External labour companies reject Anti-Slavery Bill

The new Bill seeks to impose a penalty of life imprisonment for child trafficking and slavery

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies (UAERA) has rejected the proposed Anti-Slavery Bill, saying that it would create a harsh working environment if passed into law.

The leaders of the Association which regulates the exportation of labour appeared before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of Parliament on Thursday, as it scrutinized the Bill which was tabled by Soroti Municipality MP Herbert Ariko.

It among others seeks to consolidate and modernize laws relating to human trafficking, create offences on sexual exploitation and provide for identification and protection of victims of slavery among others. The Bill proposes a penalty of life imprisonment for child trafficking and slavery, a 15-year jail term for a person who subjects another to exploitation and another jail term of 18-years for any person who transports, recruits, transfers or receives another by use of force, threat, abduction, fraud, deception, and coercion for purposes of exploitation.

The same punishment is also proposed for a person who intentionally engages in soliciting or aiding sexual exploitation. Uganda has more than 100 external labour recruitment companies that have been licensed by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and these ensure that whoever leaves the country for foreign work has a contract.

But Enid Nambuya, the Executive Director of the Uganda Association of External Recruitment Agencies- UAERA cited no need of bringing a new law that will disadvantage the licensed companies.

She adds the need to amend the already existing laws to provide for more deterrent punishments instead of having a new law.

While presenting the Bill, the MP said that Uganda needs a Bill that goes beyond moving persons to cater for those enslaved in institutions or families. He added that the current legislation, the Anti-trafficking in Persons Act 2009, does not consider modern forms of slavery that have become prevalent.

The 2017 Trafficking in persons report named Uganda as a source, transit and destination for people subjected to forced labour.

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