AN OVERVIEW OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Abstract

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings to and from Africa, as well as within the continent. Evidence suggests that virtually no countries in Africa are immune from trafficking. These countries are all affected as countries of source, destination, transit or a combination of all three. While human trafficking has a devastating impact on individual victims, its impact also undermines the safety and security of affected nations as it is a global health risk and it fuels the growth of organised crime. Trafficking is one of the largest profit makers for organized crime in Africa. (It is arguably the lowest risk activity for criminal groups due to widespread corruption, lack of legislation and low rates of prosecution). Most forms of trafficking are to be found in Africa, some of these being: men, women and children are trafficked for farm labour and domestic work; women and children are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation (as prostitutes; for pornography, for pedophile rings; for the under age sex tourism trade); women are trafficked to South Africa to be 'wives' in the mining industry; young girls are sold as child brides; children are trafficked to be used for various activities as child soldiers and are also trafficked for use in ritual sacrifice. These patterns of trafficking take place both within and across countries. Six key priorities have been identified by The Round Table for Africa's Program of Action (2006-2010) on Crime and drugs as impediments to security and development in Africa for dealing with human trafficking on national, regional and international levels.

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Join Area Centers Annual Symposium
Criminal Trafficking and Slavery: the dark side of global and regional migration
February 23-25, 2006
Please seek the author’s permission to cite or use any information found in this draft
paper.
AN OVERVIEW OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Conference on Criminal Trafficking and Slavery
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign
February 23-25, 2006.
Prof Carol Allais,
Dept of Sociology, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, PRETORIA 0003, RSA
allaiac@unisa.ac.za
Abstract
Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the smuggling of migrants and
trafficking in human beings to and from Africa, as well as within the continent. Evidence
suggests that virtually no countries in Africa are immune from trafficking. These
countries are all affected as countries of source, destination, transit or a combination of
all three. While human trafficking has a devastating impact on individual victims, its
impact also undermines the safety and security of affected nations as it is a global health
risk and it fuels the growth of organised crime.
Trafficking is one of the largest profit makers for organized crime in Africa. (It is
arguably the lowest risk activity for criminal groups due to widespread corruption, lack of
legislation and low rates of prosecution). Most forms of trafficking are to be found in
Africa, some of these being: men, women and children are trafficked for farm labour and
domestic work; women and children are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation (as
prostitutes; for pornography, for pedophile rings; for the under age sex tourism trade);
women are trafficked to South Africa to be ‘wives’ in the mining industry; young girls
are sold as child brides; children are trafficked to be used for various activities as child
soldiers and are also trafficked for use in ritual sacrifice. These patterns of trafficking
take place both within and across countries.
Six key priorities have been identified by The Round Table for Africa’s Program of
Action (2006-2010) on Crime and drugs as impediments to security and development in
Africa for dealing with human trafficking on national, regional and international levels.

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For those of you who think it cannot happen to you, I want you to know that the dragnet
of the traffickers is so wide that only God knows who is safe. Titi Atiku Abubakar, Wife
of Nigeria’s (former) Vice President (Agbu 2003: 1).
Introduction
Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the smuggling of migrants and
trafficking in human beings to and from Africa, as well as within the continent. Adepodju
(2005: 75) points out that, until a few years ago, little was know about the phenomenon,
especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and that, until the late1990s when activists, the media
and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) began raising the alarm, very little had
been written on human trafficking in Africa.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) study, Crime and
Development in Africa (UNDOC, 2005), puts the figure of African nations involved in
the trafficking of human beings at 89 percent, however, a trawl on various NGO sites on
the internet reveals that virtually no countries in Africa are immune from trafficking.
These countries are all affected as countries of source, destination, transit or a
combination of all three.
While human trafficking has a devastating impact on individual victims, its impact also
undermines the safety and security of all the nations it touches as it is a global health risk
and it fuels the growth of organised crime.
While it is beyond the scope of this paper to provide an analysis of trafficking in all 54
African countries, an attempt will be made to present a broad overview of the main
features of trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Southern Africa, by focusing on
the predominant forms of trafficking characterizing different regions. The trade in
children1 is a huge business, with billions of US dollars in annual turnover worldwide
(IOM, 1997) and some light is shed on child trafficking in Africa. The paper concludes
with an outline of the key priorities identified by The Round Table for Africa’s Program
of Action (2006-2010) on Crime and drugs as impediments to security and development
in Africa for dealing with human trafficking, especially the organized criminal element
involved in trafficking.
The United Nations’ (UN) definition of trafficking is adopted in this paper.
1 Thirty five percent of all trafficked persons globally constitute children under the age of consent (Agbu, 2003).

