The bane of human trafficking is still wreaking havoc in the world. The Gambia is not immune to this horror and its effects can be observed in many communities. A report on trafficking in persons has found that the Government of the Gambia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the eradication of this problem.
Admittedly, the Government and some nongovernmental organisations have taken some steps to fight trafficking in persons, but many challenges still remain.
One of the main challenges perhaps – and this has had a domino effect – is the fact that until now, no convictions have taken place. Equally, it is no secret that some of the cases have to do with trafficking persons for sex, no convictions have been registered so far.
Human trafficking represents a threat to national and international peace and should be fought collectively. This has the potential to undermine the rule of law, rob people of their dignity, enrich transnational criminals and terrorists, and threaten public safety.
As no nation on earth is immune from the problem of human trafficking; and no nation can fight it independently, it would be prudent for nations to come together and combine their resources – both human and financial – to present a united front in this fight.
As this problem is a threat to security and it is very complex, there is a need to widen the scope of the fight to include safety nets in terms of job creation and guarantee of jobs.
The provision of skills and employment can perhaps go a long way in reducing the need for people to traffic others.
