Final Draft of National Action Plan against Human Trafficking Out Soon

By Michael Olugbode

The final draft of the National Action Plan against human trafficking in Nigeria will be ready soon, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has disclosed.

This is expected to be released after the conclusion of the third technical workshop related to the development of the new National Action Plan against human trafficking in Nigeria organised by the NAPTIP with the support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and funding from the Government of Switzerland.

NAPTIP has gathered over 30 stakeholders from ministries, law enforcement agencies, civil society organisations and international partners for a three-day workshop in Keffi, Nasarawa State, to work on a final draft of the action plan.

According to UNODC Fifth Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, out of 4,799 victims detected in the 26 sub-Saharan Africa countries between 2016 and 2019, 3,336 were in West Africa, including 2,553 children. Close to 80 percent of victims in West Africa were trafficked for forced labour, “which remains the major form of exploitation in the region.”

In Nigeria, NAPTIP data confirmed that trafficking in persons did not decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic as the total number of detected victims in 2020 (1,087) remained stable compared to 2019 (1,152) and in 2018 (1,173). “COVID-19 rather appeared to have impacted the forms of trafficking. For example, while cases of sexual exploitation abroad dropped significantly in 2020, the number of victims of sexual exploitation within Nigeria doubled between 2019 and 2020. Moreover, the difficulties to access basic social services, psycho-social support and other necessary assistance increased victims’ vulnerabilities and expanded the scope of potential victims,” the report said.

A statement issued yesterday by UNODC stated that the workshop taking place in Keffi is the third and final technical workshop dedicated to the development of the new policy document.

The statement added that following the first two workshops held in Abuja in November 2020 and January 2021, NAPTIP and UNODC recently conducted a wide consultation process in Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Edo, Benue and Delta States to ensure involvement and ownership of all relevant partners at the federal and state levels.

It revealed that close to 200 stakeholders from ministries, law enforcement agencies, state governments, civil society, international organisations, foreign embassies and the private sector took part in the process. With UNODC technical assistance, NAPTIP prepared a draft action plan which reflects takeaways from all these consultations.

It said over the next three days, stakeholders are gathered in Keffi to provide final feedback and expertise to the document before its validation at a subsequent workshop and its official launch.

Speaking on the development, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi, said: “It is good to be ambitious, but one also needs to be realistic-a solid monitoring and evaluation framework will be crucial for the successful implementation of the action plan.”

UNODC Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Oliver Stolpe, said: “The development of the new action plan is based on an inclusive, multi-partner approach with ministries, agencies, civil society organisations, international partners and the private sector,” adding that: “It is very much a document developed by and for Nigerian stakeholders.”

On his own, the Migration Advisor at the Embassy of Switzerland to Nigeria, Mr. Manuel Mühlebach, said: “Switzerland is very proud to support this endeavor. I congratulate NAPTIP, UNODC and everyone involved in the great progress made so far. We all have an important role to play in the fight against human trafficking.”

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