Christof Maletsky
6 June 2008
Windhoek — NAMIBIA may be a source and destination country for child trafficking but the magnitude is not known, according to a US State Department report released on Wednesday.
The annual "Trafficking in Persons" report, which tracks forced labour and the sex trade, covered Namibia as a "special case" for the first time and found that the largest percentage of trafficking victims were children engaged in prostitution.
Namibia, Somalia, the Solomon Islands, and Tunisia, were among countries suspected of having trafficking problems but were not ranked because of lack of sufficient information.
"The existence of a significant human trafficking problem in Namibia is suspected, but remains unsubstantiated by sufficient reliable reporting".
"There is evidence that small numbers of Namibian children are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude, as well as forced agricultural labour, cattle herding, and possibly vending," the report said.
Cases were also reported of Zambian and Angolan children trafficked to Namibia for domestic servitude, among others.
If the company scores low on human trafficking the United States could withhold aid that is not humanitarian or trade-related, according to the report. slavery."
The report estimates 800 000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, about 80 per cent of them female and up to half minors, Namibia's Prevention of Organised Crime Act of 2004 criminalises trafficking and prescribes up to 50 years in prison for those convicted.
Existing legislation also prohibits child labour, child prostitution, pimping and kidnapping and can be used to prosecute a case of human trafficking.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Namibian. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
