Establishing a regional framework for the partnership concerning the fight against human trafficking in West

and Central Africa

Presented by:Bernard Ngamo Kameni

Head of the Unit for the Fight against Human Trafficking and the Protection of Children

Secretariat GeneralEconomic Community of the Central African States

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Support for the EU-Africa partnership on migration, mobility and work

**********Meeting of senior officials on

migration, mobility and employment Brussels 15 – 18 September 2010

Contents 2

I. Geographical framework;II. The fight against human trafficking in

WCA [West and Central Africa]: stages;III. Regional instruments in the fight against

human trafficking;IV. The institutional framework for the fight

against trafficking;V. The challenges facing the implementation

of regional instruments;VI. The Regional Partnership Framework for

the fight against human trafficking in WCA (definition, goals, players, roles and tools).

ECOWASECOWAS ECCASECCAS

Founded: 28 May 1975 in Lagos (Nigeria)

15 member states Population: 290 million

(2008) Main centres of interest:

Agriculture, Cultural cooperation, Energy, Democracy and good governance, Education, Environment, Gender, Industry, Youth, Fight against drugs, Fight against human trafficking, NICT, Conflict prevention and peacekeeping, Telecommunications, Health, Sport and Social Affairs, Private sector, Transport,

Founded: October 1983 in Libreville (Gabon)

10 member states Population 124 million

(2005) Main centres of interest:

Agriculture, Rural development, Energy and water, Education and culture, Environment, Elections and good governance, Infrastructure, Justice and human rights, Free movement of people, Fight against crime, Fight against human trafficking, Prevention of conflict and peacekeeping, Health sciences and technology, Sport

I – Geographical framework 3

I – Geographical framework (concl.)

Flow of child trafficking in West and Central Africa Region

Mauritania

Mali Niger

Chad

Nigeria

Burkina Faso

Cote d’Ivoire

Benin

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Democratic Republic of Congo

Republic of Congo Gabon

Guinea Equatorial

Togo

Ghana

Cape Verde Senegal

Gambia

Guinea-BissauGuinea-Conakry

Sierra Leone

Liberia

No documented traffic

Receiver

Provider

Receiver and provider

Transit/Stop over

Index

(Based on current knowledge)

Agriculture

Domestic work/Urban informal sector

Fishing

Cases reportedSub- regional study on child trafficking in West and Central Africa, 2000(Bazzi-Veil, February 2000)UNICEF - Regional office for West and Central Africa

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II – The main stages in the fight against human trafficking in West and Central Africa

Joint procedure implemented with the technical support of UNICEF:

July 2006: adoption of regional legal instruments:

July 2007: Adoption of a joint ECCAS/ECOWAS action plan for the fight against human trafficking;

October 2007: establishing the units entrusted with the fight against human trafficking within the ECOWAS Commission and the Secretariat General of ECCAS;

March 2010: Launch of the African Union Commission action plan for the fight against human trafficking.

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III – Regional instruments in the fight against trafficking

Legal instruments:

1. The Ministerial Resolution on the fight against trafficking;

1. The Multilateral Regional Cooperation Accord on the fight against human trafficking, particularly as regards women and children, in West and Central Africa:

the fields involved in the fight against trafficking; the obligations shared by all member states; the obligations specific to states of origin, transit and

destination of the victims of trafficking; the terms and conditions of legal mutual support aimed at

suppressing trafficking; follow-up mechanisms.

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III – Regional instruments in the fight against

trafficking (cont.)

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The joint ECOWAS / ECCAS Action Plan

Applying the provisions of the legal instruments to the fields of action:

Reinforcement of legal frameworks; Social development; Institutional reform; Reinforcement of powers; Establishing action mechanisms.

Identification of players at a state, regional and sub-regional level and definition of their roles.

:

III – Regional instruments in the fight against trafficking (concl.)

Tools supporting the implementation of the Action Plan:

1. An action protocol to guide a victim-centred approach:2. The draft of the law against human trafficking; 3. The framework of the national follow-up committee on

the anti-human trafficking campaign;4. The draft of the bilateral agreement on legal

cooperation and mutual aid; 5. The system plan for tracing children trafficking in

West and Central Africa;6. The backup tool for issuing requests for legal mutual

support.

