By Allieu S. Tunkara
2021 Trafficking In Persons (TIP) report still places Sierra Leone on Tier-2. As a Tier-2 Country, it means Sierra Leone is among those countries that do not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)’s minimum standards, but are making significant effort to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
TVPA was enacted in the United States in 2000 to prosecute human traffickers. The law lists additional factors that determine whether a country should be on Tiers-1,2 and 3.
Sierra Leone moved to Tier-2 the previous year after authorities made significant effort to cut down on incidents of human trafficking. The movement came as a result of prosecutions and convictions embarked on by the state.
Justice Fischer, formerly a state counsel headed the TIP syndicate at the Attorney-General’s office. Most of the TIP prosecutions and convictions are to his credit. Prior to the final TIP evaluation in March 2020, Sierra Leone was a Tier-2 Watchlist country.
As a Watchlist Country, Sierra Leone does not fully meet TVPA’s minimum standards, but was making some constrained effort. With Sierra Leone’s labelling, it means the estimated number of victims in severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing and government was not taking proportional concrete actions.
It also means there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing effort to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons. It could also be interpreted to mean that there is no increasing investigations, prosecutions and convictions of trafficking crimes.
No increased assistance to victims of trafficking, and there is evidence of complicity between government and human traffickers. The low performance in human trafficking as one of US key governance benchmarks cost Sierra Leone millions of US Dollars in aid.
Sierra Leone’s failure to qualify for the aid was confirmed by the Minister of Social Welfare in a meeting of TIP Task Force Against Human Trafficking. Tier-3 is the worst, and government must not allow Sierra Leone to relegate to such level. Tier-3 countries are those whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards, and are not making significant effort to do so.
A country’s relegation to Tier-3 is underpinned by several factors. The TIP report says the extent to which a country is a country of origin, transit, or destination for severe forms of trafficking. The extent, according to the report, to which a country does not meet TVPA’s standards and government’s collusion with human traffickers is another key factor among other factors.
Countries, in Tier-3, no doubt face funding restrictions. The countries are subjected to certain restrictions on foreign assistance.
According to the report, the President may determine not to provide non-humanitarian, nontrade-related assistance as defined in the TVPA. Despite its status as a Tier-2 country, Sierra Leone still grapples with human trafficking.
Almost two weeks ago, Sierra Leone through UN IOM (International Organisation for Migration) repatriated 145 Sierra Leoneans stranded in Niger. These Sierra Leoneans were on their way to a number of European countries where the hope to make fortunes remains high. The repatriation forms part of IOM’s rescue effort of Sierra Leoneans on the ‘Temple Run.’
Over a 100 Sierra Leoneans were brought back to Sierra Leone from Lebanon by IOM after days of starvation. The unfortunate Sierra Leoneans were also on their way to Europe. In the West African country of Senegal, some Sierra Leoneans were held in protective custody by the country’s security forces to stop them from crossing over to Europe.
They were later repatriated to Sierra Leone by the UN agency. Three Sierra Leoneans also ran out of luck following their encounter with security forces. They were also held in a detention for weeks before sent back to Sierra Leone. A lone Sierra Leonean, Mariama who attempted to enter Cyprus through human trafficking networks was intercepted and returned to Sierra Leone.
Cyprus is one of great success stories of prosperity in Europe. Despite horrible stories told by victims of traffickers, people still wanted to make it to Europe as long as traffickers exist. The 2021 TIP report highlights several social injustices prevailing in many countries as the key factor that breed and fuel increased incidents of human trafficking.
“This year’s Trafficking in Persons’ report sends a strong message to the world that global crisis such as: COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and discriminatory policies and practices have a disproportionate effect on individuals oppressed by other injustices,” a portion of the report claims. These challenges, the report noted, further compound existing vulnerabilities to exploitation including human trafficking.
The United States, the report says, remains committed to fighting human trafficking in the world. It further claims that systemic discrimination creates inequities among communities.
The discrimination, it notes, targets perceptions of race, sexual orientation and gender identity or any other social identities. The discrimination is manifested, according to the report, by societal exclusion and prejudices against those communities which help perpetuate an imbalance of opportunity and support.
“These inequities undercut the goal of combating human trafficking and embolden human traffickers,” the report notes. In an effort to end the injustices, United States call on other countries to join in the fight against the mass evil.
To achieve this aim, countries would have to reduce to an appreciable level, harmful practices and policies that cause socio-economic and political vulnerabilities that traffickers often prey on. The report further observes that one thing is clear: human trafficking does not stop during a pandemic.
It was a response to the global call that IOM, in August 2020, developed a document that charted the way for a smooth, regular and orderly migration. The document known as Migration Governance Indicators (MGI) aims at supporting well-managed migration policy by helping countries assess the comprehensiveness of their migration governance structures and identify priorities.
The MGI could be used to spark discussions within governments and other relevant stakeholders in the country on their migration policies. It can also help in assessing whether these structures which have often been in place for several years still address the main challenges and opportunity in today’s reality.
Although Sierra Leone is a Tier-2 country, more effort is needed for improvement to forestall a fall back.