Seychelles downgraded on the US human trafficking index Arid says the rating is cause for concern |22 August 2018

The Association for Rights, Information and Democracy (Arid) has said it is concerned with Seychelles’ rating with regard to combating trafficking in persons.

A recent report by the US Office on Monitoring and Combating Trafficking in Persons has stated that Seychelles has been downgraded to ‘Tier 2 Watch List’

The US report states “The government of Seychelles does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but however, it is making significant efforts to do so.

“The government has demonstrated significant efforts during the reporting period by continuing to prosecute a suspected trafficker, providing assistance to four trafficking victims from a 2016 case, and collaborating with an international organisation to develop implementing regulations for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act of 2014.

The report adds that the government did not demonstrate increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. The government did not report allocating funds for victim services, did not have any comprehensive shelters or care facilities available for trafficking victims, and did not implement its standard operating procedures or victim assistance mechanism, resulting in the government not identifying any trafficking victims during the year.

“The government also did not initiate any new investigations or prosecutions, or convict any traffickers, and did not provide adequate anti-trafficking training for its personnel,” the report says.

It also explains that the government did not inspect employers of, or screen for indicators of trafficking among potential labour trafficking victims within the Seychelles International Trade Zone (SITZ) despite vulnerability to trafficking among migrant labour in the country.

“The government did not have an active anti-trafficking committee that drove national anti-trafficking efforts,” the US Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons reports.

Stating its position on the matter, Arid says it is concerned with the rating “given the fact that much effort and many advocacy sessions were done in 2016 to improve our rating whereby we even provided assistance to four trafficking victims”.

In 2016, Arid also collaborated  with an international organisation to develop and implement the necessary regulations for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act of 2014. In addition the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) committee was meeting regularly and training sessions were also conducted in that year.

Arid says that everything went quiet and the TIP committee went dormant and the relevant authorities were not even addressing the concerns relating to possible cases of human trafficking. 

Arid states that for some time now it has heard of alleged cases of human trafficking going on in Mahé and also in some of the luxurious five-star resorts on our outer islands, at times involving high profile persons with diplomatic passports.

Based on the current rating Arid is proposing the following recommendations to the government and the relevant authorities:

-           Revamp the TIP Committee: since the TIP committee members are appointed by the President, we are recommending to the President to review the members of the TIP committee. Maybe the chairperson should be someone who is not a government official and a person of high moral standing and with minimum knowledge in law.

-           TIP Unit in Police force: Establish a designated unit with competent police officers in the police force to deal with TIP cases and intensify efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking under the anti-trafficking law, and convict the traffickers accordingly.

-           Enhance partnership with NGOs working in the human rights protection: Establish coordinating mechanism to improve the partnership with NGOs working in human rights sector and also enhance advocacy and awareness campaigns across the country on human trafficking. Arid is willing to collaborate on the subject matter.

-           National Comprehensive Action Plan: There is an urgent need to draft a national action plan to address this issue and to combat all forms of trafficking, we are also recommending the removal of the required fee for any migrant worker to file a case or a complaint with the Labour Tribunal.

-           The action plan will also take into consideration the merit of research and data collection and anti-trafficking awareness campaigns including training.

-            Ministry of Employment TIP Task Force: Arid is recommending the setting of a task force with a pool of authorised officers to monitor the domestic workers’ employment and their conditions. There is also a need to create awareness and sensitisation session on anti-trafficking among the local population, migrant workers and visitors in general. To note we currently have over 17,500 migrant workers in the country.

-           Assistance for victims: ensure timely and effective assistance including psychological support and accommodation to victims.

Arid has submitted the following recommendation to the department of Foreign Affairs and to the Office of the President for consideration. Meanwhile it is urging all citizens to remain conscious of the act of human trafficking and to report suspected cases immediately.

Arid is also calling on the police to take these reports seriously and to be more effective in dealing with cases of human trafficking.

Arid will continue to monitor the situation and advocate for victims of trafficking in persons.

Contributed by Arid