KAMPALA-The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Jane Frances Abodo has emphasized the need for all Prosecutors (from her office ) and investigating officers from Uganda Police to always follow the recently launched standard operating procedures (SOPs) wherever they are handling cases of Trafficking in persons.
While opening the second National workshop on the SOPs for investigating and Prosecuting cases of Trafficking in persons in Uganda, at Fairway Hotel in Kampala on , Thursday, Abodo noted that the changing trends in commission of this crime, requires a multi sectoral approach to combat it.
“SOPs for investigating and prosecuting of Trafficking in Persons were launched in February this year as a requirement for state parties to fulfill their obligations under the human Trafficking protocol, which mandates all state parties to protect victims of trafficking in persons , prevention of trafficking of persons as well as information exchange and training.”
She also pointed out that Human Trafficking is a silent global pandemic and it affects all of us in one way or another. “The offence doesn’t happen in abstract, it happens to people that we know and it’s done to them by the people they know.”
Abodo revealed that according to the recent statistics, over 1260 victims of trafficking were identified and rescued in 2023 alone, well as
Between January and October this year, a total of 1037 victims has been identified..and we think by the end of this year.
Superintendent of Police, Annet Karungi acting Head of Trafficking in persons department and SGBV department in Uganda Police, called upon all investigating officers who turned up for the workshop to always refer to SOPs manual throughout their operations instead of keeping them in their shelves as it is on some documents.
“This is going to be like our Bible to ensure that we do the right thing , it will improve prosecution and increase on the number of convictions. I promise to work with my bosses in ensuring that these SOPs are extended to all officers in various parts of the country.”
Marco Buford, CIVIPOL BMM, Regional Coordinator and Team , noted that Trafficking in persons is deadly vice which requires joint efforts to address it , because it doesn’t only happen here in Uganda, but also in other parts of the country.
He also promised that they are to going to support the investigating department of Police to ensure that they gather well the evidence required in the cases , inorder to secure more convictions.
The workshop also features collaborative activities to assess the SOPs’ implementation, identifying challenges, and discussing practical tools like the TIP Map supported by the human Trafficking Institute and monitoring systems such as the SOPs Checklist and its digitalized platform.
This event is supported by CIVIPOL with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as part of the Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme, funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
