Attorney General’s Office registers 11 cases of human trafficking in the first half of year

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Attorney General’s Office registers 11 cases of human trafficking in the first half of year

12:02 CAT | 21 Jul 2017

O País (File photo)

Mozambique’s Attorney General’s Office reported 11 cases of human trafficking in the first half of this year, three more than in the same period of 2016.

Speaking at the launch of World Day to Combat Trafficking in Persons activities, Deputy Attorney General Amabélia Chuquela said that most of the cases concerned labour exploitation, and some the extraction of human organs.

The cases reported in the first half of the year all involve internal trafficking and were registered in Tete, Zambézia and Manica provinces in central Mozambique, and Gaza and Maputo in the south.

Chuquela said that no cases were reported from January to June regarding trafficking in persons leaving Mozambique to other countries, but that Mozambique was still regarded as a transit point for trafficking victims to South Africa.

“Mozambique’s profile [as a destination and transit point for human trafficking] has not changed, as the latest report released by the US State Department indicates,” Chuquela said.

She said that the Mozambican authorities were investigating the situation of four Mozambican children repatriated from Zimbabwe because evidence of trafficking was found.

Southern African countries have been working to strengthen regional cooperation through coordination at borders in order to stop the evil. “We have been strengthening cooperation with South Africa, and with Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania, in order to fight this regional phenomenon,” she says.

Chuquela points out that women and children are the main target of human traffickers, mainly because of poverty. “To escape poverty and help families as a source of livelihood, children are forced to move from to distant areas, exposing them to the dangers of trafficking,” she says.

The National Reference Group on Child Protection and Combating Trafficking, a platform that brings together government and civil society entities, chose the district of Massinga in Inhambane province, southern Mozambique, to host World Day against Trafficking in Persons activities.

“There is movement of children leaving Massinga district for the Ressano Garcia border crossing with the aim of emigrating to South Africa,” Chuquela said.

Source: Lusa