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{
"id": 101419,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/101419/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Duale",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Livestock Development",
"speaker": {
"id": 15,
"legal_name": "Aden Bare Duale",
"slug": "aden-duale"
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"content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I stand here to support this Bill. I want to thank Ms. Odhiambo for bringing this Bill to this House and to the country. Kenya as a country needs very urgent legislation to fight human trafficking. Kenya is a transit and destination country for men, women and children trafficked for the purpose of forced labour and sexual exploitation. We are confronted with a lot of emergencies that give the necessary infrastructure for human trafficking to flourish in this country. We are talking about drought, hunger, both civil and political unrest among our neighbours that have resulted in displacement across Kenya and the region. That has created perfect conditions for human trafficking. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I want to talk about human trafficking both locally and internationally. When we look at the local context, Kenyan children are trafficked within this country for domestic work and farm labour. If you look at the agricultural sector in this country, mainly in the crop plantations and flower farms, you will find young children of this country who have been trafficked to these farms. If you go to the pastoral areas you will see young Kenyans who have been trafficked from their areas, to herd cattle and earn a living. You will find Kenyan women, who are trafficked to urban centres, working in massage parlours, bars and also in the sex industry. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we have very vibrant human trafficking going on at the Coast, known as the Coastal Sex Tourism. We need legislation to combat this crime. Kenya has been described by the UN and the IOM as a transit point for traffickers who smuggle people to the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Last week, we were dealing with the Bill on money laundering and organized crime. I want to say here that this is another piece of legislation that this country cannot live without, if it has to play its rightful role, both economically and politically among nations of the world. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, this Bill has answered a number of reports written about this country as far as human trafficking is concerned. One of them was done by the IOM. Young girls are being lured into urban centers. Six months ago, we had a scenario where we almost had a diplomatic row with the Government of Saudi Arabia over young women of Kenyan origin who were lured to go and work as domestic servants in Jeda, Riydh and many other cities in the Middle East. When these Kenyans went there, they were turned into domestic slaves. We must have legislation which we will use to curb the rampant migration of our neighbours, because of their instability. These countries are Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo which surround our country. These countries use Nairobi as the transit point for human trafficking. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, one of the fundamental benefits that this country will get out of this Bill is that it will address the core issue of forced marriages among the pastoral communities and many traditional communities. This Bill will address and be a fundamental law that will provide that in Kenya, you cannot employ a house girl if she is under 18 years. This Bill is very specific on that. Today, you will see young Kenyans who are lured to the urban centres to do the domestic work. Human trafficking is in different forms. There are people who are trafficked from point A to C for their body parts. You are taken from here to India or to another city so that people can get parts of your body. That is well addressed in this Bill. This is crucial legislation. If this anti-human trafficking law is enacted, it will provide this country with the additional awareness. This Bill will provide extra training to our law enforcement organs on how to deal with human trafficking. This Bill gives them ways and means of identifying and responding to all types of human trafficking crimes. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order for us to curb this illegal trade and live among the many nations that have done better than us in terms of legislation--- Ms. Odhiamboâs Bill on human trafficking is in accordance with the UN agency on the war on drugs. People might look at human trafficking as a small business. The UN has described this business as the highest paying organized crime, which pulls in between US$8 billion and US$31 billion globally. This information is vital. It is from the US Anti-Drug Enforcement Agency. If you are talking of US$8 billion to US$31 billion, I can tell you that is the economy of a number of African countries combined. The Part V of this Bill lists types of offenders and the remedies the victims of human trafficking will be entitled to. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, Part IV gives us a Trust Fund for victims. I can say candidly here that if this Bill was passed last year or five years, today victims of human trafficking of Kenya origin such as the victims we saw from Middle East and others, who were brought back in coffin, this Trust Fund could have catered for them. I think it is the high time we pass legislation of this nature that will put us at par with other countries. We are in an era of economic integration. We know on 1st July, 2010, we will be embracing the Common Market Protocol for East African Community. We should not always think of the economic front. We must enact legislation that will put Kenya ahead of its neighbours and global environment in terms of fighting organized crimes, drug abuse, money laundering and human trafficking. Unless we enact the necessary legislation, we cannot fight such vices."
}