PHOTO: Cllr. Charles Gibson, Labour Min.
By Augustine Octavius, augustineoctavius@gmail.com
Labor Minister, Cllr. Charles Gibson, has attributed the gains and successes being made in the fight against human trafficking in Liberia to all members of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce and President George Weah for his level of commitment and support to the work of the taskforce.
He informed the partners that most of the financial supports coming from the government to the taskforce are personally ordered by the President to enhance the working of the taskforce.
Minister Gibson was speaking over the weekend at the first meeting of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce held in Monrovia, the first since the outbreak of the new variant of coronavirus in the four months.
The Labour Minister welcomed the contributions of the US Embassy and International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other international partners for their tireless support and collaboration with the taskforce in taking actions to end trafficking in Liberia.
He cited many achievements the taskforce has made since the release of the US Government 2021 Human Trafficking Report on Liberia, such as the amendment to the Trafficking Law of Liberia, and the hiring of eight lawyers for the speedy handling of trafficking cases.
Minister Gibson added that the newly amended portion of the law has been signed by the President of Liberia and we are now waiting to be printed in Handbill.
Some of the difficulties were outlined in caring for the current safe-home being managed by the Taskforce.
Minister Gibson told the meeting that the TIP Taskforce is getting a lot of support, but noted that more work needs to be done with the police in the area of criminal investigations.
He said that the police have proposed the setting up of special a unit for TIP which will comprise of major security agencies including the Liberia Immigration Service Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency and the Liberia.
The government has approved the procurement of fifteen motorcycles for the Ministry of Labor of which five will be dedicated to TIP operations, according to the Labour Minister.
Speaking earlier, the partners (the US Embassy near Monrovia, the Win Rock International, the International Migration Organization, the World Hope and the Defense for Children) said they are impressed over the efforts being applied by Cllr. Gibson and the taskforce to reduce or bring to an end human trafficking in Liberia.
The partners made specific reference to the recent amendment of portion of the human trafficking law of Liberia, which has been very difficult to achieve in many years by past administrations. They were pleased with news of the arrests of many traffickers and cases being reported in recent times.
The partners pledged their commitment to working with the National Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce and the Ministry of Labor in ensuring that human trafficking and child labor cases are brought to the attention of the taskforce, and the perpetrators are made to account for their actions.
The meeting, which was held at the Ministry of Labor, brought together local and international partners by members of the religious community including the Muslims and Christians leaders who promised to take the message of trafficking to their respective places of worship and community.
The representatives of the religious community also thanked the Minister of Labor for the latest development in the labor sector of the country; noting that “all we knew about the Ministry of Labor was a place to bring labor complaints.”
“We are hearing about a lot of responsibilities that are being carried out by this ministry, especially in the areas of job creations, disputes settlement, the promotion of decent work, the trafficking in persons and child labor,” the religious community said.
“We want to commend you and your team for these achievements in a very short period of time and pray that God will guide you and give you strength in carrying out your duties.”