Maseru, 27-31 May 2019– Following the project launch for the ‘’Counter Trafficking and Addressing Irregular Migration through Strengthening Border and Migration Management, Sensitization on Trafficking in Persons and Building Capacity of Law Enforcement and Border Officials in Lesotho,’’ the first activity has started this week.

33 Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS) Child Gender Protection Unit (CGPU) Officers from 11 District Police across the country are receiving an intensive training for one week in order to equip themselves with skills and knowledge to fight against the emerging crime – Trafficking in Persons (TIP) in Lesotho. The demand for cheap labour, sexual services and certain criminal activities are among the root causes of trafficking while a lack of opportunity, resources and social standing are other contributing factors.

TIP is a serious violation of human rights. TIP, also referred to as “modern-day slavery” is the trade and/or exploitation of men, women or children for different purposes in order to profit the trafficker and exploiter. TIP is presently criminalized by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act No. 1 of 2011 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Regulations, 2015 which guides the implementation of the Act.

TIP offence in Anti-trafficking in persons Act of 2011 Part II.5 states as follow;

(1) A person who trafficks another person commits an offence of trafficking and is liable, on conviction, to a fine of M1,000,000.00 or imprisonment for a period of 25 years. (2) Where the victim is a child, the offender shall be liable to a fine of M2,000,000.00 or life imprisonment.

“Human trafficking is a reality and we (Lesotho Mounted Police Service) need to tackle this urgently. Connecting crime, suspects and evidence is a challenge in addressing human trafficking and we often fail to provide strong evidence to be brought to court for justice.  This training – including collection of evidence through investigation, crime scene management, recording statement etc. – will contribute to the LMPS’s ongoing efforts to address human trafficking in Lesotho. Please make sure you (trained police officers) will pass the skills and knowledge acquired to the colleague when you go back to the District police station’’ said the Lesotho Mounted Police Service Deputy Commissioner – Criminal Investigative Division, Mr. Paseka Mokete. He further stated as follows: ‘’Please note that there is no tolerance for corruption among the LMPS officers. Human trafficking is a luxurious business and perpetrators may bribe you not to investigate the cases in exchange of money. You (police officers) have to note that act of corruption will lead to your losing job from LMPS. ”

‘’Despite the seriousness of the TIP, the identification of the victims, investigation and prosecution of traffickers have been extremely low. Among other factors, lack of knowledge of TIP and insufficient skills to interview victims with appropriate questions, investigate in a victim-centred and gender-sensitive manner, and record the statement among the CGPU officers at national and district level was identified as one of the challenges that need an urgent attention.’’ said Head of Office, IOM Lesotho, Ms. Eriko Nishimura.

‘’We thank donor (Government of Japan) and organizer (IOM) to provide us this important opportunity to be trained on various skills and knowledge on counter trafficking in persons. We also appreciate Police Commissioner and senior officer to make this happen. We will make our best efforts to implement what we have learned here when we go back to the station.’’ said Mr. Tarelo Lents’a, representative of the trained CGPU officers based at Leribe District Police Station.

The project is supported by generous financial support from the Government and People of Japan and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), known as the UN Migration Agency.

For more information, please contact Eriko Nishimura - IOM Lesotho - enishimura@iom.int