Kampala — Uganda and other countries of the Great Lakes region have been urged to put in place effective legislation to combat human trafficking and coordinate their efforts to fight the vice.

Participants from 11 countries of the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation identified weak laws, poverty, conflicts, porous borders and the demand for cheap and unprotected labour as some of the factors contributing to the crime.

They made the recommendations at the first regional anti-human trafficking conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo that was also attended by participants from UN agencies and civil society organisations.

"The legislation should be human-rights-based, taking into consideration not only law enforcement but also victim protection," the participants noted.

They observed that there was need for countries to ratify and domesticate the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime.

They advocated for good governance and improvement in the socio-economic conditions through employment, education and other social and welfare programmes.

Closing the conference, the Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, stressed the need to fight poverty in order to curb the evil.

He also urged countries to establish effective ways of detecting and preventing the crime.

"We need intelligence, effective investigation and successful prosecution of the offenders."

Kayihura, who is the police organisation's chairperson, said the conference was a good beginning to fighting the vice and pledged to ensure that the report is discussed at the next meeting in Bujumbura, Burundi in August.

The conference was aimed at creating awareness, strengthening regional cooperation and devising ways of addressing problems of human trafficking, among others.