Ethiopia outlaws human trafficking

The Ethiopian Government on Wednesday said it had outlawed the trafficking of its citizens to work as house maid in foreign lands.

The measure by the government was sequel to the repatriation of 142,000 Ethiopians from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2013.The Minister of Administration, Justice, Policy, Planning and Implementation in the office of Ethiopian Prime Minister, Solomon Tesfaye, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Addis Ababa that the action was to stop trafficking of Ethiopians.

Tesfaye said that the government had already stationed Police and Immigration officials at its borders to beef up security and curtail easy trafficking of young men and women through routes bordering Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa.He explained that activities of some illegal travel agents caused embarrassment to the government with repatriation of the 142,000 Ethiopians, mostly working as maids for alleged illegal entry into Saudi Arabia.He said that the government had also taken measures to stop the activities of about 430 registered agencies who engage in illegal trafficking of such young people to other countries for some fees.Tesfaye stated that the measure was taken to bring sanity into the free movement of Ethiopians working across the globe to earn a living.He said that the government was reviving its proclamation and laws on cross border domestic labour and was collaborating with stakeholders, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for input.Other stakeholders expected to come up with legal framework to support the law, he said were Bureau for Labour and Social Affairs and Civil Society Organisations.

He said that the law would define conditions for the protection and safety of Ethiopians if they had to be taken across the borders to work as domestic servants. NAN