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Big bucks in human trafficking
15/07/2007 22:16 - (SA)
Luanda - Experts say Africa cannot stamp out the multi-billion dollar human trafficking trade alone and a global effort is needed.
Other countries needed to work with Africa, which was the
most heavily affected by the illegal sale of people - mainly
women and children - they said at a meeting of African
prosecutors in the Angolan capital.
Many are sold into prostitution or enslaved, while children
could be adopted illegally. Some trafficking victims, including
youngsters, have been forced to fight in rebel armies active in
some African nations.
Kenya's director of public prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, said: "Human trafficking isn't a domestic problem, a regional or a continental problem anymore. It is a worldwide, an international problem.
"Africa is a source or a transit point, but destinations are mostly outside Africa. The only way to effectively combat this is with international collaboration on surveillance, sharing information and intelligence, mutual legal assistance and extradition.
"It's a problem that cannot be solved by one country
alone."
United Nations experts said that criminals raked in
between $7-10bn annually from the sale of human beings
worldwide.
They said more than 60% of the business was conducted in
Africa, mostly south of the Sahara.
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