1st June 2020. She said her department’s mandate is primarily to combat and fight against cases of human trafficking. She confirmed that the Gambia is known as a transit point of trafficking in persons.
Alhagie Nyangado, Director of Department of Strategic Policy and Delivery under the office of the President call on the public to safeguard the newly found democracy with responsibilities. She stated the government’s efforts in combating trafficking in persons as in line with the Palamo Convention Protocol agreement.
‘Human trafficking represents a threat to international peace and security. It undermines rule of law, robs millions of their dignity, freedom and instead it enriches transnational criminals, terrorists, threatens public safety and national security everywhere’, said Nyangado.
https://trumpet.gm/2020/01/15/gambia-government-iom-and-naatip-begins-analysing-human-trafficking/ |
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