Terrorism continues to be a potent threat to peace and security in the East African region, with acceleration of terrorism attacks in the region resulting in the loss of lives and property.

This is according to the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA)’s Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution.

In line with that, members of the committee are undertaking an oversight activity on the measures taken by the East African Community (EAC) Partner States in combating terrorism and human trafficking – two major threats to peace and security in the region.

On November 11, regional MPs will interact with actors in the peace and security area in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and Uganda.

Specifically in Rwanda, it is expected that regional MPs will hold talks with the representatives from Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Rwanda National Police, Ministry of Justice, and civil society.

Overall, the expected outcome of this oversight activity is to strengthen the legal, institutional and policy framework for combating the vice of terrorism and trafficking in persons within the EAC region, the committee indicated in a concept note for the event.

Combating terrorism

A number of terror groups such as Al Shabab, ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) and FDLR (the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) still have foot prints in the East African region posing insecurity as well as undermining hard earned governance, social and economic gains for the last decades.

Speaking to The New Times, MP Fatuma Ndangiza, Chairperson of EALA&039;s Committee on Regional Affairs and Conflict Resolution, said that "terrorism is a threat to peace and security in this region.”

She cited "Al Shabab which is prevalent in our region, especially Somalia and Kenya; but there is a time they even bombarded US embassies in East Africa in Tanzania, Kampala and Nairobi. So, it is a recurrent issue.”

"There are other groups in this region, like the issue of FDLR. On one hand, it’s a genocidal outfit that committed [the 1994] Genocide [against the Tutsi] and are harboured in DRC, but carry out acts, like attacking Rwanda through abrupt gunfire, and continue to destabilise the security and radicalisation especially in genocide ideology,” she said.

For the region to be stable and secure to deliver on its aspirations, peace and stability are the building blocks for the free movement of persons, labour, goods and services, which are critical to EAC integration, according to the committee.

"So, we wanted to ensure that there is engagement of countries, having consultations especially with stakeholders in the security sector so that we understand the extent of the terrorism problem, but mainly to understand the measures put in place, because all those problems are transboundary crimes, which means that one country cannot solve them singlehandedly, " Ndangiza said.

Safeguarding peace and security is key for accelerating the implementation of common market protocol and ultimate realisation of political federation.

There is urgent need to address root causes of terrorism, radicalisation, armed conflicts and genocide ideology at national, regional and international levels.

Tackling human trafficking

On the issue of human trafficking , the committee said that it remains a global and regional security challenge and one of the most profitable illegal activities of organised criminal groups worldwide.

Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery where human beings especially women and children are traded for purposes of forced labour, forced marriage, sexual slavery, or extraction of organs or tissues for sale and can occur within a country or transnationally, it indicated.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that at any given time, 12 million men, women and children worldwide are deceived or coerced into forced and bonded labour, involuntary servitude and sexual slavery, migration, creates social disruption of all age groups and this is worse for trafficked children.

Among the frequently motivating factors for trafficking in persons, there is unemployment, poverty, instability, disintegrating social networks, the prospects of better living conditions, as many people desire to move closer to areas that present them with increased opportunities.

Corruption, inefficiency as well as complicity of law enforcement agencies allows trafficking to function without fear of arrest, prosecution or conviction, the committee noted.

"It [human trafficking] is again one of the cross-border crimes where in this region of ours, people are trafficked, often taken away being promised employment abroad, especially in the Middle East. There are companies that are involved in that – dealers. You find it is an issue that mostly targets women, especially girls, and children,” she said.

"So, this is one of the threats to peace and security in this region,” she said, calling for effective strategies to tackle it.