Prevention and Investigation of Child Trafficking In Duguna Fango Wereda, Wolayta Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region of Ethiopia

Abstract

Trafficking in children is a global challenge that affects millions of children and exposed them to various forms of exploitation. To this end, trafficking in children gained attention on international, regional and domestic laws. In Ethiopia both the FDRE and S/N/N/P/R/S constitutions prohibit child trafficking and impose obligation on the agents of government to combat child trafficking. Specifically, there is trafficking proclamation which mainly adopted to combat trafficking in persons. Child trafficking is clandestine crime and conducted in organized manners. The physical and mental immaturity of the children aggravates their vulnerability for child trafficking. To this end, international instruments, UN guiding principles and domestic laws requires activities such as raising awareness; addressing poverty and unemployment; rescue of children on trafficking; collaboration between concerned bodies and stakeholders; conducing proactive investigation; conducting joint investigation and supervising the investigation. Domestically, at wereda level there are several institutions with powers and duties to conduct prevention and investigation activities towards child trafficking. DFW is severely affected by child trafficking and it comprises great number of victims of child trafficking in Wolayta zone. To this end, this study analyzes the prevention and investigation of child trafficking in DFW in line with relevant laws. The research is socio-legal. Accordingly primary and secondary data such as key informant interview, FGD, documents, cases were collected and triangulated. Accordingly, the study found that in DFW there is no strong practice of awareness rising on child trafficking to stakeholders; the officials of DFW and focal persons on combating child trafficking have lack of adequate knowledge on ant-human trafficking laws. Beyond this they have no commitment to effectively combat trafficking in children and to address socio economic causes of child trafficking. Moreover, despite the prevalence of problem there is no collaboration between the concerned bodies themselves and with other relevant bodies; DFW relevant institutions have budget problems to widely address the prevention and investigation activities on trafficking in children. The rescue of children on trafficking is very weak and there is absence of supervision on investigation and the investigation is not effective to bring the perpetrators to the justice system. Therefore, the study urges the DFW to revise and to conduct effective prevention and investigation activities to effectively combat child trafficking.