CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Child abuse and labour represents one of the most dehumanizing forms of human rights abuse. Top on the hat of the slavery-like practices against children is child trafficking. Combating child trafficking has gathered considerable momentum over the years with increased political awareness regarding the phenomenon, as illustrated by the localized adoption and ratification of international standards and important commitments undertaken in international conference by different states.
In 2002, the African union reaffirmed its commitment to combat child trafficking. It identified the elimination of human trafficking as an operational priority. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in 2001 developed strategies to fight child trafficking for exploitative labour purposes in West and Central Africa. In Africa, the first commitment to combat trafficking is exemplified in Africa charter on the right or welfare of the child (1990).
In the United Nations (UN) protocol to prevent, suppress or punish trafficking in person especially women and children. The United Nations convention against transitional organized crime called Palermo protocols, defines human trafficking to mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring as receipt of persons by means of threat, or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, abuse of power or of a position of benefit, vulnerability, of the giving or receiving of payment to receive the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation. (Arinze, 2006).
In order to mobilize effective efforts, political will and policy responses to prevent or combat child trafficking, the international community reached a common consensus on a common normative definition or trafficking in human beings which include various form of sexual exploitation or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or removal of organs. The focus of the provision stresses that trafficking for exploitative purposes should be considered a crime and must be prosecuted. It‟s also stressed that national laws should be reviewed to ensure compliance through legislative process the protocol as a model.
Prior to the time, the scale of child trafficking had been hard to determine as a result of complete unavailability of databases on child trafficking or traffickers and above all the shameful delay in the adoption and enactment of the child‟s rights law by state in the country.
According to Arinze(206):
The activities of some non-governmental organizations like women or child labour eradication. Women trafficking and child labour eradication foundation (WOTCLEF) and India Renaissance brought the issue of human trafficking especially child labour to the national discourse-and made the wife of the former vice president Mrs. Titi Abubaeke to initiate or bill to the national assembly in person. This action was followed by the establishment of National Agency for the prohibition trafficking in persons and other related matters. The agency is to enforce the laws against trafficking in persons, investigate or prosecute persons suspected to engage in trafficking in persons or take change or coordinate the rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking.