Guinea, Conakry, Tuesday, January 18, 2022…The Guinean Ministry of National Security has disclosed that over Two millions West Africans are trafficked annually to other parts of world.
Mr. Traore Nouha, Secretary General, (Deputy Minister) Ministry of National Security, made the disclosure during an official visit of Liberia’s Labor, Cllr. Charles Gibson delegation. Deputy Minister Nouha said that 49% of this number are trafficked for force labour and 36% for sexual exploitation. He said that statistics in their possession shows that most of those being trafficked are from the West African sub- region. He described the issue as dangerous as a pandemic and expressed his government willingness to working with Liberia to curb or eliminate this evil trend. He said that in order for the fight against human trafficking in the sub region to be a success, police should be adequately trained to understand what is human trafficking, Civil Society organizations strengthen and laws made more stringent.
He recommended that the upcoming special MRU summit on Human Trafficking considers looking at support for victims as well.
Also speaking, the officer in charged of women and children informed Minister Gibson and delegation that 17 children from Liberia were few years ago rescued by Guinean Police while they were enroute to Algeria and later returned to Liberia. She said that the children were being trafficked by women.
For his part, the Director General of Police, Abdoul Malick Kone spoke of the strong relationship between Guinea and Liberia and emphasized the need for member states of the MRU to collaborate in fighting trafficking and organized crimes. He said that human trafficking is a large issue and is carry out by individuals and organized criminal networks such Q-net. He concluded by saying “Count on us, we are opened to working with our colleagues in the sub region to combat trafficking”
The Guinea Security Chiefs were speaking on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 when they received the Chairman of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce of Liberia, Labour Minister Cllr. Charles H. Gibson at the Guinean Ministry of Security and the headquarters of the Police. Minister and delegation were received by senior officers of the Guinean Government including, Hon. Traore Nouha, Secretary General, Ministry of Security, Col. Abdoul Malick Kone, Director General of Police, CDP Mohammed Lamine Nabe, Inspector General for Civil Protection and others.
Earlier, the Chairman of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce of Liberia, Labour Minister Cllr, Charles H. Gibson said his mission was to hold discussion with authorities of Guinea to come up with a strategy on how MRU Countries can solve the problem of human trafficking in the region.
“We have come to build consensus for the convening of a special summit on human trafficking in the MRU region. We believe that if the four countries fight this menace as a bloc we will succeed” Minister Gibson said.
Minister Gibson emphasized that the summit will discuss strategy, policies and programs for the successfully elimination of human trafficking in the region.
He informed the Guinean top security officers that the summit will look at the root causes of human trafficking in the MRU. It will also discuss the issue of poverty that has driven lot of citizens of the region to engage in such a venture and exposed themselves to criminals and criminal networks. He reemphasized that over the last few months Liberia has received a high increase in wave of human trafficking. “Our Court dockets and safe homes are overwhelmed with cases and victims mainly from Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast”.
He used occasion to inform the Guinean of the operations a criminal network in the sub region call Q-net which the Ministry of Justice of Guinea had said that they banned from the Country.
Minister Gibson expressed Liberia’s preparedness to building a special relationship between the two countries in moving the fight forward.
Later, the Liberia Labour Minister met and held discussion with Madam Aicha Nanette Conte, Minister of the Promotion of Women, Children and People Vulnerable.
Madam Conte calls for taking a stronger stance against criminals and criminal networks to serve as deterrent and also as a means of eliminating the crime from the region. She promised to put in place all necessary plans to ensure that the summit is held soon.
She thanked Minister Gibson for thinking about Guinea, especially this transition period noting that anybody coming to visit Guinea during period is truly a brother.
She added that the President of Guinea is willing to work with all of his counterparts and neighboring countries and as such, their doors are open to work with Liberia in the preparation of this special MRU summit.
Minister Gibson is accompanied to Guinea by Mr. Adolphus G. Satiah, Director of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Secretariat, Mr. Joseph Kortu Nyandibo, Director of Communications, Ministry of Labour, and Mr. Joseph B. Washington, Chief Inspector of Police and head of the TIP Unit of LNP. The Minister of Labour and delegation returns to Monrovia on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.
