Security Officials Meet In Fort Portal Over Human Trafficking.
Security officials have met in Fort Portal to forge ways how they can reduce the rampant cases of human trafficking.
The meeting, which was attended by Security personnel from the Rwenzori region, and District Community Development officers sought to enhance ways in which different stakeholders can work together in curbing the problem.
Figures from the Ministry of Internal Affairs indicate that cases of human trafficking increased from 421 cases in 2021 to 1,200 cases in 2022.
Julius Twinomuhuni, the National Coordinator of trafficking in persons at the Ministry of Internal Affairs says 80% of cases registered are domestic while only 20% of those registered are external.
According to a 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State, the Government of Uganda does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
However, the report revealed that the government was putting in efforts to eliminate the problem, these efforts included investigating and prosecuting more trafficking crimes; convicting the most traffickers ever reported in a single year and developing robust standardized operating procedures for law enforcement, and increasing training for investigators and prosecutors.
The report also reveals that in 2021, the government reported investigating 421 incidents of human trafficking involving 501 suspects, a significant increase compared with 214 incidents involving 154 suspects in 2020.
Of the 421 reported incidents of human trafficking, at least 278 involved exploitation in Uganda, and at least 113 involved exploitation abroad, 30 incidents of trafficking were unknown.
Twinomujuni, says that his office is working on coordinating the activities of the stakeholders to help in preventing, prosecuting, and Protecting the victims of human trafficking.
The National Coordinator in Trafficking of Persons also revealed that the meeting held in Fort Portal would help them in having the number of incidents reported in the region increase and coordinate activities within the region.
JONAN TUSINGWIRE
