Today is International Day Against Trafficking in Persons

Under the theme “Working on the Front Line to Combat Trafficking in Persons”, today, the 30th of July, we celebrate the International Day against Trafficking in Persons. To mark the date, Save the Children, together with its State partners (Attorney General's Office), and from international development agencies (UNICEF and International Organization for Migration), as well as from Mozambican Civil Society, through the National Reference Group for Combating Trafficking in Persons, are launching the Procedural Guidelines for the Operation of Reference Groups for the Protection of Children, Combating Trafficking in Persons and Illegal Migration.

It is a working tool, which is in its second edition. The guide has been updated taking into account the country's current reality with regard to combating human trafficking and illegal migration and other forms of violence against children.

The Report on Trafficking in Persons in Mozambique-2018, produced by the Government of the United States of America, states that in 2018 the Mozambican government prosecuted six defendants and convicted six labor traffickers under the 2008 law to combat trafficking in persons. They were all sentenced to prison.

In the same period, the government identified and referred for care 53 victims, including 35 victims of forced labor, three victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action (MGCAS) operated three dedicated drug trafficking shelters, which provided medical, psychological and legal assistance to victims, both adults and children. MGCAS provided family reunification and reintegration for at least 12 child victims.

According to the same report, Mozambique has been demonstrating an increase in efforts through the identification and referral for the care of significantly more victims of trafficking and an increase in the training of frontline officers, including police officers and migration officers in addition to training of labor inspectors.

However, challenges remain, namely with regard to the need to increase efforts to legally prosecute and condemn traffickers and to implement the National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons, as well as to regulate the 2008 Law on the Prevention and Combat of Trafficking of Human Beings.