Maputo, 25 Jul (AIM) – South Africa, Eswatini and Tanzania are the main destinations for people trafficked in Mozambique, according to data collected by the Attorney-General’s Office (PGR).
At a meeting in Maputo on Monday, marking the International Day against Trafficking in Persons, the PGR said the authorities had recorded 38 cases of human trafficking in 2022.
All the victims had come from the southern province of Inhambane and were recruited to work on farms in South Africa. The traffickers who recruited them were two Mozambicans.
Cited in a report in Tuesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”, the PGR said that although this trafficking was aborted in 2022, the reintegration of the victims back into Mozambican society had not yet been concluded.
Prosecutor Enilsa Esteves said reintegration is by no means easy. “Investigation must be undertaken”, she said, “the family must be identified, and then the people must be returned to their families”.
Esteves added that two other cases of people trafficking for work purposes and sexual exploitation were identified in 2022, but she gave no further details. Identifying cases, she added, was made more difficult by the high degree of sophistication of the people traffickers.
Assistant Attorney-General Amabelia Chuquela, stressed the importance of mapping potential victims of trafficking so as to facilitate assistance.
“Some of these victims, who should have been identified in good time, had no opportunity to receive proper assistance”, she said.
Continual training and specialization of magistrates and criminal investigation agents is a key measure to face the challenges of fighting against people trafficking, Chuquela added.
(AIM)
Pf/ (269)
