We, the concern citizens of the World;

INSPIRED by the fact that children and women in Malawi ought to attain their full potential in life facilitated by an atmosphere of protection, peace, dignity, equality and justice;

MINDFUL that Malawi is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its two protocols, the Trafficking Protocol and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air;

GUIDED by the principle of the best interests of the child and the need to protect and preserve the human dignity of women and all victims of human trafficking;

CONSCIOUS of the political will and increased concerted efforts by the Government of Malawi and civil society organizations to address human trafficking in the country;

NOTING that despite these increased efforts, the fight against human trafficking remains far from being won;

RECOGNISING that in 2007, the Malawi Law Commission finalize and presented the “Trafficking in Person Bill” that provides a comprehensive legislative framework for combating and preventing trafficking in persons using human rights based approach. The Bill that takes a multi-dimensional approach by combining protection of trafficked persons and potential victims of trafficking in persons; prevention of incidents of trafficking in persons; prosecution of offenders; and increasing participation of individuals, communities and institutions in the fight against trafficking in persons.

ACKNOWLEDGING that human trafficking is an endemic social problem, a pervasive, heinous crime and one of the most pressing human rights problems in Malawi, needing urgent attention;

WE THEREFORE CALL UPON THE MALAWI GOVERNMENT TO:

(i) Enact the “Trafficking in Persons Bill” now;

(ii) take steps to empower girls and women with educational, economic, employment and necessary professional opportunities to resist the temptation of human trafficking;

(iii) Introduce Social services (care/support/recovery/reintegration) to protect those who fall victims should be in place;

(iv) Embark on a massive public awareness and sensitization campaign;

(v) Strengthen the monitoring and border surveillance systems for Malawi;

(vi) Put in place effective monitoring of the cyberspace (Internet);

(vii) Engage in effective data collection and information systems and coordinate progress and inform policies and laws on human trafficking and programming at all levels;

(viii) Domesticate international agreements on human trafficking to prevent trafficking in persons and develop, adopt, and implement joint plans of action together with the participation of all relevant stakeholders; and

(ix) Girls, young women and other sectors of society vulnerable to human trafficking must gain access to the resources necessary to development such as education, credit, and employment.