ARUSHA - The East African Community (EAC) Deputy Secretary General (Political Federation), Beatrice Kiraso, has called for extra efforts against human trafficking, observing that perpetrators of the act are roaming scot-free.

Kiraso made the remarks on Thursday in Arusha, Tanzania, during the opening of a workshop on information and awareness raising as tools for prevention against human trafficking.

She observed that instruments such as the Trafficking in Persons Protocol and the Ouagadougou Action Plan provide the required push for action.

In response to the Trafficking Protocol, for instance, Kiraso said that the number of countries that have enacted anti-trafficking legislation had more than doubled between 2003 and 2008.

"Consequently, more and more convictions of traffickers have been made possible and hopefully an increasing number of victims rescued. 

This, however, should not hide the fact that – as we are talking now - impunity is still a major problem,” she said.

She added that traffickers take advantage of the lack of legislative frameworks, vulnerable economic environments coupled with volatile political situations to operate with impunity.

"Despite the noticeable high level of trafficking in persons within and outside the continent, the criminal justice response is erratic, uncoordinated and slow,” Kiraso observed.

"This is due to lack of information and awareness regarding the trafficking situation and capacity to effectively address this challenge once and for all.”

A great number of victims of this heinous crime are found in Africa while there are countless other long distance victims in Europe and other parts of the world.

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