Human trafficking in Tanzania
Encyclopedia
Tanzania
is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation
. Boys are trafficked within the country for forced labor on farms, in mines, and in the informal business sector. Tanzanian girls from rural areas are trafficked to urban centers and the island of Zanzibar
for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; some domestic worker
s fleeing abusive employers fall prey to forced prostitution. In some regions, unregistered employment agencies are involved in recruiting minors from rural areas to work as house girls in the capital, where they are subject to exploitation. Tanzanian men are reportedly trafficked to South Africa
for forced labor, and girls are trafficked to Oman
, the United Arab Emirates
(U.A.E.), and possibly other Europe
an or Middle East
ern countries for forced domestic labor and involvement in sexual exploitation. Small numbers of Somali
children are trafficked to Tanzania for labor and sexual exploitation. Citizens of neighboring countries may be trafficked through Tanzania for forced domestic labor and sexual exploitation in South Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The Government of Tanzania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.
, abduction, and slavery
. Following a six-month period for Zanzibar to comment on draft national anti-trafficking legislation, Tanzania’s Cabinet approved the bill in mid-January 2008 and introduced it for a first reading to the Parliament two weeks later. The bill was then moved to a committee for discussion and editing, with a Parliamentary vote expected before the end of 2008. Using existing laws, the government actively investigated cases of trafficking during the reporting period; however, there were no known prosecutions or convictions.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit investigated all trafficking leads reported to police by the public or other law enforcement authorities. For example, the unit arrested a Zanzibari businessman in Bagamoyo
for allegedly attempting to traffic 42 boys and six adults from Somalia into situations of sexual exploitation and child labor in South Africa via Tanzania, Zambia
, and Malawi
; the accused was released on bail while the investigation continues. The unit is also continuing an investigation into a Zanzibari brothel marketing children via the Internet; this type of cyber-crime is new in Tanzania and police are seeking training in how to investigate these crimes.
The Tanzanian police also collaborated with Interpol
to locate a suspected Tanzanian trafficking victim in South Africa using newly acquired cell phone technology. An April 2007 foreign government-sponsored “training of trainers” program for 18 police and immigration officials in Zanzibar launched the Zanzibari Government’s specialized anti-trafficking training program. This resulted in the Zanzibari government’s June 2007 co-training, with a U.S. anti-trafficking expert, of 22 immigration officials. On the mainland, 332 law enforcement officials received specific anti-trafficking training in 2007. Involvement in, or tolerance of, trafficking by low-level immigration officials is suspected, but not proven.
A 24-hour crime hotline staffed by Tanzania police officers is available for citizens to make anonymous reports about suspected trafficking victims. While still severely constrained by lack of funding, the Ministry of Labor budgeted approximately $60,000 to its Labor Administration and Inspection Services for child labor inspections. In 2007, the Ministry of Labor withdrew nearly 1,100 victims from forced child labor situations, most of whom were provided the opportunity to compensate for their missed education by enrolling in one the Ministry of Education’s 305 Community Learning Centers. The government generally encourages victims’ assistance in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, but the lack of national procedures for victim protection likely led to the deportation of most foreign victims before they were identified or able to give evidence in court. Foreign victims are not offered legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they would face hardship or retribution. In a few cases, the lack of adequate shelter facilities forced Tanzanian officials to house potential trafficking victims in prisons.
Control Program conducted a half-day training of trainers session on human trafficking for 41 healthcare coordinators from 21 regions; these trainers then provided training to healthcare workers in their regions. Tanzanian nationals receive human rights training, including sessions on gender and women’s rights, the protection of civilians, and international humanitarian law, before their deployment as part of international peacekeeping missions.
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation
Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery is when unwilling people are coerced into slavery for sexual exploitation. The incidence of sexual slavery by country has been studied and tabulated by UNESCO, with the cooperation of various international agencies...
. Boys are trafficked within the country for forced labor on farms, in mines, and in the informal business sector. Tanzanian girls from rural areas are trafficked to urban centers and the island of Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; some domestic worker
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
s fleeing abusive employers fall prey to forced prostitution. In some regions, unregistered employment agencies are involved in recruiting minors from rural areas to work as house girls in the capital, where they are subject to exploitation. Tanzanian men are reportedly trafficked to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
for forced labor, and girls are trafficked to Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
(U.A.E.), and possibly other Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an or Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern countries for forced domestic labor and involvement in sexual exploitation. Small numbers of Somali
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
children are trafficked to Tanzania for labor and sexual exploitation. Citizens of neighboring countries may be trafficked through Tanzania for forced domestic labor and sexual exploitation in South Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. The Government of Tanzania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.
