Statement by Mr. Andries Charl Nel Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice And Constitutional Development of the Republic of South Africa at the 12th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Salvador, Brazil, 16 April 2010
Agenda Item 6: Criminal Justice Responses To The Smuggling Of Migrants And Trafficking In Persons And Links To Transnational Organized Crime
Statement pertaining to the South African position regarding migration and human trafficking; and criminal justice responses to the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons and links to translational organised crime
Dear Mr President
I wish to also add the voice of South Africa in expressing condolences to the government and the people of Poland for the tragedy which happened in their country which resulted in the loss of life of the President and other dignitaries, we also note with sadness the passing of a good friend to South Africa, Mr Vincent del Buono.
Thank you for affording South Africa the opportunity to address you on the growing phenomenon of human smuggling and trafficking activities.
It should be noted that South Africa fully recognises the existence of human smuggling activities. These crimes are perpetuated by trans-national syndicates, hence the calls from many states for regional and international cooperation as well as the introduction of aligned legislation and immigration procedures. It is clear that there are also overlaps between the two issues of smuggling of migrants and human trafficking.
Migration
To address these phenomena, the Government of South Africa has established an Inter-departmental Committee on the Transnational Organised Crime Convention (TOC) and supplementary Protocols.
The Government has also conducted a study on the smuggling of migrants that led to the development of a draft Green Paper on the Smuggling of Migrants.
A relatively new phenomenon in South Africa has been the extensive use of illegal migrants by organised criminal groups involved in illegal mining. This has impacted negatively on the South African economy. Consequently, this is receiving high level government attention.
In the interim, in terms of national legislation we have put in place the Immigration Act, 2002, as well as the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004, which are both being used to address certain aspects relating to the smuggling of migrants.
A Bill to combat the smuggling of migrants, following on the work done in regard to the Green Paper on the Smuggling of Migrants is to be drafted in the near future.
It is clear that we need regional and international cooperation to address these phenomena and the discussions at this Congress in this regard are thus viewed as appropriate and is heartily supported.
Human Trafficking
Mr President,
We view human trafficking as a multi-dimensional social phenomenon that is perpetuated by both socio-economic challenges facing populations which make them vulnerable to recruitment as well as the exploitative use of individuals, whether in forced labour or the commercial sex industry.
Human trafficking is a global problem that no country, developed or developing, could escape. It has become a lucrative criminal enterprise netting an estimated US$36 billion a year world-wide. It also has an impact on South Africa. In this regard the 2009 United Nations Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reports some interesting trends with regard to human trafficking in SA: Sexual exploitation is by far the most common reason for human trafficking, with 79% of victims. Forced labour, accounts for 18% of the victims of human trafficking. South Africa’s own statistics reflect similar trends with 60% of victims of human trafficking sheltered by the International Organisation for Migration coming from Thailand. Another trend is that women form a disproportionate number of people involved in trafficking, both as victims, but worryingly increasingly also as perpetrators. We however also have migration in terms of persons coming to South Africa as either refugees or those coming for reasons of economy.
We have found that in South Africa migration and human trafficking is a result of a complex set of interrelated push and pull factors. On the "push" side factors such as poverty, a lack of opportunities, dislocation, gender, racial and ethnic inequalities, and the break-up of families are all relevant. "Pull" factors in South Africa, include the promise of a better life, consumer aspirations, and lack of information on the risks involved, established patterns of migration, porous borders and fewer constraints on travel.
The fact that South Africa is seen as a source, transit and destination country for trafficking in persons is a threat to our fledging democracy. Tackling human trafficking and exploitative labour practices is therefore a priority for our government.
South Africa has illustrated its intention to deal forcibly with these crimes in that we have signed and ratified several relevant international instruments in this regard, the most recent one being the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, that was ratified by South Africa in February 2004. For us in SA, signing and ratifying the United Nations Protocol on Trafficking in Persons was a natural extension of our commitment to human rights as enshrined in our Constitution.
