The Ministry of Homeland Security held an Annual Review Conference on Trafficking in Persons in Malawi from 10th to 11th March 2020 to take stock of the efforts and achievements in combatting human trafficking.
In this context, many Government officials noted with appreciation the results of the two-year project of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) implemented in partnership with the Government of Malawi and funded by the United Kingdom, "Strengthening a comprehensive response to trafficking in persons in Malawi".
Mr. Harry Kanjewe, Principal Secretary for Homeland Security and Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee against trafficking in Persons, expressed the satisfaction of the Government over the increased number of arrests, conviction and victims rescued from traffickers during the two years of implementation of the project.
He appealed to UNODC for continued technical and financial support in strengthening the national response against trafficking in persons.
Sub-Inspector Rome Chauluka, Community Policing Coordinator at the Mchinji Police Station, said: “since the establishment of the District Coordination Committee against trafficking in persons with support from UNODC, the district has rescued more victims, arrested more suspects and convicted more offenders”.
The development and adoption of Standard Operation Procedure and National Referral Mechanism (SOPs/NRM) for identification and assistance to victims of trafficking in persons was also highlighted as a major achievement. The Senior Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, Ms. Patricia Liabuba, said that the procedures put in place have led to increased coordination and successful rescue of victims, prosecutions and safe repatriation of victims of other nations.
She appealed to UNODC to continue with its support to Malawi towards the implementation of the resource mobilization for anti-trafficking in persons and communication strategy on Trafficking in Persons Act developed with UNODC support.
The training is part of a joint project of UNODC with the Government of Malawi funded by the United Kingdom contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in particular, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 on the strengthening of peace, justice and strong institutions.