The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) coalition had organised a three day consultative meeting on Strategies for Accelerating the ratification of the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa for Mano River Union countries at Paradise Suite Hotel. In her welcoming remarks, on behalf of SOAWR, Madame Caroline Muthoni Muriithi of Equality Now Africa Regional Office, a women’s Rights organisation which is the secretariat for SOAWR, has said that solidarity for African women’s rights coalition,

(SOAWR) was created by passionate women’s rights activists and human rights organisations who wanted to ensure that the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted and subsequently ratified by all the African Union member states. “Its main goal has been to advocate for the universal ratification of the Protocol; to popularise the protocol and to ensure that it is implemented in all countries and becomes part of the domestic law thus ensuring that all women in Africa benefit from the rights and freedoms provided therein,” she said. To achieve this goal she added, it seeks to increase public opinion and constituencies for the ratification of the AU Protocol leading to ratification and progress on national domestication; utilize the existing policy space and commitment sustained and expanded within the African Union Commission and the Pan- African Parliament to champion the Protocol; create visibility and awareness of the Protocol’s provisions and the real conditions facing women and girls are actively promoted through mass media and internet based campaigns; to strengthen leadership capabilities of women’s organisations to consolidate the promise of the Protocol at national and regional levels”.

Madame Muthoni Muriithi, however disclosed that the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa was adopted by the African Union Heads of State and Government on 11th July 2003 and entered into force on 25th November 2005 becoming the fastest human rights instrument in Africa to come into force at such record speed. This she noted was due to the efforts of the solidarity for African womens’ rights (SOAWR) campaign together with partners and women activists across the continent. “SOAWR has in the last four years made great strides in its quest to speed up the ratification of the African Union (AU) Protocol on the Rights of Women. “Today, with a growing membership of 30 organisations in 18 African countries, SOAWR has continued to mount pressure on African Union member states. As we speak 25 out of the 53 African countries have ratified the protocol with Liberia and Zimbabwe being the latest to ratify, she concluded”.

For her parting Mrs Mary Small, facilitator to the program said that (SOAWR) is a continental coalition made up of 29 Civil Society Organisations and Development partners working towards the promotion and protection of women’s Human Rights in Africa.

She pointed out that since its inauguration in 2004, SOAWR’s main area of focus has been to get those countries that have not yet ratified the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa to do so with a sense of urgency, while at the same time encouraging states that have ratified to domesticate and implement it in their respective countries, she added.

Madame Small further stated that, despite the widespread ratification by African States of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Violence Against Women and of the instruments that constitute the International Bill of Rights (Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), gender issues barely appeared in political agendas across Africa. Through these different encounters and partnerships with local bodies, she revealed, it has been made abundantly clear that to tackle the underlying causes of violence, it is necessary to support and strengthen local initiatives and organisations focused on ending violence on a sub-regional basis.

The United States Embassy in The Gambia is accepting applications for use of the Democracy and
Human Rights Fund (DHRF) which provides assistance through grants to indigenous civil society organisations or Community Based Organisations (CBOs). These grants implement small, short-term, highly targeted activities designed to show measurable results with an emphasis on change in support of human rights and democratic institutions.

Common themes that proposals may cover and encourage include, though are not limited to: Change in civil and political rights; Adherence to the Rule of Law through legal framework conducive to civil and political rights; Free and democratic electoral systems; Development of democratic principles that promote human rights and result in change; Increase access of women and ethnic groups to the judicial and to political processes.

All DHRF funded activities must have a substantive link to the promotion of democracy or human rights. Proposals must be generated in the field within the particular country context and be based on specific requests from indigenous organisations; Clearly describe how the activities will be managed; Identify the anticipated results; Be completed within 12 months; Demonstrate that a change in democracy and/or human rights practices or law will occur, or that beneficiaries will receive a new awareness or democratic and/or human rights principles; Address civil and political rights (i.e. activities that promote the rule of law or domestic and civil and legal rights; Not exceed $25,000.

Certain types of activities do not qualify for this fund. These include the use of funds to influence the outcome of elections; training or advice, or support for police, prison or other law enforcement forces, military or any other program of internal intelligence or surveillance, building construction; vehicle purchase; long term (more than 12 months) recurring administrative costs such as building or equipment maintenance, rent, office supplies, or administrative salaries; conference or workshops that lack a specific and clear goal. The U.S. Embassy DI IRF selection committee will base their decision on potential impact, feasibility and financial soundness of the proposed activity.

