In the 2012 trafficking in persons (tip) report, Rwanda is identified as a source and, to a lesser extent, a destination country for women and children trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation. A few partners, such as the IOM and UNOCD, have attempted to assist Rwanda in developing ways in which the government can assist its residents, as well as those who are refugees, from players involved in human trafficking both within and beyond the country. This was accomplished through the Rwanda counter-human-trafficking cooperative initiative. However, Rwanda is a signatory to all international conventions that protect migrant workers as well as those that protect its citizens. It ratified the International Convention on the Protection of Migrant Workers and All Members of Their Families in December 2008 and has ratified several International Labor Organization conventions, but it has not ratified the International Labor Organization Convention on Migrant Workers, the Convention on Migration in Abusive Environments, or the Convention on Migration in Abusive Environments. As a result, the framework of its international legal duties is insufficient at the international level, and more inclusivity is required. The existing toolkits offered by IOM and the Ministry of Public Service and Labour and security have not been well established and adopted in Rwanda at the community level, leading to the increasing number of human trafficking cases and poor integration of those that have been trafficked into the communities.
The project intends to look at ways we can help in the advocacy and integration of the existing tool kits into communities through the existing levels of leadership, namely: Mudugudu, health centers, and law enforcement agencies.
The engagement will focus on:
– Stakeholder engagement between both citizens and the organizations focused on eradicating human trafficking
– Establishment of a joint engagement with already existing programs in Rwanda
– Establishing the community centres at health facilities and Mudugudu to help in the rehabilitation of those trafficked both locally and internationally.
– Provide community training for those in the labor and migration sectors on the existing local and international human trafficking toolkits.
– Integrate government procedures and international human trafficking toolkit procedures into both local and border regulations to help identify and reduce available avenues of human trafficking.
