Publication Date: August 20, 2010 - 10:48am
Updated: August 20, 2010 - 10:48am
The director of the Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce Secretariat said that the Secretariat has documented 54 cases of human trafficking in post-war Liberia.
Adolphus G. Satiah made the disclosure Wednesday when he delivered the opening address at the start of a three-day workshop on Human Trafficking, organized by the local NGO, Networks Against Human Trafficking.
Sponsored by International Organization for Migration (IOM), the workshop is aimed at further upgrading the knowledge of key stakeholders on human trafficking for a proactive approach towards combating the crime.
Thirty-five participants drawn from the various sectors of the Liberian civil society are attending the workshop.
According to Mr. Satiah, the issue of human-trafficking was a global one affecting the socioeconomic fabric of any nation.
As such, he said, the Government through the Anti-Human Trafficking Secretariat, was working “tirelessly with both international and local partners in the fight against this unwholesome practice.”
He told participants that the Anti-Human Trafficking Secretariat, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Educational Fund (UNICEF)-Liberia office, last year conducted a research on human trafficking.
The research revealed 54 cases of human trafficking in the country.
Earlier in his welcome address to participants, IOM counter-trafficking expert in Liberia, Freddie D. Goe, said the issue of migration management is a serious concern to the IOM world-wide.
According to Mr. Goe, counter trafficking, is a component of the IOM's Migration Management Program, is also one of the key programs IOM is implementing in the country.
Human trafficking, said Mr. Goe, is a serious problem in Liberia as proven by a number of reports published by many national and international organizations. These include the Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force Secretariat at the Ministry of Labor and UNICEF-Liberia. These reports identified 54 cases of human trafficking with over 150 persons being victimized in the country.
It is against this background that IOM-Liberia has over the years contributed exposing the growing number of human trafficking cases in the country.
The opening ceremony was attended by an array of stakeholders, including officials from the Ministry of Labor and the chairman of the Networks Against Human Trafficking in Liberia, Dr. Abbas Sheriff, among others.
The workshop which commenced on Wednesday is scheduled to end Friday, August 20.
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Task Force Identifies 54 Cases of Human-Trafficking | Liberian Observer
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