By Bill W. Cooper
Labor Minister Cooper Kruah has called for the establishment of an independent commission dedicated to addressing Trafficking-In-Persons (TIP) in Liberia.
Minister Kruah also emphasized the urgent need for a coordinated national response to this growing issue, which has seen an alarming increase in reported cases, highlighting that the proposed commission would serve as a central body to oversee investigations, provide support for victims, and implement comprehensive strategies to prevent trafficking.
He made the call yesterday, December 12, 2024, when he met with major stakeholders, including Liberia’s key international partners, headed by the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on tracking, Siobhan Mullally, at his Labor Ministry’s office in Congo Town.
However, the minister’s proposal comes amid rising concerns from local and international organizations about the prevalence of trafficking in Liberia, particularly among women and children.
During the interaction, Minister Kruah also pointed out that such a move would give the proposed ‘Independent Commission on TIP, the full legal authority to deal with the growing wave of crime, which reduces the human person to ‘degradation’.
Kruah stressed the government’s unwavering commitment to the global fight against TIP, under the ‘National Task Force on Human Trafficking’, which he currently chairs.
According to him, the fight against TIP is still being challenged and hindered due to strenuous financial and logistical constraints, decrying a drastic reduction of domestic budgetary allocation for the TIP component of the Ministry.
Minister Kruah, however, informed the high-level United Nations team reviewing Liberia’s commitment to protocols in the fight against TIP that the Government has initiated several steps, including training programs for immigration officers operating at the borders, and internal training for Labor Ministry’s inspectors in tracing TIP cases.
Others are hiring of professional legal team to prosecute perpetrators, provision of medical support to victims and shelter to several victims, as well as eventual repatriation of victims to respective countries.
The Minister then re-echoed commendations to several international TIP-related partners, whose support to the National Task Force on Trafficking-In-Persons has positively impacted the Government’s ongoing programs.
He further stressed the importance of inter-agency collaborations in the ongoing global war against TIP, promising that Liberia is totally committed to the elimination of this menace affecting the country and the world at large.
Earlier, the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking, especially Women and Children, Siobhan Mullally, commended the Government, through the TIP National Task Force Chairman, Minister Kruah for the efforts exerted thus far in addressing the menace.
She then called for an urgent comprehensive list of strategic needs, including logistics, for support from her office to enhance the anti-TIP fight in Liberia, and revealed that her mission to Liberia is geared towards getting a first-hand insight into the level of progress made on the TIP elimination programs.
She also informed the Minister that she will travel to some regions, specifically Nimba, Grand Cape Mount, Bong, and Bomi Counties; as well as several prison facilities on a site-seeing mission.
Deputy Justice Minister, Charles Karmo, reiterated the government’s uncompromising fight against TIP, in support of relevant protocols to which Liberia is a signatory.
He assured that under Liberia’s jurisprudence, TIP is a heinous crime and the government is engaged in this campaign, using both traditional and western methods in fulfillment of international obligations.
Meanwhile, the engagement meeting on the Review of Liberia’s TIP Program by The United Nations comes against the backdrop of recent progress made by the Labor Ministry, including six TIP victims who were returned from Sierra Leone, having been rescued and sheltered for some times in Liberia.
By Bill W. Cooper
Labor Minister Cooper Kruah has called for the establishment of an independent commission dedicated to addressing Trafficking-In-Persons (TIP) in Liberia.
Minister Kruah also emphasized the urgent need for a coordinated national response to this growing issue, which has seen an alarming increase in reported cases, highlighting that the proposed commission would serve as a central body to oversee investigations, provide support for victims, and implement comprehensive strategies to prevent trafficking.
He made the call yesterday, December 12, 2024, when he met with major stakeholders, including Liberia’s key international partners, headed by the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on tracking, Siobhan Mullally, at his Labor Ministry’s office in Congo Town.
However, the minister’s proposal comes amid rising concerns from local and international organizations about the prevalence of trafficking in Liberia, particularly among women and children.
During the interaction, Minister Kruah also pointed out that such a move would give the proposed ‘Independent Commission on TIP, the full legal authority to deal with the growing wave of crime, which reduces the human person to ‘degradation’.
Kruah stressed the government’s unwavering commitment to the global fight against TIP, under the ‘National Task Force on Human Trafficking’, which he currently chairs.
According to him, the fight against TIP is still being challenged and hindered due to strenuous financial and logistical constraints, decrying a drastic reduction of domestic budgetary allocation for the TIP component of the Ministry.
Minister Kruah, however, informed the high-level United Nations team reviewing Liberia’s commitment to protocols in the fight against TIP that the Government has initiated several steps, including training programs for immigration officers operating at the borders, and internal training for Labor Ministry’s inspectors in tracing TIP cases.
Others are hiring of professional legal team to prosecute perpetrators, provision of medical support to victims and shelter to several victims, as well as eventual repatriation of victims to respective countries.
The Minister then re-echoed commendations to several international TIP-related partners, whose support to the National Task Force on Trafficking-In-Persons has positively impacted the Government’s ongoing programs.
He further stressed the importance of inter-agency collaborations in the ongoing global war against TIP, promising that Liberia is totally committed to the elimination of this menace affecting the country and the world at large.
Earlier, the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking, especially Women and Children, Siobhan Mullally, commended the Government, through the TIP National Task Force Chairman, Minister Kruah for the efforts exerted thus far in addressing the menace.
She then called for an urgent comprehensive list of strategic needs, including logistics, for support from her office to enhance the anti-TIP fight in Liberia, and revealed that her mission to Liberia is geared towards getting a first-hand insight into the level of progress made on the TIP elimination programs.
She also informed the Minister that she will travel to some regions, specifically Nimba, Grand Cape Mount, Bong, and Bomi Counties; as well as several prison facilities on a site-seeing mission.
Deputy Justice Minister, Charles Karmo, reiterated the government’s uncompromising fight against TIP, in support of relevant protocols to which Liberia is a signatory.
He assured that under Liberia’s jurisprudence, TIP is a heinous crime and the government is engaged in this campaign, using both traditional and western methods in fulfillment of international obligations.
Meanwhile, the engagement meeting on the Review of Liberia’s TIP Program by The United Nations comes against the backdrop of recent progress made by the Labor Ministry, including six TIP victims who were returned from Sierra Leone, having been rescued and sheltered for some times in Liberia.