If you wish to apply please send a proposal addressing the items in the sample proposal format by September 18th, 2008. To download a sample of a proposal format please go to the embassy website (http://banjul.usembassy.giv/news/us-embassy-press-release3/democracy –and-human-rights-fund-dhrf.html All proposals must have proforma invoices for purchases or services to be needed to justify line item budget. Incomplete proposals will not be considered for funding. You should keep a copy of your application for your records.

For more information, please call the U.S. Embassy on Tel. 4392856 Ext. 2300.

After the prosecution witness, Salifu Nyang, had testified against Lamin Jaiteh and Kanjura Jaiteh, who were charged with trafficking in persons and concealment of trafficking in persons, Lawyer Omar Njie cross-examined the witness.

When it was put to the witness that the accused, Lamin Jaiteh, was threatened and was under pressure when the witness was recording his cautionary statement, the witness denied it.

He also denied that he promised Lamin Jaiteh any favour and did not tell the accused that he was at the police station and the accused should abide by whatever the police told him.

Still testifying in cross-examination, the witness told the court that the counsel for the accused was not present when he recorded the cautionary statement of the accused.

 Asked whether he was familiar with one Camara, who was present in court, he said he could not remember and further stated that no police officer recorded the statements from Lamin Jaiteh other than himself.

He revealed that although the accused is literate, the accused asked him to write his statement for him.

It was put to him that he was not truthful, but he denied it. He maintained that it was the accused, who chose him to write his statement for him. He confirmed that the accused surrendered himself to the police and was arrested. He also confirmed that the accused was not granted police bail but denied that he told the accused that it was not necessary for his lawyer to be present when he was recording his voluntary and cautionary statements.

Magistrate Buba Jawo at this juncture adjourned the case until 28th August 2008 for continuation of cross-examination.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights {the African Commission} in collaboration with the Women’s Bureau recently celebrated Pan African Women’s Day at Paradise Suites Hotel. As part of the celebrations, a series of events, including a reception, symposium, an exhibition and cultural performances were earmarked.

The aim of the celebration was to popularise and raise awareness of Pan African Women’s day.

According to Commissioner Sonata Maiga, Special Rapporteur on the rights of women in Africa, the Pan African Women Organization (PAWO) was the first ever African women’s organization established on 31st July 1974, aimed at entrenching the notion that the rights of women are part and parcel of human rights and, therefore, should be their collective responsibility.

Commissioner Maiga disclosed that the organization has five Secretariats and that seven out of the eleven members of the commission are women. “Many states have not yet ratified the convention. Only 24 out of 53 ratified, so we should try and encourage the rest to ratify”, she urged.

Women, she noted, are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, harmful traditional practices like female genital mutilation. These, she stated, could only be eradicated if women come together and fight for awareness and discrimination. Maiga finally commended President Jammeh for championing the cause of Gambian women.

Deputising for the First Lady, Madam Zinab Jammeh, on the opening of the celebration, the Secretary of State for Justice, Mrs. Marie Saine Firdaus, said that the celebration was important and close to home. She commended the African Union Commission on Human and People’s Rights and Women’s Bureau for the wonderful initiative.

Secy Firdaus focused on specific interventions, achievements and challenges faced in The Gambia in the promotion and protection of women’s rights. “ In The Gambia, we are implementing a national policy for the advancement of Women and Girls, 1999-2009, and the process of drafting a gender policy has begun. In the area of legislation, the 1997 constitution has entrenched clauses that provide for the rights of women as equal partners in national development,” she intimated.

The constitution, she added, has also provided equal opportunities for women in education, health and socio-economic activities. “The Gambia has also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the AU Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa,” she disclosed.

Secy Firdaus assured the organisers that The Gambia government would continue to pursue more response policies, programmes and strategies to ensure that women’s rights are effectively protected and promoted across the length and breadth of the country.

