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Journalists in Malawi have been urged to take a proactive role in unearthing and exposing child trafficking. Eye of the Child, a child rights NGO, found that both internal and cross-boarder child trafficking is becoming a lucrative business across the country. Speaking to journalists during a two-day workshop in Blantyre, organised by Malawi Network against child trafficking (M-Nact), Coordinator for Child Trafficking Network, Boniface Mandere said there was a need to use the media as an advocacy tool in sensitising the general public on the practice. He said trafficking against children and their implications receive very little press coverage. "We view the role of the media as critical in the fight against child trafficking and related issues. The mass media ought to be a reliable medium in building awareness of these injustices," he said. Law unclear Although Malawi has various existing laws that address certain aspects of trafficking, such as kidnapping or sexual exploitation, the country falls short of punishing perpetrators for the crime of trafficking itself. Assistant Chief Law Reform Officer for the Malawi Law Commission (MLC) Chizaso Nyirongo said the country has no specific laws on child or human trafficking. He however indicated that MLC is currently drafting a special law, which would effectively deal with perpetrators who have for a long time evaded punishment due to lack of a strong legal framework. "The absence of a specific law on child trafficking is a serious loophole that undermines both national and global efforts to stop child trafficking. "Nevertheless, after realising that disjointed general laws failed to take a successful apprehension on a chain of events, the law commission came up with an initiative that will see us formulating a law that will specifically deal with issues to do with human trafficking," disclosed Nyirongo. According to Mac Bain Mkandawire, Executive Director for Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO), child trafficking is growing due to, among other things, poverty, the need for cheap labour; the demand for human organs, rituals and sexual exploitation. He added that the absence of birth certificates has increased the practice, which is commonly taking place along the country's borders. "Many children in the country have no identities such as birth certificates and because of this we have failed to take positive measures to check child trafficking since we can not protect people we don't know. "Our borders are also very porous and people can come in and go out so children can be easily trafficked," Mkandawire observed. The YONECO Director pointed out that with the approaching 2010 World Cup in South Africa, there was a need for Malawians to be alert since research has shown that child trafficking is likely to increase during the event. "The 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa should be a factor that we should consider in as far as increase of child and human trafficking in general are concerned. "Right now there is high demand for labour because there are a lot of constructions taking place, and also during the actual event we should expect the booming of sexual tourism, therefore as Malawians we should be on the alert to protect our children," he said. Further information
pdf: http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/664.html