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UN definition of Trafficking in Persons2
a) Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harbouring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or the use of force or other forms
of coercion, or abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position
of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or
other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar
to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;
b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth
in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in
subparagraph (a) have been used;
c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the
purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not
involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;
b) Child shall mean any person under the age of eighteen ears of age.
Root causes of trafficking
The root causes of trafficking in Africa are many and varied. Underlying many of these
causes is Africa’s poverty trap which involves a range of mutually reinforcing economic
and social ills. People become part of the human trafficking chain because of various
reasons that are either push or pull factors. Pull factors include, inter alia, economic
differentials that make even relatively poor neighbouring cities, regions or countries more
attractive, conflicts which generate a demand for soldiers and also domestic and sexual
services, the adoption trade, and the use of organs or body parts for rituals. Push factors
mainly include poverty, deteriorating living conditions, human deprivation, persistent
unemployment, gender discrimination, lack of information and education, harmful socio-
cultural practices and lack of legislative and policy frameworks. Women and children
tend to be the most vulnerable to human trafficking as they often carry the burden of
poverty.
The link with HIV/AIDS
Poverty3 and HIV/AIDS are linked in a vicious circle. The growing AIDS epidemic in
sub-Saharan African countries has exacerbated the vulnerability of women and children
to traffickers as breadwinners, parents and other caregivers succumb to the disease. The
UNAIDS/WHO AIDS epidemic update, released in December 2005, puts the number of
2 The full document of The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, especially Women and Children is available at
www.uncjin.org/Documents/Conventions/dcatoc/final_documents_2/convention_%20traff_eng.pdf
3 It is important to note, however, that the relationship between poverty and HIV/AIDS is not simplistic. Some countries
in East and West Africa have a low HIV prevalence rate, despite high levels of poverty. Also, not only poor people are
infected or affected by HIV. This indicates that poverty is not the only factor that enhances vulnerability to HIV and its
impacts (UNDP, 2002: 2)