“Women and leadership is another area that The Gambia, under the Jammeh administration, prides itself. Women have been given the opportunity to participate in decision-making, both at the village, district, regional, national and international levels. Similarly the number of women holding decision-making positions in the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary have increased. However, at the regional level, women are not serving in key positions, apart from being members of committees and the few that find themselves in such positions are challenged with having the required skills and knowledge to represent the interest of other women”, she concluded.

Here is a verbatim report of an American Senator Durbin who is calling for release of our Gambian journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh who has been missing for two years now. Senator has not only limited to the case of Manneh but many others in the world. Here goes the call.

   Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, America has long been a champion and source of hope around the world for those suffering human rights violations--those holed up in dictators' prisons, those fighting for press and political freedoms, those bravely standing up to tyranny or injustice.

   Many of those who have suffered, such as Vaclav Havel and Nelson Mandela, or continue to suffer this fate, such as Aung San Suu Kyi, are well-known to us. Sadly, for each one of them, there are many other, lesser known heroes being detained or harassed all over the world simply for wanting basic human freedoms.

   Through our annual human rights reporting at the State Department, our diplomacy, and steady public pressure on basic human rights, the U.S. has traditionally been a source of hope for those being illegally detained or persecuted.

   We should never forget what this kind of attention and pressure can accomplish and what kind of strength it provides for those being detained.

   Take for example, Ngawang Sangdrol, a Tibetan nun who was detained and tortured for peacefully expressing her belief in Tibetan independence. She was freed after 12 years of imprisonment following immense public pressure. After her release she said,

   I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support ..... I am deeply touched to learn that many individuals, organizations, and governments.......have worked towards my release. It is very clear to me that I have been released and allowed to come out to the free world for medical treatment and to enjoy my freedom because of international concern.

   Or Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev, a political activist from Turkmenistan who in 2004 was seized and forced into a psychiatric hospital by the country's ruling dictator. His crime--requesting permission for a peaceful political rally.

   He was released a few years later, just 10 days after 54 members of Congress sent a letter to the Turkmen Government about his case.

   We should listen and act upon the appeal made by Aung San Suu Kyi, who has remained under house arrest in Burma for most of the last 19 years:

   Those fortunate enough to live in societies where they are entitled to full political rights can reach out to help the less fortunate in other parts of our troubled planet....... Please use your liberty to promote ours.

   I realize we must also work to address our own recent shortcomings by unequivocally renouncing torture and by closing the detention facility in Guantanamo--and we will continue to work toward ending these shameful legacies.

   At the same time, we must continue to speak out in support of those imprisoned for advocating basic freedoms around the world.

   Many of us on both sides of the aisle have been arguing that America's strength resonates not only from its military power but from the power of its ideas and inspiration, the power of its values and hope, the power of its generosity and diplomacy--its smart power.

   Sadly, I worry that a measure of this leadership, of this inspiration, and of this uniquely American hope has been lost in recent years.

   Accordingly, today I want focus the Senate's attention on a tragic story from the small west African Nation of The Gambia.

   Chief Ebrima Manneh was a reporter for the Gambian newspaper, the Daily Observer. He was allegedly detained in July 2006 by plainclothes police officers thought to have been from the Gambian National Intelligence Agency after he tried to republish a BBC report critical of President Yahya Jammeh.

   He has been held incommunicado, without charge or trial, for two long years. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience and has called for his immediate release.

   I agree.

   Recent reports suggest he is being held at the Fatoto Police Station in eastern Gambia. In July 2007, he was also reportedly escorted by the members of the Gambian Police Intervention Unit to the Royal Victoria hospital in the capital for high blood pressure treatment.

   Despite repeated attempts by Manneh's father and fellow journalists, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, to seek information on Mr. Manneh, the Gambian Government continues to deny any involvement in his arrest or knowledge of his whereabouts.

   My direct request to the Gambian Embassy here in Washington has also been met with shameful silence.

   Last month in Nigeria, the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States declared the arrest and detention of Mr. Manneh illegal and ordered Gambian officials to release him immediately.

   And yet the Gambian Government ignored this court's ruling as well--even though this court has jurisdiction for human rights cases in the Gambia.

   Is the Gambian Government so afraid of one of its own reporters that it cannot even acknowledge his detention?

   I say to President Jammeh: Release this reporter. Let him return to his family.

