JUDICIARY Latest Features

Participants at the Training on Trafficking of Persons held in Kampala

At the end of a two-day training on trafficking of persons that was held in Kampala, participants came up with 18 recommendations that they think if implemented would go a long way to curb the vice.

The participants included judicial officers, defense lawyers, state attorneys,police and prisons officers as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations dealing with victims of human trafficking. 

The recommendations were directed to various players like; the Judiciary, the office of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Parliament and the Gender ministry for implementation. 

TheJudiciary

• Designate a specific Trafficking in Persons(TIP) high court judge. 
• Ensure that trafficking cases go to high court and not magistrate courts. 
• Trafficking victim identification trainingfor all members of the Judiciary. 
• Sensitivity training in how to properly interact with traumatized victims and witnesses in court.

Theoffice of the Directorate of Public Prosecutions

• Refrain from undercharging trafficking cases as non-trafficking offenses. 
• Establish a victim & witness coordinator position. 
• Work with CSO victim advocates in trafficking cases.

Parliament

• Remove the Attorney General's consent requirement for extra-territorial jurisdiction, as articulated in Section 19(a) & (b) of the PTIP Act. 
• Eliminate Section 19(4) (c) to allow forprosecution of alleged traffickers that have been acquitted or convictedof trafficking in persons in other countries. 
• Increase the salary and funding of policeofficers, prosecutors, and government-sponsored social services. 
• Fix typo in Section 3(b) to read "debtbondage" rather than "death bondage."

Ministryof Gender, Labour, and Social Development

• Establish a comprehensive care policy to care for each individual victim's needs (psychological, physical, emotional,rehabilitation, family reintegration, etc.) in coordination with CSOs. 
• Establish a referral care provider system that offers free professional services for TIP victims (i.e., physicians,counselors, psychiatrists).

Otherstakeholders

• Translate PTIP Act into local languages and disseminate copies of appropriate translations to each district's High Court. 
• Provide abridged versions of PTIP Act. 
• Develop education materials and provide continuous training on TIP. 
• Strengthen COPTIP authorities. 
• Establish public awareness campaigns in orderto establish public vigilance about TIP.

The training was organized by the Judiciary in partnership with Pepperdine University, The Human Trafficking Institute and Willow International.