Human trafficking in Lesotho

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Lesotho ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2003. [1]

Contents

In 2010 Lesotho was a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution, and for men in forced labor. Women and children were subjected within Lesotho to involuntary domestic servitude and children, to a lesser extent, to commercial sexual exploitation. Basotho victims of transnational trafficking were most often taken to South Africa. Long-distance truck drivers offer to transport women and girls looking for legitimate employment in South Africa. En route, some of these women and girls were raped by the truck drivers, then later prostituted by the driver or an associate. Many men who migrated voluntarily to South Africa to work illegally in agriculture and mining became victims of labor trafficking. Victims worked for weeks or months for no pay; just before their promised "pay day" the employers turned them over to authorities to be deported for immigration violations. Women and children were exploited in South Africa in involuntary domestic servitude and commercial sex, and some girls may still be brought to South Africa for forced marriages in remote villages. Some Basotho women who voluntarily migrated to South Africa seeking work in domestic service became victims of traffickers, who detained them in prison-like conditions and forced them to engage in prostitution. Most internal and transnational traffickers operated through informal, loose associations and acquire victims from their families and neighbors. Chinese and reportedly Nigerian organized crime units, however, acquired some Basotho victims while transporting foreign victims through Lesotho to Johannesburg, where they "distribute" victims locally or move them overseas. Bathoso children who have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS were more vulnerable to traffickers' manipulations; older children trying to feed their siblings were most likely to be lured by a trafficker's fraudulent job offer. [2]

The Government of Lesotho does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. While operating under severe resource constraints, the government formed an active multi-sectoral task force, created a national plan of action, trained more officials to identify trafficking situations and victims, and raised public awareness. Despite these efforts, however, the government has shown no evidence of efforts to combat human trafficking through law enforcement activities, and protections for victims are still minimal.

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017 [3] and 2023. [4]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index noted the involvement of local officials in this crime, as well Pakistani and Chinese criminal gangs. [5]

Prosecution (2010)

The government did not increase its law enforcement efforts during the past year, and no suspected trafficking offenders were identified during the reporting period. Lesotho has no comprehensive anti-trafficking law, which hinders the government's ability to address human trafficking. Lesotho does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, though its Constitution prohibits slavery, servitude, and forced labor. [6] The Child Protection Act of 1980, the Sexual Offenses Act of 2003, the Common Law, and the Labor Code Order of 1981, as amended, prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties of at least five years' imprisonment for crimes that could be used to prosecute trafficking offenses. The Child Protection and Welfare Bill, drafted in 2005, was approved by the Cabinet in 2009 and is currently awaiting debate in Parliament. It prohibits child trafficking and prescribes sufficiently stringent penalties of 20 years' imprisonment for trafficking offenders. [7] No current or draft laws specifically prohibit the trafficking of adults. The government did not provide official data on trafficking or trafficking-related prosecutions or convictions during the reporting period. The Multi-Sectoral Committee, an anti-trafficking task force, in partnership with a local NGO, arranged for and participated in three trafficking workshops. The session in October 2009 particularly targeted police and immigration officials, and focused on identifying trafficking offenders and their victims, as well as identifying laws that could be used to prosecute traffickers under Lesotho's existing legal system. While officials opened no official investigations into trafficking activity in Lesotho, the Lesotho Mounted Police Service worked with South African police to investigate suspected trafficking cases in border areas. Each month, immigration officers at the Maseru border post assisted approximately 20–30 victims of labor trafficking, usually men exploited in forced labor before being deported from South Africa. Law enforcement officers did not proactively identify victims among other vulnerable populations, such as women and children in prostitution, and most were not trained to identify victims they may encounter as part of their normal duties. There was no evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of trafficking on a local or institutional level. [2]

Protection (2010)

The Lesotho government took minimal steps to protect victims of trafficking over the last year. Most officials did not proactively identify victims, and agencies have no formal mechanism for referring victims to service providers. Lesotho has no care facilities specifically for trafficking victims. Orphanages supported by the Government of Lesotho and NGOs are available to provide some services to children presumed to be victims of trafficking. Staff from the Child and Gender Protection Unit (CGPU) of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service provided counseling to women and children who were victims of abuse, including some they believe were trafficking victims. The government acknowledged the need for safe shelter for victims and included the need in its draft anti-trafficking national plan of action. Basotho law does not protect victims from prosecution or otherwise being penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, nor does it provide foreign victims with legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they may face hardship or retribution. [2]