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people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at 40.3 million. (Close to 5
million people were newly infected with the virus in 2005). While sub-Saharan Africa
has just over 10 percent of the world’s population, it is home to more than 60 percent
(two thirds) of all people living with HIV – 25.8 million. In 2005, an estimated 3.2
million people in the region became newly infected, while 2.4 million adults and children
died of AIDS. Among young people aged 15-24 years, an estimated 4.6 percent of
women and 1.7 percent of men were living with HIV in 2005 (UNAIDS/WHO, 2005:
17).
The increase in the proportion of women being affected by the epidemic continues. In
2005, 17.5 million of those women live in sub-Saharan Africa. Eighty one percent of the
total women living with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa as do 87 percent of all
children living with HIV/AIDS. At the same time, the region hosts 11 million children
who are orphaned due to the epidemic, which means that eight out of ten AIDS orphans
worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa. Poor children are more likely to be engaged in
labour; which often means missing out on an education and the opportunity to earn a
decent wage. “Denied a decent standard of living and, often education, information and
vital life skills, they are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation” (UNICEF State of the
World’s Children Report, cited in Pretoria News, 2006).
The epidemic continues to intensify in Southern Africa. HIV infection levels among
pregnant women are 20 percent – or higher – in six southern African countries
(Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe). In Botswana
and Swaziland infection levels are around 30 percent. South Africa’s epidemic shows no
signs of relenting and in Mozambique, HIV infection levels are rising alarmingly
(UNAIDS/WHO, 2005: 4).
The underdevelopment which results from poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is a breeding
ground for criminal activity.
The globalization-trafficking-crime nexus
Globalization has provided the thrust to both those who wish to migrate and those who
traffic the unwilling. New forms of communication and new opportunities of moving
finances have expanded the scope for global crime (Graaff, 2003: 56) and the
involvement of international criminal organizations4 in human trafficking can be located
within the infrastructure and trends associated with a rapidly globalizing world, eg
increasingly open borders, better transport and an increase in overall migration flows. All
these characteristics of globalization bolster the forces of supply and demand that
3 Estimates on the extents of such activity vary between US$500 billion to US$1 trillion in the year of
1994. Criminal activities include not only drug trafficking, which is the biggest source of income, but also
trafficking in weapons, nuclear material, illegal immigrants, women and children, and finally money
laundering. Criminal groups include the Sicilian mafia, the American mafia, Colombian cartels, Mexican
cartels, Nigerian networks, the Chinese triads, the Japanese Yakuza, the Russian Mafiyas, and the Jamaican
posses (Castells, 2000 (vol 3): 170-172).

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underlie trafficking. A growing number of criminal networks world-wide are showing an
increased sophistication with regard to moving large numbers of people at higher profits
than ever. .
A focus on women and children
Trafficking in women and children is becoming increasingly transnational in scope
(ECPAT International, 2004: 1) and is emerging as an issue of global concern. The most
lucrative part of the trafficking of women and children involves sex trafficking. This
includes forced prostitution, bride trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography
(Ellerman, 2002:3). The vulnerability of women to trafficking is ascribed to their lack of
rights by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (quoted in
Truong & Angeles, 2005: 4) who says:
… the lack of rights afforded to women serves as the primary causative factor at the root
of both women’s migration and trafficking in women. The failure of existing economic,
political and social structures to provide equal and just opportunities for women to work
has contributed to the feminization of poverty, which in turn has led to the feminization of
migration, as women leave their homes in search of viable economic options. Further,
political instability, militarism, civil unrest, internal armed conflict and natural disasters
also exacerbate women’s vulnerabilities and may result in an increase in trafficking.
Trends and patterns of human trafficking in Africa
As in the rest of the developed and developing world, trafficking is one of the largest
profit makers for organized crime in Africa5. (It is arguably the lowest risk activity for
criminal groups due to widespread corruption, lack of legislation and low rates of
prosecution). Most forms of trafficking take place in Africa: men, women and children
are trafficked for farm labour and domestic work; women and children are trafficked for
commercial sexual exploitation (as prostitutes; for pornography, for pedophile rings; for
the under age sex tourism trade); women are trafficked to South Africa to be ‘wives’ in
the mining industry; young girls are sold as child brides; children are trafficked to be
used for various activities as child soldiers and are also trafficked for use in ritual
sacrifice. These patterns of trafficking take place both within and across countries.
West and Central Africa
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) UK, about 200 000
children are taken from their homes in West Africa each year and sold into domestic
slavery, prostitution, labour exploitation, or procured for sacrifice in black magic rituals
in the West. Central to the phenomenon of trafficking in West and Central Africa is abuse
of the tradition of placing children with extended families or other care-takers when they
cannot be cared for by their parents. Nigeria is the centre of this regional trafficking
market. It is a major source, transit and destination for trafficked women and children.
(The children of Benin City in the east of the country are usually the victims of this trade
5 The global value of human trafficking was estimated to be over US$12 billion in 2003 (Tyler, 2003: 3).

