Maseru, Mar. 24 — The Continental Operational Centre (COC) for Combating Irregular Migration, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has convened a consultative forum on Tuesday under the theme, Senior Officials Consultative Forum on Trafficking in Persons for Forced Criminality, bringing together senior officials from selected African Union (AU) Member States and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).
The Forum will focus on the growing challenge of trafficking in persons for forced criminality involving African nationals in Southeast Asia.
In recent years, trafficking networks have increasingly relied on digital technologies, such as social media platforms, encrypted communication channels, and online commerce systems, to recruit and exploit victims across borders.
Many individuals are lured with promises of employment, only to find themselves trapped in scam centres and other criminal operations.
The AU has noted that countries have made notable progress in addressing trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants. Many are said to have ratified and domesticated the Palermo Protocols and established national initiatives to address these crimes.
However, the AU says significant challenges remain, including limited monitoring systems, gaps in coordination, and constraints affecting frontline responders responsible for implementing national procedures. The Forum therefore provides a timely platform for dialogue among Member States and partners to strengthen cooperation, share experiences, and discuss practical responses to this emerging trafficking trend.
The Senior Officials Consultative Forum on Trafficking in Persons for Forced Criminality is taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Forum will bring together representatives from AU Member States whose citizens have been affected by trafficking for forced criminality. Participants will examine trends, share information, and explore ways to strengthen collaboration between Africa and Southeast Asia.
The AU further indicates that trafficking for forced criminality has become an increasingly complex form of exploitation. Criminal groups are using online platforms and emerging technologies to recruit victims and move them across borders. In several cases, victims have been forced to participate in online scams and other illegal activities while being held under exploitative conditions.
The forum will provide an opportunity for Member States to discuss coordinated approaches that support prevention, victim protection, and cooperation among relevant institutions.
The main objective of the forum is to strengthen cooperation among African Union Member States and Regional Economic Communities in responding to trafficking in persons for forced criminality through improved coordination, information sharing, and joint action.
The Continental Operation Centre (COC) is a specialised office of the AU that was established to coordinate and facilitate Member States’ comprehensive responses to combat irregular migration, particularly Trafficking in Persons, and Smuggling of Migrants.
The Centre was established by the 32nd Ordinary Meeting of the Assembly of the AU Heads of States and Governments in February 2019. The main mandate of the Centre is to support AU Member States and RECs in developing innovative initiatives and responses in combating irregular migration, particularly, the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants in Africa.
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