The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Seychelles, in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in Seychelles, organized a press conference today to highlight the findings of the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report. The event emphasized Seychelles' continued efforts in combating human trafficking, as evidenced by its Tier 1 ranking in the report.
During the press conference, representatives from both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the U.S. Embassy praised the efforts of Seychelles in maintaining its’ measures to prevent human trafficking, protect victims and prosecute offenders. The panel consisted of the U.S. Ambassador to Seychelles Mr. Henry Jardine,Principal Secretary of the Social Affairs Department and Chairperson of the National Coordinating Committee against Trafficking In Persons Mrs. Linda William-Melanie, Director of the Trafficking In Persons Secretariat, within the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ms. Michele Sabury and Sergeant Davis Simeon from the Seychelles Police.
The Tier 1 ranking signifies that Seychelles meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Key points highlighted during the conference included the review of anti-trafficking laws, the establishment of support services for victims and ongoing training and awareness programs for law enforcement and the public. The collaboration between local authorities and international partners was also recognized as a critical factor in achieving and sustaining this ranking.
The press conference served as a platform to reaffirm Seychelles' commitment to fighting human trafficking and to outline future initiatives aimed at strengthening these efforts further. The continued Tier 1 ranking underscores the nation's dedication to upholding human rights and ensuring justice for all individuals within its borders.
Welcoming and opening remarks by Chairperson of the National Coordinating Committee on Trafficking in Person:
Good morning, and welcome to the start of the three day training workshop for front line officers from key organisations responsible for prevention, investigation, prosecution and protection of identified potential victims of trafficking in person.
This workshop marks the commitment taken by the Government of Seychelles through the National Coordinating Committee to ensure that front line officers receive continuous training and refresher training to enhance knowledge and equip them with required skills to identify and combat trafficking in persons.
Seychelles as other countries is a party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols there to. As a country, we have made it our duty to ensure the relevant legislative framework is in place to combat trafficking in persons offences. Key stakeholders play an active role not only to prevent potential cases of trafficking, but also to investigate and establish the facts in the reported cases with credible evidence for prosecution under the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons Act 2014.
The presence of our international collaborator, UNODC and IOM is another testimony of the on-going support to continue to invest in capacity building of our personnel on emerging issues of human trafficking happening locally, regionally and internationally. On this note, I would like to thank both UNODC and IOM for your continuous support with capacity building workshops to enhance knowledge and skills of various personnel of key organisations in the fight against the offences of human trafficking.We are cognisant that our population and stakeholders are more knowledgeable about the crime of trafficking in persons through the various awareness campaign through the local media, Employment Department through the WINS programme for migrant workers and through the work of local NGOs. Through these initiative, concerned citizens are taking the initiative to report suspected cases of TIP to the Employment Department, the police and also the TIP Secretariat.
The statistics of reported potential TIP cases is also an indication of the strong vigilance of different stakeholders to act quickly to ensure that identified victims do not have to remain enslaved by their alleged traffickers as this allows the Secretariat to step in to provide them reprieve and the protection they need.
We also need to acknowledge and commend the efforts of law enforcement officers to investigate reported cases, not allowing matters to drag, thus bringing the necessary relief to the victims.
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| No of Investigations | 5 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 34 | 46 |
The Government of Seychelles strives to maintain a high level of vigilance and do its level best to be compliant with its obligation to prevent, prosecute and protect any identified victims of trafficking. We will continue to proactively address recommendations of the US State Department TIP Report published annually through the concerted effort of all stakeholders to maintain our TIER 1 ranking for years to come.
Dear participants, the collective effort and sharing of information is crucial to denounce the act of human trafficking and send a strong message to perpetrators and collaborators that the system will close in on them. We do realise that prosecution of cases is not as quick as the investigation process due to various constraints within the judicial system. This should not be a discouragement. The same vigilance and speedy action to detect and investigate needs to be maintained.
On the other hand, what is good to note is that there has been a marked improvement in assistance and support to identified victims of human trafficking through the collaborative approach of the Technical Committee who work diligently to spearhead inspection, investigation and re-integration of identified victims.
The capacity-building workshop has been designed in such a way that will allow you to understand the global context of human trafficking and our local context. You will explore the different case scenarios, share experiences through role-plays and understand the complexity of handling human trafficking cases. The three-day exposure will also allow you to assess your knowledge, acquaint you with best practices, which you will no doubt take with you to share with other colleagues and to be translated into informed and decisive actions in your different work organisations.
As I conclude, I would like once again to thank UNODC and IOM for being Seychelles steadfast partners through technical support and funding of various capacity building workshops from the very start. The investment and support is well appreciated. I thank the participants for your presence over the three days and wish you all fruitful working sessions.