By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone His Excellency Dr Julius Maada Bio has on Tuesday 23rd April 2023 opened a two day Regional Conference to End Human Trafficking at the Bintumani Conference Hall, Aberdeen in Freetown.
According to the President, Human Trafficking is one of the greatest injustices of our time, its toll on human capital development and on the long-term economic and social development of our countries in the ECOWAS region is unquantifiable.
Therefore, the fight against human trafficking is never ending and we fight to win while protecting and empowering our citizens especially our youths and ensuring their access to dignified economic opportunities within their own countries.
“Life is a gift from our Creator and should never be for sale” President Bio stated.
He went on that the conference is an opportunity to strengthen regional coordination and cooperation through shared experiences.
“The road map will be a guidepost for the region, and the jointly agreed upon intervention will amplify our collective goal to combat Human Trafficking”, he said.
President Julius Maada Bio furthermore affirms that his government has undertaken policy and legal reforms to enhance the fight against human trafficking. He said in 2022, the Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Act addressed Lacunas in the previous law and recognizes the role that migrant smuggling plays in facilitating human trafficking.
He mentioned that ongoing efforts to track and combat it have been indicated by the social economic influence of the Russia-Ukraine war and COVID-19 that has destabilized economies worldwide.
His excellency averred that the multiple impacts to climate change, and cross border conflicts, extreme poverty and unemployment rates has been major influences of Human Trafficking and that his government has played a tremendous role in combatting Hunan trafficking holding traffickers accountable to the law faced with a minimum sentence of 25 years.
He mentioned that the Ministry of Social Welfare introduced additional policies and trained staff to support its anti-trafficking initiative.
President Julius Maada Bio said he assigned the Honorable Vice President to take leadership of the Presidential task force in this fight against Human Trafficking.
His Excellency said the impact of these reforms have been gratifying. He continued that in 2020, Sierra Leone secured its first conviction for Human Trafficking and several convictions have been recorded and that Sierra Leone has made great strides in its domestic efforts to curtail human trafficking and will continue to do likewise.
He went on that the transnational nature of human trafficking within the ECOWAS region calls for enhanced regional cooperation.
He concluded his speech by officially launching the two day regional conference on Ending Human Trafficking.
His Excellency concluded that as a nation we must focus on prevention and raise awareness on community level, toughen our law enforcement and judiciary reforms making it risky and expensive for these traffickers to face the full force of the law.
The Minster of Social Welfare Madam Baindu Dassama welcomed guests of the event as she said the fight against Human Trafficking is as a result of coordinated efforts by the government and its partners to End human trafficking.
She went on that the approach to end human trafficking cannot be overemphasized and that the government has secured a budgetary support working with partners to reduce human trafficking.
She went on that the government of Sierra Leone and the Republic of Guinea has signed an MOU to combat human trafficking as she said Guinea has been a transit point for trafficking persons.
The President of ECOWAS His Excellency Dr Omar Alieu Turay said one of the Key Challenges in Africa that contributes to Human trafficking is insecurity.
He also thanked the President for his approach and commitment in the fight against human trafficking and the launch of the Regional conference on Ending Human Trafficking.
Mr Christopher Gascon Regional Director IOM said the IOM takes 3 key approaches in addressing Hunan trafficking that is Prevention, Protection and Prosecution including Partnership.
He went on that trafficking of human beings is one that calls for international intervening attention.
He continued that the IOM has assisted over 5,000 trafficking victims safely to their country.
He thanked the President for his continued support in the fight against human trafficking and the regional conference.
The Director for African Programming and Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES) Dr David Okech also congratulated and thanked the President for his unwavering commitment to the fight against Human Trafficking.
He spoke about APRIES being an international consortium of Anti-Slavery researchers and policy advocates from the University of Georgia. He said the goal of APRIES is to reduce the prevalence of Modern Slavery in Sub Saharan Africa by transforming the capacity of community engaged agencies to implement prevention, prosecution and protection of strategies.
Madam Stephanie Bunce U.S Embassy Charge d’Affaires also commend the President as she said the government has made tremendous effort in combating human trafficking by launching its toll free hot line
She went on that traffickers don’t respect boundaries hence the need to mobilize and fight to end Human slavery.
Madam Cindy Dyer Ambassador at large to Monitor and combat trafficking in persons in a video message said the fight against trafficking is a shared global challenge and that engaging survivors has been a major challenge also, hence she encouraged for victims to not be stigmatized about the situation.
She thanked the President and partners for the conference.
A video message on how human trafficking is carried out was broadcasted for all to learn of and know the signs of a trafficker, in which many are forced into sexual exploitation, organ donor and forced labor.
2023 Elections: Jagaban Nominates Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr for Second Term as Freetown Mayor
By Hafsatu Z Bangura
In a stunning move today, Sheik Alhaji Mohamed Amara Kamara, popularly known as Jagaban, has nominated former Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr to run for re-election in the upcoming Sierra Leone Election on June 24th, 2023.
The nomination took place at the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) Western Urban District Nomination Office and was accompanied by a long motorcade cheering thousands of supporters to the ECSL Nomination office at Murry Town junction in the West End of the city.
Jagaban’s decision to endorse Aki-Sawyerr was based on her record of accomplishment and transformative leadership during her first term as Mayor of Freetown.
In his statement, Jagaban stated that Aki-Sawyerr needs a second term to complete her Transform Freetown Project, calling on all Freetonnairs to bestow the Mayoral leadership of Freetown to Mrs. Aki-Sawyerr to finish her projects.
“We need Mrs. Aki-Sawyerr to complete her Transform Freetown Project by giving her a second term in office, he added. Jagaban called all Freetonnairs to once again bestow the Mayoral leadership of Freetown to Mrs. Aki-Sawyerr to finish her projects,” he said.
Jagaban was previously an aspirant for the Running Mate position but stepped down to throw his support behind Aki-Sawyerr. This move has generated significant buzz and could potentially alter the political landscape of Sierra Leone.
