REQUEST TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS FROM THE JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND STATUS OF WOMEN

REPORT ON SOUTH AFRICA'S RESPONSE TO THE TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

1. BACKGROUND

Law enforcement agencies and research institutions' have identified South Africa as one of the countries in the southern part of Africa that is used by organized traffickers of human beings as a destination, transit and country of origin of victims In pursuing this abominable trade.

In recognition of this, the country has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, especially Women and Children which came into operation on 29 September 2003 and 25 December 2003 respectively,

The trafficking Protocol obliges member states to:


In accordance with the means of each country,


Parallel processes have seen the governmental line functions take the initial steps in addressing the phenomenon of trading in persons in order to further various purposes, such as the investigation undertaken by the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC), with a view to producing a comprehensive Trafficking in Persons Bill on the matter in December 2005, and the establishment of the Human Trafficking Desk within the Organised Crime Unit at the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The National Prosecuting Authority has encountered unique problems in ensuring an adequate response to the occurrences of this phenomenon, in the absence of specific legislation. Trafficking cases present as a whole host of other offences in the criminal justice system, e.g. sexual exploitation, farm labour, domestic labour and murder. Prosecutions have proceeded on an ad hoc basis overtly demonstrable to the facts such as kidnapping, indecent assault and rape, which do not individually attract as heavy sentences as a specific trafficking in persons offence would impose.

Legislation currently utilised in the Prosecution of trafficking cases include the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957, the Child Care Act 74 of 1983, as amended, the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998, the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004, the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, as amended, the Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996, as amended, the Corruption Act 94 of 1992, the Intimidation Act 72 of 1982 and the Riotous Assembly Act 17 of 1956 in framing conspiracy and incitement charges.

The absence of legislation specific to human trafficking limits prosecutors to dealing only with the perpetrator directly linked to the offences resulting from the trafficking of the victim, to the exclusion of the perpetrators behind the scenes, as this is often an organised crime activity. The National Prosecution Service is also not in a position to record statistics, due to lack of definition in current legal framework.

The presidential mandate of the SOCA Unit is to deal efficiently and effectively with sexual offences, hence the emphasis on trafficking for sexual exploitation purposes.

A comprehensive mechanism in response to trafficking in human beings thus clearly becomes a priority, in light of the above circumstances.

2. COORDINATING SOUTH AFRICA'S RESPONSE TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit's mandate in dealing with the prevention and reduction of sexual offences through effective prosecutions, formed the basis of the convening of a Trafficking in Persons Seminar on 5 December 2003, with the following objectives:


In an effort to make the process as inclusive as Possible, a very broad approach was adopted to distil the critical role-players. The stakeholders listed hereafter were invited: Department of Home Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs, various units within the South African Police Service (SAPS), various directorates within the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD), Office on the Status of Women – Presidency, National Treasury, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC}, Youth Ending Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (YECSEC), various United Nations agencies, Terres des Hommes, Justice and Peace Commission, and all the Foreign Missions in the country identified in research studies as being affected by the Phenomenon. The Witness Protection Unit {WPU). Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) and the Directorate of Special Operations in the NPA were also in attendance.

The outcome of the forum was the establishment of a 10 member Trafficking In

Persons Inter-sectoral Task Team ("the Task Team"), which would be a Working Group defining and implementing strategy, with the clear understanding that the broader Consultative Forum had to be kept abreast of developments on a Quarterly basis. The SOCA Unit within the National Prosecuting Authority was unanimously chosen to chair and also play a secretarial function for the Task Team and the Consultative Forum. The departments and organisations outlined hereunder were elected to the Task Team:


Provision was made for the ad hoc co-option of technical knowledge and expert various departments and organisations, such as the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD) and the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC).

3. PROPOSED STRATEGY

The Task Team has identified six pillars of a national strategy to effectively address trafficking in persons, as an instance of organized crime: information, Capacity-Building & Development, Victim Assistance and Integration, Policy and Legislation Development, Liaison and Consultation as well as Monitoring & Evaluation. The Task Team has developed Terms of Reference and a Process Flow Chart in this regard.

4. INITIATIVES

4.1 Interim legislation

The members of the Task Team made individual submissions to the SALRC in relation to Chapter 5 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill, 2003 (Working Document 24 February 2004) regulating the criminalisation of trafficking in persons for sexual purposes.


4.2 "Next Steps To Path Breaking Strategies In The Global Management & Prosecution of Sex Trafficking In South Africa" Conference -22 to 24 June 2004.

The War Against Trafficking Alliance (WATA) led by Shared Hope International, a non-governmental organisation based in the United States of America, collaborated with the Task Team to convene the "Next Steps To Path Breaking Strategies In The Global Management & Prosecution Of Sex Trafficking In South Africa" Conference in Benoni, Gauteng from 22 to 24 June 2004.

The 120 Conference participants were identified to attend the three-day session based on the instrumentality of their work in this field, and included relevant directorates within the Departments of Justice & Constitutional Development, Home Affairs, the National Prosecuting Authority, Foreign Affairs, Social Development, Education, Health, the South African Police Service, civil society as well as international bodies.

In addition to the presentations made by speakers at the gathering, the Conference provided the participants with an opportunity to work through different international cases of trafficking with South African and Unites States experts on the subject.

4.3 Consultative process

The Task Team convened quarterly meetings in 2004 with a broader group of stakeholders involved in the management of trafficking, who collectively form the Trucking in Persons Consultative Forum, to ensure broader consultation in the development and implementation of plans in this sphere.

5. WAY FORWARD
A 3-year funding agreement between the European Union Commission (EU) and the National Prosecuting Authority has been entered into for the implementation of the strategy from January 2006. Accordingly, in terms of the EU provisions, the Teac Cegos Consortium in Brussels was appointed on a 28-day consultancy assignment to work on the Design Study for the Task Team.

As part of the Design Study, the consultants are examining in detail the 6-pillar strategy developed by the Task Team in 2004, with a view to assessing its implementability and sustainability; as well as exploring parallel interventions in the SADC region. The consultants conducted expert interviews nationally, focusing on border locations and cities with a higher proportion of commercial sexual activity.

The Validation Workshop designed to obtain stakeholder inputs to the comprehensive programme proposal, based on the empirical and desktop research findings made by the consultancy, was held on 20 June 2005 in Pretoria.

Participants were identified in accordance with the instrumentality of their work in this field, and will include relevant directorates within the Departments of Justice & Constitutional Development, Home Affairs, the National Prosecuting Authority, Foreign Affairs, Social Development Education, Health, the South African Police Service, civil society as well as international bodies.

At the conclusion of the signing-off process by the Task Team on 27 June 2005, the strategy will be presented to EU member states represented in South Africa on 30 June 2005 before its submission to the EU headquarters in Brussels.