Young people are being equipped and empowered to address unsafe migration and human trafficking as part of a joint project in Uganda’s Kapchorwa District.
Hope for Justice, through a partnership project with British Council, has been supporting young people – including survivors of human trafficking, migrants and returnees from working abroad – to set up social action projects to promote safe migration and prevent human trafficking.
A multistakeholder dialogue about the project, entitled ‘Addressing unsafe migration and human trafficking through inclusive migration management and enhanced access to information’, was broadcast on NBS TV on Friday 16th May. The project activities are supported by British Council under the Better Migration Management programme, which is being co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Our Uganda Country Director, Florence Soyekwo, made the opening statement. She said: “Today we gather to shine a spotlight on the critical issue of unsafe migration and human trafficking – an issue that affects us all, directly and indirectly. Migration into and out of Kapchorwa is both internal, within Uganda, and cross-border, and it is a reality that many individuals face, particularly the youth. We acknowledge that there are vulnerabilities that drive individuals to migrate irregularly and oftentimes they end up in very precarious situations. People migrate for economic and social reasons and climate change is increasingly becoming a push factor in migration. While migration can open doors to opportunity it also brings challenges, such as unsafe migration and human trafficking. These are not just issues here in Kapchorwa; they resonate across the country, in the east and Horn of Africa and globally. Hope for Justice has been working collaboratively with Kapchorwa local government to address these challenges using an approach that is rooted in empowerment, inclusion and dialogue.”
Hope for Justice team members in Uganda joined with Kapchorwa district and municipality leaders, religious and cultural leaders and a representative of the coordination office for the prevention of trafficking in persons under the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the live dialogue last week. Young people and members of the newly established Kapchorwa Platform also participated.
Youth participating in multi-stakeholder dialogue in Kapchorwa
Conflict, climate change, and irregular or forced migration can place people at risk of being targeted by traffickers or brokers whose aim is to exploit people for profit. One study has found that 87% of Ugandan labour migrants experienced forced labour, whilst other research focusing on Ugandan domestic workers in the Middle East found that 89% of migrants have experienced human trafficking.
There are several factors contributing to the challenge of addressing unsafe migration in Kapchorwa, including the lack of a centralised database with information on migration, as well as the capacity and expertise to collect this data. There are also security concerns, including conflict and insecurity in areas within Kapchorwa municipality, which can disrupt data collection and access to migration-related information.
Madinah Kakyaama, Community Programme Manager at Hope for Justice in Uganda took part in a panel discussion and Q&A as part of the live dialogue. The panel spoke about safe and unsafe migration, examined trends and challenges in Kapchorwa and reflected on the ways local strategies are making a difference.
Madinah shared about some of the strategies Hope for Justice is using to improve migration management in Kapchorwa. She said: “In a bid to have safe migration in Kapchorwa, we are strengthening collaboration at all levels between the local government and the community structures, such as with the community-led and youth platforms. We have also improved access to information, empowering young people, drama groups and platform members to go back to their communities and spread awareness about safe migration. We have included everyone in the process, ensuring everyone has a say in identifying and collecting policy recommendations. We have empowered grassroot communities to lead in informing policies. Lastly, we have continued to support victims of human trafficking and affected young people to become self-reliant, to see further than going abroad, to use available resources around them and to continue to be the voice to other young people, to advocate for safe migration but also for self-reliance within the communities they are living in.”
Youth social action projects in Kapchorwa receive certificates of registration as community-based organisations.
Hope for Justice has established Kapchorwa Platform, a body of grassroots communities, to amplify the voices of the migration affected populations. The Platform has produced and presented policy recommendations to local government, district and municipality leaders. The Platform also has an office where individuals can access information on migration and human trafficking.
Florence said: “The results are inspiring. Young people are busy driving change using their voices and solutions and are empowering their peers with information and skills so they can protect themselves from unsafe migration and human trafficking.”
Charles Muduuli (a member of Kapchorwa Platform and church leader) said as part of the dialogue: “I would like to say thank you for this opportunity, especially to Hope for Justice and the British Council, for helping us go through several trainings. And now here we are, able to share the different specialist strategies we think we will be able to use to improve upon safe migration. One of the most important is creating awareness – we will look at data collection and referrals – if people have the right information, they will be able to report their cases and be referred to the appropriate services for the support or help they need. We think that people also need to be aware of the existing laws, so that when traffickers or offenders are apprehended or caught, the law can be used to curb the crime in communities.”