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IV- The institutional framework9

  V – Challenges facing the implementation of the

instruments

The implementation of this action plan faces challenges associated with:

procrastination observed in strengthening the national legal frameworks and signing the bilateral legal cooperation agreements;

inadequate information from the populations on the aspects, consequences and impact trafficking;

the scarcity of data at a sub-regional and regional level on human trafficking;

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V - Challenges facing the implementation of the instruments (concl.)

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a lack of synergies between the anti-trafficking campaigns, strengthening in the economic powers of at-risk families, the protection of women and children in crisis and post-crisis situations, the fight against cross-border crime and against migrant trafficking;

the poor mobilisation of technical support and essential financing;

procrastination observed in the implementation of the Joint Regional Commission (ECOWAS – ECCAS).

VI – The regional framework of the partnership

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Definition: strategic alliance between the institutional players working within the framework of the fight against the trafficking, migration, the protection of the child and other related problem scenarios;

Players: CUA [African Union Commission], RECs , UNS agencies, Bilateral Cooperation Organisations, International NGOs , Specialist organisations (INTERPOL) and Coalitions of Civil Society Organisations;

Goal: to support the CRPCS and the units responsible for the Fight against human trafficking within ECOWAS and ECCAS in producing results to reinforce the anti-trafficking campaigns at the level of the member states.

VI – The regional partnership framework (roles)

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(Possible) roles for the CRP [RPF]:

To create synergies, to set up complementarities, to integrate the perspectives of the various players involved and to mobilise new players;

To mobilise technical expertise within the framework of task forces (Inter Agencies Technical Teams) on specific subject areas: legal cooperation, social communication, the fight against cross-border crime, etc.;

To initiate collaborative action with fund providers to mobilise and direct funds towards strategic sectors/fields;

To provide (technical) support for lobbying campaigns aimed at the relevant regional, sub-regional and state authorities.

Tool 1: Diagram of factors involved in trafficking: shared understanding of the phenomenon, harmonised

perceptions… ……

Degree/level of political involvement

Availability of resources

Players • CUA, CERs •UNS agencies•Bilaterals•Int’l NGOs•OSC (…)•INTERPOL

Players • CUA, CERs •UNS agencies•Bilaterals•Int’l NGOs•OSC (…)•INTERPOL

Campaigns •Causal analyses

Campaigns •Causal analyses

Tool 2: Results chain: dividing up roles, establishing complementarities, developing synergies …. Mobilising other

partners

Political will affirmed Political will affirmed

Resources mobilised Resources mobilised

Players • CUA, CERs •UNS agencies•Bilaterals•Int’l NGOs•OSC (…)•INTERPOL

Players • CUA, CERs •UNS agencies•Bilaterals•Int’l NGOs•OSC (…)•INTERPOL

Campaigns

•Lobbying•Reinforcement of powers•Service provision •Establishing mechanisms, •Support for reforms,•Mobilisation of resources

Campaigns

•Lobbying•Reinforcement of powers•Service provision •Establishing mechanisms, •Support for reforms,•Mobilisation of resources

VI – The Regional Partnership Framework (cont.)

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Priority regional problem scenarios for the 2011 – 2013 period will tackle:

the strengthening of powers in terms of harmonisation of legislation, legal mutual aid cooperation and technical support for the states involved in the process of signing bilateral cooperation and legal mutual support agreements;

the strengthening of powers in the field of victim-centred care, outlining models for reinforcing the social/educational powers of at-risk families;

designing mechanisms for the protection of women and children in peacekeeping operations and crisis and disaster management situations;

VI – The Regional Partnership Framework (concl.)

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The development and implementation of an integrated social communication plan focusing on the causes and consequences of human trafficking, operational methods and the movements of trafficked individuals and migrants;

Mobilisation of the units of the Commission of the African Union, ECOWAS and of ECCAS to undertake lobbying campaigns aimed at urging the political involvement of Heads of State and Government to establish legal, political and institutional frameworks for the fight against trafficking;

The definition of logical frameworks, integrated regional follow-up evaluation plans and the regular communication of indicators for the fight against trafficking;

The development of a resource mobilisation plan.

Thank you Thank you for your for your kind kind attentionattention

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