Although fragmented and not comprehensive, there is existing law in South Africa that can be used to prosecute traffickers and we have, for example, been successful in using existing laws relating to child welfare and sexual offences in the prosecution of crimes of this nature. South Africa has also been successful in using the racketeering offence in the Prevention of Organized Crime Act (POCA), 1998 to deal with criminal organizations involved in trafficking. The Children’s Act, 2005 provides for the criminalization of the trafficking of children, whilst the Criminal Law Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act, 2007 contains provisions which criminalize trafficking in persons for sexual purposes. Provisions under this Act are viewed as a transitional mechanism until the comprehensive legislation is in place.
To give effect to South Africa’s obligation to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Person, especially Women and Children, we have specifically tabled the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill in Parliament in March 2010. The Bill deals comprehensively with human trafficking in all its various forms and in particular provides for the protection of and assistance to victims of trafficking. Persons engaged with trafficking will be liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment, including imprisonment for life, or such imprisonment without the option of a fine or both. The Bill also enables the state to prosecute traffickers and confiscate their assets. In addition, it will provide mechanisms to the Department of Social Development in the eradication of “latter-day” slavery. The Bill makes provision for social service professionals to play a role in the reporting, identification and assessment of a person who is a victim of trafficking. Once this is confirmed the victim is entitled to be placed under an approved programme; child victims are to be placed in temporary safe care. Such programmes will offer accommodation, counselling and rehabilitation services as well as aim to reintegrate the victim back into their families and communities. The programme also offers education and skills development training for adults. We have furthermore developed a set of guidelines to ensure that minimum norms and standards are in place when dealing with child and adult victims of trafficking. This will ensure that we are able to treat victims of trafficking with the dignity enshrined in our Constitution.
A National Action Plan is currently being finalised for implementation purposes. This will enable the coordination of preventative initiatives, criminal justice responses, training, public education and improvement of services to victims of human trafficking.
Prior to the tabling of the Bill extensive investigation into the issue of trafficking in persons for purposes of law reform was done by the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC). The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also initiated assessment of internal trafficking of persons in South Africa with the aim of providing relevant qualitative findings concerning internal trafficking of persons in different focus areas, such as sexual exploitation, domestic labour, agricultural work, street work (in the form of begging, street vendors), crimes relating to trafficked persons, organ harvesting and multi-crimes.
In preparation of the passing of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill, we have done the following –
- extensive training of the personnel of the National Prosecuting Authority, members of the South African Police Service, social workers from the Dept of Social Development, the Judiciary and officials from Immigration and Home Affairs has already been undertaken,
- general awareness campaigns to sensitise communities on these issues were also run by governmental departments in partnership with civil society, and
- a multi-agency programme to coordinate strategic action against trafficking has been established. This includes the setting up of Provincial Task Teams which include all relevant stakeholders in the Criminal Justice System.
Mr President,
We need to call for realism, proper studies and the forging of closer partnerships between all sectors of society and governments to ensure that we give the public the correct facts and do our planning and responses to challenges based on the right information and so ensure we use our resources correctly and that we do not cause unnecessary alarm to the public.
Mr President,
To improve assistance to victims of these phenomena, various support measures have been instituted. This include the setting up by the National Prosecuting Authority of multi agency dedicated victim centers (called Thuthuzela Care Centers) to protect witnesses and victims in criminal proceedings – this is important especially pertaining to sexual offences when associated with the trafficking of persons. This victim center model prioritises the welfare of such victims by ensuring the sensitive management by medical personnel, investigators and prosecution when dealing with victims of this nature. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) further leads the Human Trafficking Programme, also known as the Tsireledzani Programme. Tsireledzani means "let us protect" in TshiVenda – one of the 11 official languages in South Africa. This is a multi-agency programme to assist us to coordinate strategic action in relation to trafficking activities.
Mr. President,
It is clear that closer collaboration and cooperation should be encouraged by all concerned regarding the human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants – especially in view of the direct links to transnational organized crime. Exchange of best practices and useful information amongst the criminal justice agencies and international and regional organizations can play an active role in providing regional and international cooperation in this regard and in general in the prevention of crime. The role of the UN and the UNODC helps to forge collaboration and coordination for developing countries and we applaud the work done through Congresses of this nature where we can share information in a frank manner and help find solutions to complex issues that touches all.
I would like to take this opportunity to assure you of South Africa’s full support on the task in dealing with the topic under discussion.
Lastly I invite all states to attend the FIFA Soccer World Cup in June 2010 in SA.
I thank you |
