United States of America Department of State has urged the government of Zimbabwe to amend its anti-trafficking law to criminalize all forms of trafficking in line with the 2000 United Nations Trafficking In Person protocol.
In its Trafficking in Person 2022 report, US Department of State said Zimbabwe is making efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking including investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases and conducting training for law enforcement, immigration officials, and other key anti-trafficking officials.
“The government did not amend its anti-trafficking law to criminalize all forms of trafficking. The government did not identify any trafficking victims or provide care for victims in its designated shelter. The government did not convict any traffickers,” reads part of the report.
The report further urged Zimbabwe to expedite trafficking cases in courts to address the significant backlog of cases as well as increasing collaboration with, and provide financial or in-kind support to, NGOs that assist trafficking victims.
“Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, including complicit government officials and individuals who purchase commercial sex from children, through adequately funding law enforcement and developing capacity to conduct thorough investigations using enhanced evidence collection,” reads the report.
According to the report, Zimbabwe also needs to trail frontline workers to identify trafficking victims among orphans and migrant workers while providing shelter for them.
“Zimbabwe needs to train frontline workers to proactively identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations including orphaned children, migrant workers and establish shelters for trafficking victims in each province and collect data on human trafficking trends within Zimbabwe”.
According to the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO), about 25 million people worldwide are estimated to be victims of human trafficking a trade worth $150 billion a year.
