Human trafficking as a national security challenge to Uganda: A case of Kampala Metropolitan area in Uganda

Abstract

Although there is no consensus or data on the number of trafficked victims annually, various international institutions and government agencies estimate that between 600,000 and 2 million people are being trafficked yearly across the globe (Cornell 2008). The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that out of 100 million migrants worldwide, about 4 million are undocumented, that is, migrants who have been trafficked (IOM, 2010). Uganda is a source and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Ugandan children are trafficked within the country, as well as to Canada, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Karamojong women and children are sold in cattle markets or by intermediaries and forced into situations of domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, herding, and begging. Security companies in Kampala recruit Ugandans to serve as security guards in Iraq where, at times, their travel documents and pay have reportedly been withheld as a means to prevent their departure and these cases may constitute trafficking. On the other hand, Pakistani, Indian, and Chinese workers are reportedly trafficked to Uganda, and Indian networks traffic Indian children to the country for sexual exploitation.