NAATIP ED: One third of trafficking victims worldwide are children

Isaato Dabo disclosed this at the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons commemoration held at the Bakadaji Hotel on Tuesday.

The theme of the event, “No Child Left Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking,” was an important reminder for all of us to not only remember that children are trafficked every day, but also that these children deserve and need certain safeguards to protect them from human trafficking, regardless of their race, color, religion, nationality or social background.

She added that this year’s commemoration was a call to action to come together to not only protect adult victims of trafficking, but also to work towards providing resources to specifically address the needs of children.

“When I say ‘child’ I mean every child,” she stressed.

NAATIP ED insists that the responsibility to protect these children does not only lie with parents, guardians or those responsible for the custody of these children, but also with every community, civil society, organizations and the private sector.

“What we do for our children today, for every child, will have an impact in the future. It will impact how communities are governed, how decisions are made in key areas of development, essentially the fabric of our society.”

She recalled that, over the years, The Gambia had developed a number of child protection policies and passed laws aimed at upholding the rights of every child, including child victims.

“You will agree with me that a legal framework to address any social harm is not the end point. In the case of human trafficking, the establishment of the National Agency to Combat Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP) which is responsible for combating human trafficking and continuing the work of protecting children from trafficking and providing services to the most vulnerable.”

She stressed the need for continued collaboration to further strengthen, increase and improve services for child victims of trafficking.

She said this includes procedures for dealing with trafficking victims, short-term shelter services for child victims, care and recreational materials, etc.