Message from Arid on the occasion of World Day Against Trafficking In Persons, July 30, 2023 |29 July 2023

 ‘Reach every victim of trafficking, leave no one behind’

“The World Day Against Trafficking In Persons is commemorated yearly to create awareness against human trafficking, which many persons refuse to recognise. This form of slavery claims an estimated 24.9 million victims around the world with20.1 million labour trafficking victims globally according to ILO.

“The Association for Rights, Information and Democracy (Arid) notes that labour trafficking is still high in Seychelles and labour-trafficked victims are coerced and exploited. Victims are abused in different ways from different sectors including domestic workers/live-in persons, farm workers, security guards, construction workers and also shop assistants in some Indian shops. Trafficked victims in these businesses often work long hours and are underpaid with sometimes no salaries at all for several months and often without proper contracts or in some cases no contracts at all.

“’Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights’. This phrase keeps repeating but not everyone has the will to cut the head off. Many of us adore the money which comes out of breaking the employee's back. Some enjoy the exploitation and some just do not care what is happening around them. Seychelles cannot allow such a crime to go unnoticed. The government and society at large must strengthen resilience against exploitation and issues that are conducive to trafficking.

“In line with this year’s theme, leave no one behind, Arid urges authorities mandated to protect migrant workers and other forms of abuses not to get involved in double standard practices. Arid is of the view that in many cases, the government, relevant departments and other agencies do not always support the victims/survivors; there is also a common practice whereby victims of such abuses are often sent home after being issued with a Prohibited Immigrant (PI) notice without giving the victim the chance to follow the due process and seek legal action against the perpetrators. It has become a normal practice for these Prohibited Immigrant letters to be given to the victims at the airport on departure, instead of being served while still in employment or in the country. For example, this is also happening in cases of expired GOPs which is the employers’ fault, yet the employees are being deported when the employers  should be the ones taking full blame. 

Arid wishes to make the following recommendations;

•           Enforce existing laws so as to prevent criminals from taking advantage of the vulnerables and the culprit brought to justice with stronger consequences;
•           Employers with record of beating up their workers or violating the workers’ rights in anyway should be barred from bringing foreign workers to work in Seychelles;
•           The government should provide rehabilitation to victims of human trafficking or any other abuses;
•           The partners who talk about curbing human trafficking in Seychelles must allow proper investigation to be carried out and stop with the double standard practices;
•           Deportation by Immigration Department should be done only after all due processes have been carried out and the victim is found to be at fault;
•           Develop effective laws that manage migration in such a way that they uphold the rights of both the migrant and society as a whole; 
•           Every persons should be made aware of human trafficking and do their utmost to strengthen prevention measures by identifying victims.

“Migrant workers are part and parcel of the society contributing to the economy of Seychelles, which uses their labour. They have families to feed and themselves to care for.

Arid therefore calls on everyone in Seychelles to treat the migrants as humans and to respect the attested contract of employment and for those not issuing their employees with one, note that it is illegal not to do so.

“Finally Arid wishes victims and survivors of human trafficking hope, courage and good health.”

The Association for Rights, Information and Democracy (Arid)