All Africa Conference of Churches Urges Elimination of Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery

The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) has called for an end to human trafficking and modern day slavery across the African Continent.

The clarion call has been reached during the ongoing High Level Consultation on Migration, Trafficking in Persons and Modern Slavery conference in Kenya.

Speaking in Nairobi Tuesday, Chief Doliwura Zakari, Chairperson, Steering Committee for African Union Inter-Faith Dialogue Forum challenged faith leaders to utilise their platforms to preach and enlighten congregants on migration and the challenges and dangers associated with it.

“Let us use our platforms to create awareness. We should not only talk about spirituality, but also practical help that we can give our young persons,” he said.

Zakari noted that over 50 million people annually go through the difficulties of migration and this narrative needs to change.

“As at 2021, International Labour Organization estimated human trafficking business at $150 billion globally. Surprisingly, recent reports indicated the business is valued at around $247 billion,” he emphasized.

The chairperson urged faith leaders that its time religious bodies came together to resolve this continental nightmare adding that “Migration is not a problem. However, the challenge lies in the dehumanisation, exploitation and the dangers involved in human trafficking.”

In addressing human trafficking, the African Union came up with the AU Committee to counter trafficking.

In addition, there is a Migration Policy Framework for Africa which tackles human related trafficking.

Speaking on the same, Charles Kwenin, chief executive, International Migration Policy Recruitment and Advisory Centre (IMPRAC) reiterated that the Church has a crucial role to play considering the wide audience they oversee and control.

“Children and people normally believe the people they trust. The church is a highly valued partner and has a competitive advantage to leverage on the young and adults on migration issues,” he noted.

Kwenin emphasized that curbing human trafficking is a collective effort from the international to local level of governance.

“Human trafficking is executed by well organised criminal networks who are well connected and dangerous. Mostly, it involves wealthy persons and more disturbing, even our relatives are preying on us,” he averred.

Migration has become a significant reality in Africa due to the economic conditions, climate change, conflict, lack of awareness and cultural pressures. People are continuously seeking better opportunities abroad and as a result move out of their comfort zone.

Unfortunately, as hardship is becoming even harder, others see those that have become vulnerable due to irregular migration and displacement as prey for an opportunity to either become rich or achieve their goal in life. Hence, people on the move are being trafficked, smuggled, exploited and pushed into modern day slavery which amounts to violation of human rights and dignity.

In contribution to addressing the phenomenon, AACC in working to safeguard human dignity has organised for four regional consultations:viz in West and Central Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa to understand the pattern of tye phenomenon in each region.

The consultations looked at the response by the government authorities and entities, analysed the situations based on the findings and recommended strategies to better address the phenomenon with recommendations to governments, civil society and faith actors.

In the same vain, the AACC has also organised an all African youth consultation on migration around the theme Africa My Home! My future to rekindle the light of patriotism among the young people

The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) is a continental ecumenical organisation representing over 200 million Christians across tye African Continent. It is the largest association of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox and Indigenous churches in Africa and is a member of the worldwide ecumenical network.

As an ecumenical body, AACC is a community of 215 members made up of Churches, National Christian Councils ( NCCs), theological and lay training institutions and other organisations in 43 African countries.

According to a report published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in March 2024, at least 8, 565 persons died on international migration routes in 2023-more than 3, 100 of the drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, and a further 1, 900 died while still in Africa, with many perishing in the Sahara desert. These are the documented cases which means the number could be higher.