June 16, 2008
Time: 9 a.m.
Police Headquarters, Banjul
Secretary of State for the Interior the Honorable Ousman Sonko,Inspector General of Police Mr. Benedict Jammeh Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I would like to personally thank the Secretary of State for the Interior, the Honorable Ousman Sonko, and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Benedict Jammeh, for being present today to begin the much-anticipated awareness training on trafficking in persons, part of the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, or ICITAP.
I’d also like to commend and thank the participants in this training, who are committing significant amounts of time from their busy schedules to be here, and who are away from their duties to take part in this important course. We have participation from the security forces, particularly the Police, Immigration, and Tourism Security Unit; as well as the judiciary and legal fraternity – including the Gambia Bar Association; the National Assembly; the Gambia Tourism Authority; the Department of Social Welfare; and civil society groups and NGOs such as WANEP, the YMCA, and the Child Protection Alliance.
The presence of multiple stakeholders in this program will surely contribute to its success and lasting impact. And of course, we appreciate members of the media being here to cover this opening ceremony.
And finally, I extend my thanks and gratitude to the course instructor, Mr. Robert Carroll, who is here from the
The ICITAP program has been brought to The Gambia through a combined effort between the U.S. Embassy in
Trafficking in persons is a serious issue for the U.S. Government, and there is a dedicated office in the State Department focusing on trafficking issues. We give this topic so much attention because human trafficking is modern day slavery. Trafficking includes the acts of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a human being for the purpose of labor or sexual exploitation. Trafficking involves force, fraud, or coercion into these forms of exploitation, and while many victims are trafficked across borders, many are also trafficked within their own country.
According to our statistics, approximately 800,000 people are victims of transnational human trafficking each year, and this is in addition to those who are trafficked within their own countries. We estimate that 80% of trafficking victims are girls and women and 50% are minors under the age of 18. Two thirds of these are trafficked into sexual exploitation.
Apart from the moral and social impact, human trafficking deprives people of their basic human rights and freedoms and limits their ability to live with dignity. There are serious consequences for individual and public health, including spreading the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And human trafficking fuels the growth of organized crime.
According to the Annual Trafficking in Persons report produced by the State Department, “The Gambia is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.” The Gambian government has made a lot of progress in combating trafficking, particularly with the comprehensive new law was passed in September 2007, the Trafficking in Persons Act, which provides a legal basis for the prohibition of trafficking. Also, the 2005 Children’s Act prohibited child trafficking specifically. These two excellent pieces of legislation bring The Gambia in line with international legal standards concerning trafficking. Of course, the law is not enough. People must be aware of what trafficking is, and how to stop it. Security forces must be able to recognize trafficking, and the courts must prosecute against it. And in society at large, awareness of what TIP is, and how diverse and devastating its effects are, is a key tool to fight this scourge.
Now that the legislation is in place in the form of the Children’s Act and the Trafficking in Persons Act, all of the concerned parties must work together for the proper implementation of the laws, so that they are used to the fullest. For example, investigations must be carried out carefully so that enough evidence is correctly gathered to aid the prosecution in successfully convicting perpetrators of crimes of trafficking in human beings. The stringent penalties in the anti-trafficking laws must be used to eradicate this scourge. Individuals, communities, and the government can help stop trafficking by prevention, prosecution, and protection. Many of the preventive structures are already in place in The Gambia, but as in most countries, more awareness and action are needed.
The training that begins here today is, I hope, an important tool to help The Gambia in this fight against trafficking. I encourage you to make the best of what you learn in the coming weeks, just as I urge you, as some of the key arbiters of change in the country, to work together to effectively combat slavery in its modern form. As a final note, let me ask that you make every effort to attend the full training program; unlike a conference or workshop this is a comprehensive training program that is designed to build on preceding sessions. Thank you again for your commitment to addressing this important issue. My best wishes for a successful program.
