Law enforcement mentorship rescue 182 victims as Malawi largest Refugee Camp Faith leaders joins campaign against trafficking in persons.

Some of the victims waiting to be transported to safety.

Dowa, Malawi, 1 March 2024 - Leaders of 30 of 150 Faith Institutions at Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District of Malawi have joined the campaign against criminal networks operating within the camp where victims are exploited for profit or trafficked to other countries for forced labour and prostitution.

Dzaleka Refugee Camp, the largest in Malawi, was established in December 1994 by the Government of Malawi and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to accommodate people fleeing genocide, violence and wars in Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo with about 1,200 asylum seekers, mainly from Somalia, Burundi, and Rwanda. Currently, the camp has a population of 13,469 families and 51,998 people.

The camp is also used as a waypoint along the notorious Southern Route, a passage from the Horn of Africa to Southern Africa, on which migrant smugglers operate and undocumented migrants travel.

Organized transnational crime syndicates operating out of informal nightclubs within the camp recruit girls for exploitation in sex trafficking inside the camp and in roadside bars along the highway to Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital city to transport human trafficking victims and vulnerable migrants for exploitation in sex trafficking and forced labor both within Malawi and to other countries in Southern Africa, particularly South Africa.

The faith leaders made the commitment on Thursday 1^st March 2024 at the outset of the training (organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), together with UNHCR, Malawi’s Ministry of Homeland Security and Renee Jones Empowerment Centre) to prepare their institutions to collaborate with law enforcement officers and border officials mentored by UNODC on detection and the reporting of cases of this crime, rescue of victims and their referral to the authorities where they can receive appropriate assistance.

Speaking virtually during the training to share experiences on the role of Faith Institutions in response to trafficking in persons, Pastor Reverend Birce Nash, the Overseer of Peoples Church of God in Christ, Inc. (COGIC) in the United States of America said that Faith-based organizations have an important role to build a sense of belonging and solidarity and instilling compassion to victims and at-risk population.

Speaking at the end of the training, Reverend Lewis Sabimana - Jesus Christ Witness Pentecostal Church at the camp, said that this is the first time he’s attended such a workshop since he arrived at the camp eighteen years ago.

“The training has enhanced my knowledge of the crime that has caused misery and sometimes death to hundreds of refugees at the camp, and some transited through the camp including and our church members. I therefore commit my Church to collaborate with law enforcement officers and organizations in their response against trafficking in persons.”

Another Faith leader, Pastor Thondo Abraham of Christian Church for the Renewed Covenant said that he was grateful for the training for Faith leaders alongside the mentoring of law enforcement officials who will be engaged in active operation and patrol at the camp and border areas.

“It was wise to organize the training for us owing to the fact that we are the most trusted institution and our message to the faith community shall make a huge difference in raising awareness about the crime that has tormented refugees and asylum seekers for many years”.

Mr. Kondwani Kamanga, a Desk Officer on Trafficking in Persons (TiP) and Mrs. Ivy Chihana, the Legal Officer for the Department of Refugees with the Ministry of Homeland Security confirmed along with Mrs. Saral Nayeja, from UNHCR, that the camp has been used as a transit point for victims of human trafficking. Traffickers recruit victims in their home country under false pretences, arrange for them to cross the border into Malawi and enter the camp hence the support for UNODC to organise the training.

“The victims mainly from Somalia, Burundi, and Rwanda usually believe they’re going to join their families in South Africa or will get work there,” says Mr. Kondwani Kamanga. “Victims are exploited inside the camp and told they need to pay off the debts incurred from being smuggled into Malawi, others are then transported further to Zambia, South Africa or Mozambique for sex and forced labour.”

Speaking to the Faith leader Mrs. Saral Nayeja said that awareness raising is vital in the fight against the crime since it will empower communities to protect themselves from the risk of and report cases to the trained law enforment Officials.

“In order to raise awareness on TiP among potential victims, awareness campaigns must be conducted in communities across the camp. Raising awareness will help to reduce the risk of potential victims being exposed to the danger of being recruited at the camp. It will also increase the likelihood of members of the community to report suspected cases at the camp. It will further empower affected members of the communities to seek appropriate services from duty bearers”.

Maxwell Matewere, a UNODC Programme Officer in Malawi with support from Sweden Government is mentoring law enforcement officers and border officials in Malawi on detection and rescue of victims and their referral to the authorities where they can receive appropriate assistance.

Law enforcement officials and faith leaders interacting with the victims.

The UNODC mentorship includes capacity building of services providers such as Catholic Development Commission in Malawi, an organisation that work around the border areas, and provision of technical support to law enforcement and border officials for special operation and patrol that has resulted in the rescue of 182 victims from night clubs and an arrest of six suspects in Blantyre, Mwanza, Mulanje, Mangochi and Karonga border districts of Malawi with Mozambique and Tanzania during the month of February 2024.

Further information
In 2022 UNODC supported the Ministry of Homeand Securty with development of a Protocol on Trafficking in Persons for the Dzaleka Refugee Camp under UNODC’s Global Programme against Trafficking in Persons with the financial support of the Kingdom of Sweden.

United Nations

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Law enforcement mentorship rescue 182 victims as Malawi largest Refugee Camp Faith leaders joins campaign against trafficking in persons.