Prevention (2010)

The Government of Lesotho clearly increased its efforts to prevent trafficking. The Multi-Sectoral Committee on Trafficking, which was formed in July 2009 and is composed of representatives of government ministries, NGOs, police, border security, the judicial system, UNDP, UNICEF, academia, and religious institutes met regularly and began working on a national plan of action. The action plan was nearly complete in early 2010. The government requested and received funding from UNDP to research trafficking in Lesotho; the Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to make the final report available in mid-2010. Authorities conducted several high-visibility information campaigns during the past year, spurring a sharp rise in the number of news reports about human trafficking. Campaigns run in partnership with the Government of South Africa targeted large border towns where trafficking is likely more prevalent. The CGPU and partners in local communities conducted awareness workshops, and trained other officers in the Lesotho Mounted Police on victim awareness and identification. UNICEF helped the CGPU to distribute educational materials on human trafficking. The Minister of Home Affairs presided over the launch of an NGO's Red Light 2010 Campaign, which addressed sex trafficking in the context of the World Cup in South Africa in June 2010."The Red Light 2010 Campaign." As part of national campaigns against gender-based violence, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking, the government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. [2]

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Tanzania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Boys are trafficked within the country for forced labor on farms, in mines, and in the informal business sector. Tanzanian girls from rural areas are trafficked to urban centers and the island of Zanzibar for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; some domestic workers fleeing abusive employers fall prey to forced prostitution. In some regions, unregistered employment agencies are involved in recruiting minors from rural areas to work as domestic helpers in the capital, where they are subject to exploitation. Tanzanian children and adults are reportedly trafficked to other countries including Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy and China. Trafficked children from Burundi and Kenya, as well as adults from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Yemen, are trafficked for forced labor in Tanzania's mining, agricultural and domestic service sectors, and are sometimes also subjected to sex trafficking. The Government of Tanzania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.

In 2019 Zimbabwe was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Large scale migration of Zimbabweans to surrounding countries - as they fled a progressively more desperate situation at home - increased, and NGOs, international organizations, and governments in neighboring countries reported an upsurge in these Zimbabweans facing conditions of exploitation, including human trafficking. Rural Zimbabwean men, women, and children were trafficked internally to farms for agricultural labor and domestic servitude and to cities for domestic labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children were trafficked for domestic labor and sexual exploitation, including in brothels, along both sides of the borders with Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia. Young men and boys were trafficked to South Africa for farm work, often laboring for months in South Africa without pay before "employers" have them arrested and deported as illegal immigrants. Young women and girls were lured to South Africa, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada with false employment offers that result in involuntary domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation. Men, women, and children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia were trafficked through Zimbabwe en route to South Africa. Small numbers of South African girls were trafficked to Zimbabwe for domestic servitude. The government’s efforts to address trafficking at home have increased with the introduction of the National Action Plan (NAP) as well as the 2014 Trafficking in Persons Act. In addition, the trafficking situation in the country is worsening as more of the population is made vulnerable by declining socio-economic conditions.

Angola is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor. Internally, trafficking victims are forced to labor in agriculture, construction, domestic servitude, and reportedly in artisanal diamond mines. Angolan women and children more often become victims of internal rather than transnational sex trafficking. Women and children are trafficked to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Namibia, and European nations, primarily Portugal. Traffickers take boys to Namibia for forced labor in cattle herding. Children are also forced to act as couriers in illegal cross-border trade between Namibia and Angola as part of a scheme to skirt import fees. Illegal migrants from the DRC voluntarily enter Angola's diamond-mining districts, where some are later reportedly subjected to forced labor or prostitution in the mining camps.

Austria is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.

Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Some children in Barbados are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation in “transactional sex” wherein a third party such as a parent receives a benefit from the child's participation in sexual activity. Researchers identified patterns of transactional sex within families, most often by adult male caretakers such as step-fathers, as well as child prostitution outside the home. Women from the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Jamaica voluntarily enter Barbados as illegal migrants, and some expect to engage in prostitution. Some of these women are exploited in forced prostitution subsequent to their arrival. Some other foreign women who entered the country illegally are exploited in involuntary domestic servitude in private homes. Foreign men have been transported to Barbados for the purpose of labor exploitation in construction and other sectors. Sex traffickers, primarily organized criminals from Guyana, form partnerships with pimps and brothel owners from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, and lure women to Barbados with offers of legitimate work. Trafficking victims tend to enter the country through legal means, usually by air; traffickers later use force and coercion to obtain and maintain the victims' work in strip clubs, massage parlors, some private residences, and “entertainment clubs” which operate as brothels. Traffickers use methods such as threats of physical harm or deportation, debt bondage, false contracts, psychological abuse, and confinement to force victims to work in construction, the garment industry, agriculture, or private households.

Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.

Botswana is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Parents in poor rural communities sometimes send their children to work for wealthier families as domestics in cities or as herders at remote cattle posts, where some of these children are vulnerable to forced labor. Batswana girls are exploited in prostitution within the country, including in bars and by truck drivers along major highways; it does not appear, however, that organized pimping of children occurs. In the past, women reported being forced into commercial sexual exploitation at some safari lodges, but there were no similar reports during this reporting period. Residents in Botswana most susceptible to trafficking are illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, unemployed men and women, those living in rural poverty, agricultural workers, and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Some women from Zimbabwe who voluntarily, but illegally, migrate to Botswana to seek employment are subsequently subjected by their employers to involuntary domestic servitude. Botswana families which employ Zimbabwean women as domestic workers at times do so without proper work permits, do not pay adequate wages, and restrict or control the movement of their employees by holding their passports or threatening to have them deported back to Zimbabwe.

In 2009 Namibia was a country of origin, transit, and destination for foreign and Namibian women and children, and possibly for men subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. Traffickers exploited Namibian children, as well as children from Angola and Zambia, through forced labor in agriculture, cattle herding, involuntary domestic servitude, charcoal production, and commercial sexual exploitation. In some cases, Namibian parents unwittingly sold their children to traffickers. Reports indicate that vulnerable Namibian children were recruited for forced prostitution in Angola and South Africa, typically by truck drivers. There was also some evidence that traffickers move Namibian women to South Africa and South African women to Namibia to be exploited in forced prostitution. Namibian women and children, including orphans, from rural areas were the most vulnerable to trafficking. Victims were lured by traffickers to urban centers and commercial farms with promises of legitimate work for good wages they may never receive. Some adults subjected children to whom they are distantly related to forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Small business owners and farmers may also participated in trafficking crimes against women or children. Victims were forced to work long hours to carry out hazardous tasks, and may have been beaten or raped by traffickers or third parties.

Nicaragua ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2004.

In 2009, Niger was a source, transit, and destination country for children and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Caste-based slavery practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continued primarily in the northern part of the country. Children are trafficked within Niger for forced begging by religious instructors known as marabouts; forced labor in gold mines, agriculture, and stone quarries; as well as for involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. The ILO estimates at least 10,000 children work in gold mines in Niger, many of whom may have been forced to work. Nigerien children, primarily girls, were also subjected to commercial sexual exploitation along the border with Nigeria, particularly in the towns of Birni N'Konni and Zinder along the main highway, and boys are trafficked to Nigeria and Mali for forced begging and manual labor. There were reports Nigerien girls entered into "false marriages" with citizens of Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates: upon arrival in these countries, the girls are often forced into involuntary domestic servitude. Child marriage was a problem, especially in rural areas, and may have contributed to conditions of human trafficking. Niger is a transit country for women and children from Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Togo en route to Northern Africa and Western Europe; some may be subjected to forced labor in Niger as domestic servants, forced laborers in mines and on farms, and as mechanics and welders. To a lesser extent, Nigerien women and children were sometimes trafficked from Niger to North Africa the Middle East, and Europe for involuntary domestic servitude and forced commercial sexual exploitation."