   Sadly, Mr. Manneh's case is not alone in The Gambia. In December 2004, a critic of President Jammeh, and press freedom advocate, Deyda Hydara, was shot and killed. His murder has yet to be solved or investigated.

   The government has also enacted laws muzzling the press and imposing mandatory prison sentences for media owners if convicted of publishing defamatory or seditious material--all part of a larger deterioration of basic freedoms in The Gambia. 

 Madam President, the United States needs to be a forceful advocate for these kinds of blatant human rights abuses. Doing so is not only the right thing to do, but it is the smart thing to do in terms of our engagement abroad and in demonstrating our American values.

   I yield the floor.

In his testimony, the witness told the court that his name was Salifu Nyang and that he was a police officer with regimental number 1696. He added that he was attached to the CID office of Kairaba Police Station. He stated that he recognised the accused persons, noting that he came to know about them at Kairaba Police Station. He further related that some thing had transpired between him and Lamin Jaiteh who was brought to his office on the said day by ASP Sawaneh who told him to record the cautionary and voluntary statements of Lamin Jaiteh.

He adduced that ASP Sawaneh told him that the accused was an agent who took money from people who wanted to travel to Spain. He indicated that he called an independent witness, Ebrima Manneh of Kotu. He went on to say that he introduced Ebrima Manneh to the accused as an independent witness. He further stated that he asked the accused to explain in Mandinka what happened but that he first read the cautionary statement form to him in Mandinka. He stated that he allowed the accused to explain what happened, adding that after explaining, he recorded the cautionary statement in the presence of the independent witness. He further adduced that he translated the statement from English to Mandinka to the accused, who acknowledged his comprehension.

Further testifying, the witness revealed that the accused signed the cautionary statement and that the independent witness also signed before he countersigned.

He said he recorded two voluntary statements because there were different charges. He added that he read the charges to the accused, which he accepted in the presence of the independent witness. He adduced that he recorded every thing and that both the accused and the independent witness signed the cautionary statements. He told the court that he also signed the voluntary statements.

Lawyer Surahata Jaiteh, the defence counsel, had some disagreement with ASP Touray concerning the voluntary statements.

The case was then adjourned to 9thJuly 2008, for a preliminary trial. Lawyer Omar Njie was also part of the defence team.

Lamin Jaiteh and Kanjura Jaiteh, who were alleged to have engaged in human trafficking, were on Wednesday remanded in Mile 2, the state central prison.

The duo was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Buba Jawo of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court, charged with “prohibition of trafficking in persons and concealment of trafficking in persons.”

In count one, the particulars of the offence read that the accused persons on 8th June 2008 at Bakau beach engaged in recruiting Lamin Manjang and 60 others for the purpose of exploitation within and outside the boarder.

The offence in count two revealed that on 8th June 2008 at Bakau, the accused, having information concerning trafficking in persons, failed to inform the police or other relevant authorities.

Both accused persons denied the allegation before being remanded by order of the magistrate at Mile 2.

The case was adjourned to 2nd July.

So long a letter

In the beginning was the deed, and not the word, for the word came to name the deed. The human deed takes nine months to hatch; and after the joy, the feasting, and the naming, then the parenting (proper) begins. First, the cries, and the feeding, and the changing, constantly. Waking up at un-christian hours for one reason or another, and it doesn’t matter whether we are ill or well, the cries, the cries are always talking, telling us something which we have to second guess. After a while, we become cry savvy, as we learn, however imperfectly, to put or ascribe a cause or reason to a cry. But this stage is only a short distance from, "zaks, stop doing that", "zaks, be careful, you might hurt yourself", "please, zaks I’m tired", and "Oh zaks! You have broken it" – you’ve got the picture, the life of a parent is quite, quite unavoidably difficult. But before long, all that would turn to memories, to reminisce over in calmer days. Or at least that is the hope: to reminisce in calmer days, when the brood has left the nest, confident and educated and shinning with refined rectitude, you know, a cultured upbringing.

However, "out of the crooked timber of life, nothing straight can be wrought", or, if you prefer a cliché, the road to hell can be paved with the smoothest, the most virtuous intentions. The correlation between input and outcome is devilishly murky. And that makes the parenting process slightly trickier.