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in misery) (Clayton, 2004). People are trafficked to Europe, the Middle East and other
countries in Africa for the purposes of forced labour, domestic servitude, and sexual
exploitation. Nigerian girls and women are trafficked for sexual exploitation to Italy,
France, Spain, the Netherlands, Cote d’Ivoire, and South Africa. Children are trafficked
for domestic labour and street hawking within Nigeria and to countries in West and
Central Africa. Nigeria is also a destination for Togolese, Beninese, Ghanaian, and
Cameroonian children trafficked for forced labour (Eye on Human Trafficking: Issue 6,
2005a: 6).
Ghana and Senegal are also source, transit and destination countries for trafficked women
and children (Adepoju, 2005: 77). Human Rights Watch (2003: 1) has documented four
routes of child trafficking into, out of, or within Togo and say that Togo’s trade in
children is illustrative of a larger, regional phenomenon involving at least thirteen West
African countries. The four routes of child trafficking identified are: (1) the trafficking of
Togolese girls into domestic and marker labour in Benin, Nigeria, and Niger; (2) the
trafficking of girls from within Togo to other parts of the country, especially the capital,
Lomé; (3) the trafficking of girls from Benin, Nigeria and Ghana to Lomé; and (4) the
trafficking of boys into labour exploitation, usually agricultural work, in Nigeria, Benin
and Côte d’Ivoire (Human Rights Watch, 2005: 1). Research conducted in Togo revealed
that these children come predominantly from poor, rural backgrounds and have generally
very little schooling before being trafficked. Most were promised that by going abroad
they would gain some formal or vocational education, which they could then use to earn
money for themselves or their families. Children are often trafficked following the death
of at least one parent. Others had parents who were divorced, or at least one parent living
and working away from home. HIV/AIDS has been identified as a growing cause of
orphanhood in Togo, and a possible factor in susceptibility to child trafficking.
East Africa
The IOM (Eye on Human Trafficking: Issue 7, 2005: 6) has reported on Ethiopian
women and girls who travel to the Middle East in search of work (or who are recruited by
so called ‘labour brokers’) who are often treated like slaves and abused sexually.
Ethiopian women and girls who migrate to Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen and Saudi Arabia
suffer from maltreatment, physical, sexual and emotional abuses (Pretoria News, October
21, 2005). NGOs in Ethiopia have reported on the numbers of the women who commit
suicide, and those whose bodies are returned with missing internal organs6.
Southern Africa
South Africa is a country of origin, transit and destination for extensive regional and
international trafficking. Various categories of trafficking operations have been
identified:
6 Personal communication with Ethiopian NGOs.

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Mining wives
Women continue to be trafficked from rural areas of Mozambique and Maputo for sale to
mine workers on a gold mining district west of Johannesburg, know as West Rand. The
trafficking operations are run by Mozambican and South African men on both sides of
the border. Taxi drivers commuting between the two countries, Mozambique and South
Africa, recruit young women from rural areas such as Macia and Chokwe in
Mozambiques’s Gaza province (and Maputo). At the Ressano Garcia border they may
drop them along with other migrants they may be smuggling. A guide will take them
through so that they can evade border officials before meeting at the other side.
Alternately, passage across the border can be bought for R100-150 (US$16-25). The
women are driven through Johannesburg to Carletonville where there is significant gold
mining activity. At the mine hostels (large single-sex hostels), thousands of men live
close to the mines where they work, yet there is little recreation and little on which to
spend their money. Drinking and sex are two of the few diversionary activities easily
available on a day-to-day basis. They are sold for five- to six hundred Rands (US$80-
100) (Eye on Human Trafficking: Issue 6, 2005b: 1).
Sex trade
Thai and Central European women are sold to brothels; Lesotho children7 are used in
orgies by Free State farmers and businessmen, and Cape Flats children are reportedly
sold to ship’s crews. Women are trafficked from refugee-producing countries through the
network of refugees resident in South Africa. South Africa has become a key hub for the
sex slave trade. South Africans are being trafficked to Macau and Hong Kong. South
Africa is a large exporter of sex slaves from central Europe, Thailand, Lesotho,
Mozambique and Zambia to other African nations. Long-distance truck drivers traffic
victims from Lesotho to Cape Town, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with the help of corrupt
immigration officials at the border posts. Small numbers of Zambian women, lured by
fraudulent offers of employment or marriage, are trafficked to South Africa for forced
prostitution. Zambia is reportedly also a transit point for regional trafficking of women to
South Africa (Eye on Human Trafficking: Issue 3, 2004; Keremire, 2002).
Underage sex tourism
South Africa is also becoming a major destination for underage sex tourism in cities such
as Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Durban (Smith, 2004). Estimates of
children in prostitution in SA range between 28 000 and 30 000, approximately half of
whom are between 10 and14 years of age, and half of whom are between 15 and 18
(Molo Songololo, 2000). Young girls exploited in commercial sex arrive both from
within the country and from different parts of the region — Mozambique, Angola,
Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Cameroon, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, Kenya,
Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia (ILO-IPEC, 2002: 17).
.
The trafficking of children
7 This claim by the International Organization for Migration in Pretoria has been met by scepticism by various sources.