Gabon is primarily a transit country for children from Benin, Nigeria, Togo, Mali, Guinea, and other West African countries who are subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Some victims transit through Gabon en route to exploitation in Equatorial Guinea. According to UNICEF, the majority of victims are boys who are forced to work as street hawkers or mechanics. Girls generally are subjected to conditions of involuntary domestic servitude, or forced labor in markets or roadside restaurants. Stepped-up coastal surveillance over the past year – especially following the October 2009 arrival in Gabonese waters of a sea vessel that was carrying 34 child trafficking victims, some of whom were destined for Equatorial Guinea – caused traffickers to change their routes, which included utilizing estuaries and rivers to transport children. The majority of victims in that incident were young girls, a departure from previous patterns of trafficking in the region. Trafficking offenders appear to operate in loose ethnic-based crime networks. Some child traffickers are women, who serve as intermediaries in their countries of origin. In some cases, child victims report that their parents had turned them over to intermediaries promising employment opportunities in Gabon. The government has no reports of international organized crime syndicates, employment agencies, marriage brokers, or travel services facilitating trafficking in Gabon. In 2009, the government began tracking a new trend of young adults between ages 18 and 25 being forced into domestic servitude or prostitution in Gabon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Ghana</span>

In 2009, Ghana was a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. The nonconsensual exploitation of Ghanaian citizens, particularly children, was more common than the trafficking of foreign migrants. The movement of internally trafficked children was either from rural to urban areas, or from one rural area to another, as from farming to fishing communities.

Guinea ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in November 2004.

Madagascar ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2005.

Malawi ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2005.

In 2009 Mozambique was a source and, to a much lesser extent, a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. The use of forced and bonded child laborers was common in rural areas of the country, often with the complicity of family members. Women and girls from these rural areas were also lured to cities with promises of employment or education, as well as to South Africa for involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. NGO's reported that Mozambican victims of sex traffickers were taken by traffickers to "training centers" in Eswatini and South Africa in preparation for an expected increase in demand for prostitution during the 2010 World Cup. Young Mozambican men and boys were subjected to conditions of forced labor in South African farms and mines; they often labored for months in South Africa without pay and under coercive conditions before being turned over to police for deportation as illegal migrants. Mozambican adults were subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution in Portugal. Women and girls from Rhodesia and Malawi who voluntarily migrate to Mozambique continued to be manipulated by traffickers into forced prostitution and domestic servitude subsequent to their arrival. There were an estimated 145,600 people living in slavery in Mozambique and countless more being taken unwillingly into South Africa.

Human trafficking in Brazil is an ongoing problem. Brazil is a source country for men, women, girls, and boys subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution within the country and abroad, as well as a source country for men and boys in forced labor within the country. The United States Department of Homeland Security, describes human trafficking as "the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act."

Chad is a source and destination country for children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. The country's trafficking problem is primarily internal and frequently involves parents entrusting children to relatives or intermediaries in return for promises of education, apprenticeship, goods, or money; selling or bartering children into involuntary domestic servitude or herding is used as a means of survival by families seeking to reduce the number of mouths to feed. Child trafficking victims are primarily subjected to forced labor as herders, domestic servants, agricultural laborers, or beggars. Child cattle herders follow traditional routes for grazing cattle and at times cross ill-defined international borders into Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Nigeria. Underage Chadian girls travel to larger towns in search of work, where some are subsequently subjected to prostitution. Some girls are compelled to marry against their will, only to be forced by their husbands into involuntary domestic servitude or agricultural labor. In past reporting periods, traffickers transported children from Cameroon and the CAR to Chad's oil producing regions for commercial sexual exploitation; it is unknown whether this practice persisted in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Costa Rica</span> Trade of people in Costa Rica

Costa Rica ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2003.

Victims of human trafficking in Ecuador are generally women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines and other hazardous work. Ecuador prohibits human trafficking in its penal code, and penalties are commensurate with other serious crimes. Despite robust law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking, conviction rates remain low. The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs. The government has also undertaken advertising campaigns against human trafficking, particularly child labor and child sex tourism. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

References

  1. United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 Country Narratives - Countries G Through M". US Department of State. 2010-06-18. Archived from the original on 2010-06-18. Retrieved 2023-02-16.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  4. US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  5. Organised Crime Index website, Lesotho, retrieved August 19, 2024
  6. "Constitution of Lesotho". The Lesotho Government Portal Archived 2008-11-12 at the Wayback Machine .
  7. ""The Child Protection and Welfare Bill."". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-03-05.