I was in the delivery room on that Friday morning (02.27), nearly 11 years ago, when my freshly-clayed treasure was born, my ‘sun’, my one and only (for now). And this is what I wrote in my diary on that day: "Ah! Sylvia Plath hit the right note: they take their place among the elements with a cry; a cry as much a breadth of nature as the rustling of the wind. And as though the cry itself is a kind of wind, it sent a frisson of inexpressible, sob-pregnant, joy to my heart.

If I were a poet, I would have written a sonnet about how the midwife snatched ma baby’s first cry, in mid air, wrapped it round the severed umbilical cord and coiled the cord around my heart (but I’m not a poet, so my joy shall be my sonnet)". Every parent, I think, feels similar sentiments with the birth of a first child. It feels like a rite of passage: son becomes father and daughter becomes mother, while still retaining the status of being a son or a daughter. This gives the ego or the self a sense of extension, the sense that we have thrown in our lot into the great flow of life.

As he weeks roll into months, the cry which first gave us joy, now would not let us rest, and as the months gather into years, we face at each step different challenges to our efforts to instil discipline and a sense of initiative in them. The nappies and the baby food and the baby clothes, and the toys (you continue he list), would also have taken their punishing toll on our pockets and purses, before they turn five. So, I repeat, the life of a parent is quite, quite unavoidably difficult. But I shall insist in this essay that the life of a child is twice score more difficult than the most dedicated parent’s.

Their long-drawn – out helplessness together with "the psychological dangers of a physically intimate family life", leaves them entirely at our mercy. From the perspective of the child, the family is an "intensive care unit", and nothing short of a careful dedication by the parent would serve the child’s interest. But, just as there are good people and there are bad people, so there are good parents and there are not so good parents. And perhaps more dishearteningly: even good parents can make honest, but damaging, mistakes. To a cynic, its all in the luck of the draw, the "natural lottery".

The values we put into our children, and the methods we use to put those values in them, are, in many ways, largely determined by the prescriptions and precepts of the society we belong to. As a grown up, now, I’m struck by the disquieting pun on the wollof word "yarr": it suggests both "cane" and "upbringing".

And as a kid, then, I had my share of lashings at the hand of this pun. Maybe it’s a generational thing, because when I had my one, I decided to relieve the pun of its double-edged unease: I gave "cane" a retirement a well-deserved retirement, given that it’s been at it for centuries; "straightening" generations of kids out, and from all the hard work, it s back gave in, and it became "bent" itself. In our "culture" it’s apparently still OK to hit our children, when they misbehave. We do so, the wisdom goes, for their own benefit (spare the rod and spoil the child). And whatever we call "cultural", we often feel reluctant to critique. This view, perhaps unwittingly, assumes that the "wisdom" of my "culture" is complete and settled and timeless.

But should we stop for a moment, and look again, we might get to see that our culture or any culture, if it is to last into the deep future, may have to learn a whole lot of new things along the way. When we inherit a tradition, we do not commemorate it by tagging along behind it, and taking our orientation from the writings on its back; rather, we commemorate a tradition by giving it a new opening on to the future. Caning, or corporal punishment belongs to an expired mode of thought. It was born in a "geocentric world", and shares all the inaccuracies of that world. This is a typical father of that world: austere and remote, with a personality so immense that he has no need to be consistent, and yet never ceases to be right, for his "right is founded not in thought but in his person".

The letter in the title of this essay is a sealed one. We know only that it contains our childhood memories. And it is sealed because our childhood memories are "elicited only when childhood is already past". We get to know our sealed inheritance, as it were, when we’re all grown up. We may not know what furies or mercies are sealed in our letters, so to speak, but we know that "memory discovers personality". And since Freud, we appreciate a lot more now the significance of childhood memories in the formation of the adult character. In general, "it is no longer possible to doubt the importance precisely of the first few years, of our childhood".

Our extended family system is a wonderful network of relationships which provides rich and fulfilling family life to many. But, like any institution, it is also susceptible to abuse. With our social hierarchies and stratifications, we tend to put some on a pedestal, and others, underfoot, as though the others were doormats. If it is not the jokey insults, it is the public embarrassments or the delicate contempt, or the clench-teeth tenderness, all of which keep eating away at one’s sense of self. When a child finds herself in such circumstances, and later on opens her "letter" and be greeted by the furies, society will crown her with a blame all her own.

