CHRDA pathways towards preventing human trafficking in the South West Region of Cameroon.
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Human Trafficking is one of the social ills our society is facing amidst the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts around the world. The focus on the above-mentioned umbrella issues has normalised human trafficking as it is not being looked into as a matter of emergency thereby giving the upper hand to perpetrators. according to The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa(CHRDA), forced labour, sexual slavery, forced marriage; extraction of human organs in Cameroon is alarming given the global health crisis and sociopolitical crisis in the country. The Human Rights Institution is also of the opinion that the fight against these barbaric practices remains fierce and that there is a need for collective efforts to curb its occurrences.
As one of its strategies to combat human trafficking, CHRDA says the involvement of all stakeholders both at the local, national, regional and international levels in the fight against trafficking is the best means. This workshop is part of a funded project by UNODC. the event which took place on 15 September 2021 draws together local authorities and members of the Civil Society Organisations to pathways towards establishing/reinforcing strategies in the prevention of human trafficking and to brainstorm on the specific measures used to combat human trafficking in the South West Region. The workshop according to traffciking This workshop is one of the other measures adopted by CHRDA to provide assistance and protect victims of human trafficking in the southwest region of Cameroon in partnership with UNODC. It was also used as a forum to identify victims of human trafficking in the region with a focus on women, young adults of between.
Discussions during this work session focused on vulnerable groups and human trafficking; trafficking indicators and possible causes; the law and human trafficking in Cameroon; social integration of victims of human trafficking; sustainable measures of assisting victims of human trafficking and the way forward to reducing the phenomenon.
Efforts being made by the government of Cameroon to curb human trafficking were highlighted as well as the problems of effectively protectinng, investigating the crime of human trafficking. Proposals on how Cameroon can take to assist victims of human trafficking centred on sensitization and education of the local population on the negative impact of human trafficking. The economic empowerment of youths in a sustainable manner; ratification of international instruments prohibiting human trafficking; clearly defining human trafficking under Cameroonian law and developing strong psychosocial assistance mechanisms to victims of human trafficking.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
