Kampala — RUKUNGIRI Woman MP Winifred Masiko (NRM) has tabled a Bill that seeks to prevent human trafficking. "The Bill seeks to prosecute traffickers and protect victims," she told Parliament on Tuesday.

Masiko said the majority of the victims are women and children. According to the Bill, the offenders will either be jailed, fined or their operations wound up.

Edward Ssekandi, the Speaker of Parliament, said a parliamentary committee would study the Bill.

Damalie Lwanga, the assistant director of public prosecutions, said Uganda had no specific law on human trafficking although it seeks to prevent and punish the offenders.

She said forms of human trafficking included prostitution, early or forced marriages, child labour, illegal adoption, human sacrifice and slavery.

The US has placed Uganda on its watch-list of countries dogged by human trafficking.

According to the 2007 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report, Uganda falls in 'Tier 2', which refers to countries that do not meet the minimum standards of combating human trafficking but are making significant efforts to ensure compliance.

The report said 7,000 to 12,000 children in the country were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Of these, about 28% were assisted by third parties such as taxi drivers, bar and brothel owners.

It said the cross-border trade between Uganda and the DR Congo had increased commercial sexual exploitation in Arua district.

Also commercial sexual exploitation was occurring internally in the country, where victims are moved from rural areas to urban centres like Kampala.

People involved in human trafficking were individuals operating on their own, small trafficking groups, militia groups and large criminal syndicates, it added.

The victims are coerced, deceived, kidnapped, sold by their families or separated from their families.