Prosecution
Tanzania’s anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts improved significantly last year as a result of new training of police, unprecedented government funding of the police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, and increased awareness of trafficking among Tanzania’s law enforcement community. Tanzanian law does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, and Zanzibar has a separate legal code from the mainland of Tanzania. On the mainland, traffickers can be prosecuted under existing statutes criminalizing the sale of people, forced labor, child labor, and various sexual offenses. On Zanzibar, traffickers can be prosecuted under the Penal Act that criminalizes kidnappingKidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
, abduction, and slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Following a six-month period for Zanzibar to comment on draft national anti-trafficking legislation, Tanzania’s Cabinet approved the bill in mid-January 2008 and introduced it for a first reading to the Parliament two weeks later. The bill was then moved to a committee for discussion and editing, with a Parliamentary vote expected before the end of 2008. Using existing laws, the government actively investigated cases of trafficking during the reporting period; however, there were no known prosecutions or convictions.
The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit investigated all trafficking leads reported to police by the public or other law enforcement authorities. For example, the unit arrested a Zanzibari businessman in Bagamoyo
Bagamoyo
The town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania, was founded at the end of the 18th century. It was the original capital of German East Africa and was one of the most important trading ports along the East African coast...
for allegedly attempting to traffic 42 boys and six adults from Somalia into situations of sexual exploitation and child labor in South Africa via Tanzania, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, and Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
; the accused was released on bail while the investigation continues. The unit is also continuing an investigation into a Zanzibari brothel marketing children via the Internet; this type of cyber-crime is new in Tanzania and police are seeking training in how to investigate these crimes.
The Tanzanian police also collaborated with Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
to locate a suspected Tanzanian trafficking victim in South Africa using newly acquired cell phone technology. An April 2007 foreign government-sponsored “training of trainers” program for 18 police and immigration officials in Zanzibar launched the Zanzibari Government’s specialized anti-trafficking training program. This resulted in the Zanzibari government’s June 2007 co-training, with a U.S. anti-trafficking expert, of 22 immigration officials. On the mainland, 332 law enforcement officials received specific anti-trafficking training in 2007. Involvement in, or tolerance of, trafficking by low-level immigration officials is suspected, but not proven.
Protection
The government’s efforts to protect victims of trafficking during the reporting period were notable, though it continued to suffer from a lack of resources. Government officials regularly relied on three NGOs to provide shelter, counseling, and rehabilitation for victims of trafficking. Government authorities referred trafficking victims to these NGOs in regions where victim assistance was available. For instance, in the second quarter of 2007, one NGO shelter received 23 female trafficking victims; 17 were referred by police and one by a social worker. In January 2008, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit changed its policy of requiring trafficking victims to go to a police station to make a statement; now a plain-clothes female police officer visits shelters to obtain sex trafficking victims’ statements in a more private setting. The Unit also hired a female police sergeant to better facilitate its interactions with female victims.A 24-hour crime hotline staffed by Tanzania police officers is available for citizens to make anonymous reports about suspected trafficking victims. While still severely constrained by lack of funding, the Ministry of Labor budgeted approximately $60,000 to its Labor Administration and Inspection Services for child labor inspections. In 2007, the Ministry of Labor withdrew nearly 1,100 victims from forced child labor situations, most of whom were provided the opportunity to compensate for their missed education by enrolling in one the Ministry of Education’s 305 Community Learning Centers. The government generally encourages victims’ assistance in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, but the lack of national procedures for victim protection likely led to the deportation of most foreign victims before they were identified or able to give evidence in court. Foreign victims are not offered legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they would face hardship or retribution. In a few cases, the lack of adequate shelter facilities forced Tanzanian officials to house potential trafficking victims in prisons.
Prevention
Political will to address human trafficking in Tanzania increased significantly during the reporting period, resulting in additional concrete prevention efforts. President Kikwete’s personal commitment to combat trafficking accelerated the drafting of anti-trafficking legislation and law enforcement training. Staff of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit appeared in radio and TV spots and distributed booklets about human trafficking; these awareness raising efforts resulted in a significant increase in the number of leads received by the unit during the last six months of 2007. The Ministry of Health’s National AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
Control Program conducted a half-day training of trainers session on human trafficking for 41 healthcare coordinators from 21 regions; these trainers then provided training to healthcare workers in their regions. Tanzanian nationals receive human rights training, including sessions on gender and women’s rights, the protection of civilians, and international humanitarian law, before their deployment as part of international peacekeeping missions.