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Child trafficking occurs for many reasons, but, according to the International Programme
on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC, 2003: 23) it is overwhelmingly a
demand-driven phenomenon. It occurs predominantly because there is a market for
children in labour and in the sex trade, and this is matched by an abundant supply of
children, mostly from poor families, who are easy prey for those who seek to make a
profit by exploiting their vulnerability.
The commercial sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation remains the predominant form of exploitation of
trafficked children as it is the most lucrative. This includes bride trafficking, child
prostitution and child pornography (Ellerman, 2003: 3). The growing demand for
children for commercial sex can be traced, among other things, to growth of the sex
industry at the country and international levels. While research shows that most regular
prostitute users do not necessarily seek out under-age providers, it is true that in many
countries (especially Southern African countries), fear of HIV/AIDS and ignorance of its
transmission, peer and societal sexualization of youth, and a rising indifference to the
consequences of sexual exploitation of children, have seen a growth in demand for
younger sex partners (ILO-IPEC, 2002: 24).The demand for underage sex has given rise
to practices like Lomé’s so-called marche du petit vagin, literally, the market of the small
vagina (Human Rights Watch, 2003: 3). The growth of tourism also draws vulnerable
children into high-risk situations in the hope of earning some of ‘the tourist dollar’. So-
called ‘sex-tourists’ are then also drawn to such destinations as word spreads (often via
dedicated websites) that children can be bought cheaply for sex, and women and children
may be trafficked into the resort to meet this increased demand.
There are many factors that increase the vulnerability of children and hence the supply of
potential victims of trafficking, both voluntary and coerced. Among the most prevalent
causes are: poverty and the desire to earn a living or help support the family; lack of
education and access to schools; lack of appropriate means to earn a living; conflict and
natural disasters that devastate local economies; cultural attitudes towards children and
girls in particular; and local laws and regulations. Desperate parents are often willing to
surrender children to traffickers without an understanding of the consequences.
Undoubtedly, some families are aware that the child will be offered for commercial
sexual transactions or will endure intolerable labour conditions.
Children in armed combat
Another distinctive pattern of trafficking found in a number of African countries relates
to the exploitation of children during armed conflict. This involves the abduction and
transportation of children for and by both governments and rebel militias (ILO-IPEC,
2002). (While many children involved in these conflicts have been forcibly recruited,
many have enlisted voluntarily as a means of survival in war-torn regions after family,
social and economic structures have collapsed.) Children are recruited because they are
perceived as cheap and expendable, easily brutalized into fearless killing and
unquestionable obedience. They are often chosen for the most dangerous assignments or