Our need for vigilance, as parents, has never been more urgent than it is today. The internet and satellite TV, for instance, have transformed quite radically the horizon of our kids’ world. And "ideas" have a habit of surreptitiously creeping into kids’ heads, without the parents noticing. Their emotional and psychological vulnerabilities make them easy prey to all kinds of influences. Furthermore, they are more self-scrutinising these days, and therefore more judgemental, whether of themselves or of others.

When the judgement is severe and is directed inwards, it is then all too easy for them to let the best of themselves slip away. The unfavourable opinions of grown-ups give them a bad opinion of themselves, and then they internalise the opinions to their detriment. Tradition will for a time resist the overtures of a new ethos, but we must stand our ground, faithful to the belief that, our process of social development can displace stock – responses and brings it about that people become averse to what they had previously tolerated.

Caning, and certain forms of adult treatment of children rob them of their confidence and turn them into timid adults; and other forms of treatment turn them into revengefully aggressive adult misfits. No doubt, we as parents deserve respect for all the pains we go through during the long socialisation process. But equally true, is that they also deserve our gratitude. And we show our gratitude by being gentler with them, "authority need not be authoritarian". Thinking outside the box is not necessarily a violation of the box but a mere extension of its boundaries; an enlarging of our experience. To modernise our attitudes is a sign of strength, not of weakness.

The Secretary of State for the Interior, Ousman Sonko, has asserted that human trafficking and child Exploitation issues have become a global problem that requires concerted and collaborative effort by all and sundry if it is to be combated.

SOS Sonko was speaking at the two-week long training on child exploitation and human trafficking organised by the American Government through the US Embassy in Banjul which is currently underway. The training is being attended by security officers, National Assembly Members, lawyers and other relevant stakeholders from across the country. Honourable Sonko further pointed out that his Government has placed the fight against these menaces high on the agenda and has been actively collaborating and working hand in hand with all stakeholders to address the situation.

  He therefore registered his government’s appreciation and gratitude to the government and the people of United States of America, through the American Ambassador in Banjul, for providing the expertise and funding for the training of stakeholders in the country.

“It is indeed very important and timely given that women and children are most vulnerable to this menace. The training is important in the sense that most countries, including The Gambia, are faced with an increasing rates of these crimes of human trafficking, child sexual exploitation and abuse,” he said.

The occasion attracted the security chiefs of all security units.  

The Attorney General and Secretary of State for Justice, Marie Saine-Firdaus, has lamented that though trafficking of people is a global problem, its economic and social impact on fragile, transitional and developing third world countries is devastating. She observed that such countries could not effectively combat the problem as individual nations. “Human traffickers use different types of operations, multiple financial transactions, and numerous instruments through several intermediaries to beat the system. These sophisticated techniques and processes are employed by these criminals to purposely conceal the illicit nature of their activities and origins of their wealth, a wealth often used to perpetrate their criminal activities,” she noted.

In an inspiring speech delivered at the opening of a three- day ECOWAS meeting on the implementation of the ECOWAS Plan of Action to combat trafficking in persons, Secy. Saine-Firdaus said trafficking in persons has become one of the leading transnational crimes that the world is grappling with. This, she stated, is coupled with the enormous challenges faced by some of the Third World nations.

The meeting brought together experts within the ECOWAS sub-region. It aimed, among other things, to assess the level of implementation of the ECOWAS plan of action; the successes registered and the problems and challenges with a view to preparing and improving on common strategies and finding common solutions to a common problem.

According to Mrs Saine-Firdaus, the world needs sustained, consistent and highly skilled personnel training to catch up with new criminal devices, methods and methodologies to ensure that there is no weak link in the chain. “We need to restore more confidence in our region through a robust regional alliance in the fight against trafficking in persons and other organised crimes and institutions,” she said. She added that such will doubtless bring an end to unjustified waste of human lives and degraded living engendered by trafficking in persons and its related offences.

For Mrs Saine-Firdaus, jurisdictions with weak or no legal framework or measures to combat trafficking in persons and its related crimes cannot attract the needed investment to foster economic development or reduce poverty because of the reputation risk.

“We are unwavering in our desire and commitment to keep pace with best practices available anywhere in the world,” she assured the gathering.