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By Jeffrey Moyo
BEITBRIDGE (ACP-IDN) – Ndikonyaga Muleya, 39, from Beitbridge, Zimbabwe's border town with South Africa, said the smuggling in South Africa was practical.
Over the years, he has gained experience by crossing the neighboring country in search of casual employment in Musina, also a border town between South Africa and Zimbabwe, which He is now an illegal carrier of undocumented Zimbabweans wishing to travel to South Africa fleeing the country's growing economic crisis. misfortunes.
"I earn money by transporting people through unmanned crossing points in South Africa. I also helped before, when I started to cross to South Africa, "Muleya told IDN.
Although he neither denied nor confirmed whether he was also a human trafficker, Muleya is apparently also one of the thousands of migrants smugglers in Africa who, over the years, have profited from the profession.
The crime committed against many Africans who, over the years, have been helped to travel to other far – away countries, has given rise to such action organizations as the group of States of America. Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), which has taken action against trafficking in human beings. human trafficking and smuggling of migrants on the African continent.
Last year, in March, the ACP-EU Migration Program met to combat human trafficking, migrant smuggling in Georgetown, Guyana, with a focus on on trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants.
The meeting brought together 70 delegates and experts from the ACP States and the European Union (EU) to discuss the most effective ways of combating human trafficking and smuggling of migrants.
Rosilyne Borland, head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said before the meeting: "This is an excellent opportunity to draw on the experience of experts from these three regions in preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, smuggling of migrants, including the protection of victims and migrants who are victims of human rights violations. "
Despite efforts by organizations such as the ACP to fight human trafficking, many human traffickers on the continent like Muleya insist that they would not be deterred.
Thus, even as ACP countries, among other anti-trafficking organizations, are fighting against human trafficking, southern Africa in particular has become the most affected, becoming the hotspot for trafficking in human beings. 39 human beings and even migrant smuggling, thanks to the porous borders of the region and sometimes corrupt. security officials exposed to bribes to facilitate human smuggling and smuggling of migrants.
Even traffickers like Muleya boast of paying easily for illegal border crossings when they move their customers to neighboring countries.
"It's easy: we corrupt security guards and border guards who control illegal crossings.With our customers, we still cross the border safely to South Africa." Money talks to my brother, "said Muleya.
But for this, the ACP countries have proved useful in combating the smuggling of migrants and have entered into a pact with the EU with the aim of enhancing the positive effects of migration in Africa in order to promote the legal mobility. At the same time, the EU has focused on the need to contain irregular migration, facilitate returns and strengthen border controls.
The ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, which also aimed to combat trafficking in human beings, was signed in Cotonou (Benin) almost two decades ago.
But still years after the conclusion of the agreement, the dilemma of human trafficking is still a source of headaches for many organizations such as the ACP who are fighting the scourge. ACP, however, is up to the challenge.
Eight years ago, the ACP Group of States and the European Union adopted a joint declaration on migration and development, which was endorsed by the ACP-EU Council at the time. The parties pledged to strengthen and deepen their cooperation in the area of migration governance and coordination of activities. The dialogue, based on strategies to combat irregular migration, enables regular migration, including issues related to the fight against trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.
The ACP-EU initiative has engaged United Nations agencies active in the fight against trafficking and smuggling of migrants.
In March of this year, Koen Vervaeke, General Manager for Africa of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Chatham House think tank in London, said: "The new partnership of the European Space Agency". EU with Africa must do more with migration policy.We must be partners with Africa to fight against smuggling and smuggling of migrants.
As such, the ACP-EU Migration Action of the International Organization for Migration was launched four years ago to provide countries in all ACP regions with technical support on specific migration. To this end, the ACP received 58 requests for technical assistance from 44 ACP governments. and five regional organizations
Thanks in particular to the ACP countries, last June, at the request of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), IOM and ACP-EU Migration Action organized a five-day training course on combating trafficking in human beings. people and migrant smuggling.
The theme of the training was capacity building, the fight against human trafficking, the trafficking of human beings, the DRC experiencing many cases of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants and considered a country of great importance. origin, transit and, to a lesser extent, destination for traffickers and smugglers. migrants.
As a follow-up, ACP-EU Migration Action and IOM would continue to support the Government of the DRC to help it find appropriate tools and solutions to deal with the scourge of human trafficking and trafficking. illegal.
Against human trafficking, an ACP-EU Technical Seminar on Trafficking in Human Beings, focusing on women and children, was held in June 2018 in the ACP Secretariat, where delegates to share their views and make recommendations on how to fight the scourge.
During this meeting, ACP countries collaborated with their partners to focus on key challenges and policies to combat human trafficking in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions.
The ACP Group of States and the EU have conducted several rounds of ambassador-level dialogues, culminating in series of recommendations that were subsequently endorsed by the ACP-EU Joint Council.
To implement these recommendations, the ACP-EU Migration Action was launched in January 2015. The Action undertakes activities that support the Migration and Development Dialogue's recommendations on visa issues, remittances funds, readmission, trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants.
In 2010, the ACP Group of States and the European Union adopted a Joint Declaration on Migration and Development, which was approved by the ACP-EU Council in June 2010.
In the declaration, the parties pledged to strengthen and deepen their cooperation in the field of migration governance and the coordination of a dialogue based on strategies to combat irregular migration, to allow regular migration, as well as migration and development, including issues related to the fight against trafficking in human beings and smuggling. migrants. [IDN-InDepthNews – 28 November 2018]
Photo: The photo shows two Lesotho women trafficked in South Africa. Credit: Sunday Times.
This report is part of a joint project of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States and IDN, flagship agency of the International Press Union.
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