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forced to participate in appalling human rights abuses, sometimes against their own
families or communities (Amnesty International, 2006: 1).
Armed hostilities involving children less than 18 years old occurred in 28 countries and
territories between 2001 and 2004 (International Federation Terre des Hommes, 2006: 1).
The Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers believes that more than 120 000 children
under the age of 18 years (about one third of the world’s child soldiers) are currently
participating in armed conflicts across Africa. Some of these children are no more that 7
or 8 years of age. The countries most involved in the use of child soldiers are: Algeria,
Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia,
Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. (Africa Recovery, United
Nations, 2006: 1, ReliefWeb, 2006: 1).
Children are recruited by both government armed forces and armed opposition groups.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of
children in armed conflict prohibits the direct use of under-18s in hostilities, the
compulsory recruitment of under-18s by governments and any recruitment of under-18s
by non-government armed groups (International Federation Terre des Hommes, 2006: 1).
While the overwhelming majority of African states set 18 as the minimum age for
recruitment, (whether voluntary or through conscription), younger children are inevitable
recruited due to the lack of systematic birth registration in many African countries. Many
African states – inter alia Benin, Cameroon, Mali and Tunisia – appear to follow
appropriate recruitment procedures that prevent underage troops being recruited in the
army. However, in Angola, Burundi, Congo-Brazzaville, The DRC, Liberia, Rwanda,
Sierra Leone, Sudan and Uganda, children, some no more than 7 or 8 years old are
recruited by government armed forces, almost as a matter of course. Just as certain
African governments have chosen to violate national laws, so have opposition groups
flouted public declarations and pledges not to recruit and use children in combat. One
example is Uganda, where the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) systematically abducts
children from their schools, communities and homes. Children who attempt to escape,
resist, cannot keep up, or become ill are killed. Generally, the rebels take their captives
across the border to a LRA camp in Sudan. There, these children are tortured, threatened
and sexually abused. Latest reports suggest that the LRA has turned to selling abducted
children into slavery in exchange for arms (ReliefWeb, 2006: 3).
Child soldiers perform a range of tasks. They are used for participation in combat, as
porters, carrying food or ammunition), to find8 an prepare food, as messengers or spies, to
lay mines and explosives, to act as decoys, couriers or guards, other non-combat roles,
and sexual slavery (Amnesty International, 2006: 1; ReliefWeb, 2006: 2).
8 Children are often required to raid villages for food.

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Girls9, too, constitute the ranks of child soldiers, though generally in much smaller
numbers than boys. Some join voluntarily for their own protection and others are
abducted. As well as being involved in combat and other roles, they are frequently
subject to forms of sexual violence. Many of them are forced to become ‘wives’ of
soldiers or are raped and passed around from man to man. The risks to these girls of
sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies are enormous. Girls are also often
the victims of child soldiers (Amnesty International, 2006: 1; ReliefWeb, 2006: 2).
.
Children participating in armed conflict are at risk of death and great physical and mental
damage. In addition to the physical and mental risks – which apply equally to adults –
children are often at an added disadvantage as combatants due to their immaturity. They
are widely perceived to be dispensable commodities and receive little or no training
before being thrust into the frontline. They are often massacred in combat as a result
(ReliefWeb, 2006: 2). Drugs are regularly used to subdue the children and induce their
dependency. Many of the atrocities committed by the child soldiers are as a result of the
drugs they are often forced to take to make them torture their victims. But drugs alone do
not account for the atrocities committed by children. It is their systematic abuse by adults
combined with a pervasive culture of violence that is ultimately responsible. Despite
near-universal condemnation of child soldiering and a solid legal and policy framework,
lack of political will is an obstacle to achieving concrete improvements and effective
child protection on the ground (Economic Perspectives, 2005: 26)
The long-term social consequences of the use of children in armed conflict is summarized
by Mr Olara Otunnu, UN secretary-general’s special representative for children and
armed conflict who sees the exploitation, abuse and use of children in today’s warfare in
Africa as “… nothing short of a process of self-destruction… This goes to the very heart
of whether or not in large portions of Africa there is a promise of future for these
societies” (Africa Recovery, United Nations, 2006: 3).
The trafficking of children for ritual sacrifice
The discovery of the headless and limbless body of a young boy between the ages of four
and six floating in the River Thames in London in 2001 led ultimately to the discovery of
a ring of Nigerian human traffickers. Investigations by a multi-agency unit revealed that
the young boy had been brought alive from Benin City in Nigeria to London to be
sacrificed in a ritual killing10. It is believed that this case is just the tip of the iceberg and
that there may have been other ritual killings which were not discovered or recognized as
such before the investigation raised awareness of the practice (BBC NEWS, 2006a,b). A
confidential report into the sacrifice and abuse of children at African churches describes
how pastors are profiting from the trafficking of young boys from Africa into Britain.
Uncircumcised boys are being smuggled in to the country for human sacrifice by
9 Despite growing recognition of girls’ involvement in armed conflict, girls are often deliberately or inadvertently
excluded from rehabilitation programs (Amnesty International 2006:1).
10 Human sacrifice (specially the sacrifice of children) occurs in a number of African countries. Examples of sacrifices
reported in three of Liberia’s counties, and involve beheading and organ removal (Human parts such as genital organs
are believed to offer supernatural power.) (ReligionNewsBlog.com, 2006b).

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fundamentalist sects whose members believe their ritual killing will enhance spells. In
one of the many chilling findings, it was suggested that youngsters were smuggled into
the United Kingdom and given to men with HIV who believe that having sex with a child
(a virgin) will cleanse them (ReligionNewsBlog.com, 2006a).
The trafficking of the young and vulnerable is aptly summed up by Albert Thomas, first
Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) who says “…The exploitation of
childhood constitutes the evil the most hideous, the most unbearable to the human
heart…” (ILO-IPEC, 2002: iv).
The involvement of criminal networks
Organized crime has increased in Southern Africa since the end of the Cold War and
particularly in South Africa since the transition from apartheid to a non-racial democracy.
While South Africa, given its comparative wealth, is the main focus of criminal networks,
Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia are important strategic links. Surrounding
states are used as a conduit for the smuggling of illicit merchandise to South Africa, and
in turn, goods are smuggled out of the country both for regional markets and for
destinations further afield.
Given the apparent scale of the problem in this region, Shaw (2005) observes that
surprisingly little research has been given to the scope and causes. In no cases is this
clearer than in the involvement of West African, particularly Nigerian-, criminal
organizations in Southern Africa. While West African criminal networks are active
throughout the world, the costs of their activity in Southern Africa may be higher by
virtue both of the degree of their penetration and the weakness of state institutions to
counter the threat. West African criminal networks are involved in a range of illicit
activities. The trafficking in illegal narcotics is the major source of resources which can
be channeled into other criminal operations (or legitimate businesses) like the production
or securing of false documentation, advanced fee fraud (419 scams), kidnapping, cheque
and credit card fraud, dealing in stolen goods, and trafficking in human beings.
Besides West African criminal networks, other international criminal syndicates11
believed to be involved in the trafficking in human beings in South Africa (and Southern
Africa) are Chinese Triads (a number of locally based groupings have been identified)
(cf Gastrow, 2001), Russian and Bulgarian Mafias and smaller syndicates comprising
nationals on either side of national borders, eg Mozambican and South Africa Nationals.
Porous borders and corruption together with the absence of dedicated legislation and
regional cooperation has allowed traffickers to operate with impunity.
US TIP Report ratings
11 Personal communication with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Pretoria, South Africa and the
United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), Pretoria, South Africa.

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Champaign, Illinois
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The 2005 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, published by the US Department of State’s
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (2005) has graded 35 African
countries on a four-tier12 scale. Sudan and Togo have been rated Tier Three (T3)
countries. Eight countries are Tier Two Watch list countries, and 25 have Tier Two (T2)
status. No country has achieved Tier One (T1) status.
Ten Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries are profiled in the
2005 report. These are Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius,
Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. All have Tier
Two ratings except South Africa13 and Zimbabwe, which are Tier Two Watch list
countries. Areas identified which require more attention are: the vigorous investigation
and prosecution of trafficking cases; adequate victim protection; and trafficking
prevention measures. In many cases, clear, comprehensive legislation has been identified
as particularly lacking in the SADC region.
Feasible cross-national strategies to address human trafficking
The Round Table for Africa (organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) and hosted by the Government of Nigeria) was held in September 2005 in
Abuja to review a Program of Action (2006-2010) on Crime and drugs as impediments to
security and development in Africa. The Round Table was attended by 14 Ministers and
senior government officials, representatives of various NGOs from 14 African Member
States, development partners and international organizations.
The Program of Action is the strategic and operationally oriented framework for technical
cooperation over the next 5 years directed towards the reduction of the impact of crime
and drugs as impediments to security and development in Africa. The main objectives,
proposed actions and key partners in the implementation of the objectives and actions
regarding trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants is dealt with under one
of six ‘clusters’ identified, i.e. Cluster III. Illicit trafficking, organized crime, corruption,
money laundering and terrorism. A number of key priorities, proposed actions and
possible key partners are identified (UNDOC, 2005: 20-23). The key priorities are:
• Key priority 1 — Strengthen the capacity of criminal justice systems to address
human trafficking for all forms of exploitation and smuggling of migrants;
• Key priority 2 — Support and protect victims and witnesses, including children,
by providing basic materials, medical assistance and care, counseling and legal
assistance, return/repatriation with dignity, among others;
12 T1 is for nations in full compliance with the ‘minimum standards’ of tackling the problem of trafficking.
T2 is for countries that are making significant efforts to end trafficking but are not quite there yet. T2
Watch List is for nations not deserving a firm placement on the T2 rung. T3 is for countries unable or
unwilling to deal with trafficking. Countries not on the list have not yet been profiled.
13 A national Task Team has been established in South Africa to direct a comprehensive and strategic response to
human trafficking with a view to formulating trafficking legislation for South Africa by 2006.

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Slavery: the dark side of global and regional migration, February 23-25, 2006
Champaign, Illinois
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• Key priority 3 — Establish and strengthen subregional anti-trafficking networks
and action plans and international cooperation;
• Key priority 4 — Strengthen the capacity of and cooperation between the relevant
authorities, civil society and other bodies dealing with trafficking and smuggling,
return/repatriation and reintegration;
• Key priority 5 — Promote prevention, protection and regional cooperation;
• Key priority 6 — Raise public awareness among groups at risk, such as women,
children and migrants.
These key priorities address a range of issues like prevention and deterrence; law
enforcement and prosecution of traffickers; protection of trafficked persons; awareness
raising and advocacy work and campaigning on national, regional and international levels
in the fields of legislation and litigation, social policies and assistance programmes;
public relations, documentation and information services, training and educational
programmes, regional and international networking aimed at long term strategies.
Key partners identified to attain the objectives deriving from the stated priorities include:
Governments, NGOs, Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs) (eg Interpol,
International Labour Organization (ILO), International Organization for Migration
(IOM), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), regional organizations (eg Southern
Africa Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO), Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), South African Development
Community (SADC), African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders (UNAFRI), United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
(UNICRI), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organization
(WHO), United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
Department of Peacekeeping Operations, regional economic communities, international
financial institutions, African Union (AU).
Conclusion
The development process in Africa is being hampered by crime. Investment levels are
low due to the perception that the rule of law does not prevail. Crime destroys human and
social capital and damages, especially through corruption, the relationship between the
state and its citizens. The Programme of Action is the strategic and operationally oriented
framework for technical cooperation over the next five years directed towards the
reduction of the impact of crime and drugs as impediments to security and development
in Africa.

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Slavery: the dark side of global and regional migration, February 23-25, 2006
Champaign, Illinois
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