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The Freetown Roadmap: CenHTRO and ECOWAS in Partnership to Combat Human Trafficking

Thursday, September 14, 2023

The Freetown Roadmap


 


The Regional Conference of ECOWAS States on Ending Human Trafficking was a landmark event for West African nations in terms of combating trafficking in persons. Over 300 regional and international delegates attended the event, held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in April 2023. 

The conference offered a collaborative platform for government ministers and agencies, NGOs, civil society organizations, and anti-trafficking professionals to share their experiences in implementing strategies to combat human trafficking. 

CenHTRO co-hosted the conference in partnership with the Government of Sierra Leone and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with support from the U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. 

Participants assessed existing practices, analyzed emerging opportunities to respond to human trafficking, and discussed the harmonization and coordination of regional anti-trafficking efforts. 

High-level meetings between ECOWAS ministers produced the conference’s key outcome: the drafting and signing of the Freetown Roadmap on Enhancing the Combat of Trafficking in Persons in the ECOWAS Region (PDF), which will become part of the next ECOWAS Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Persons. 

The Roadmap “clearly outlines and identifies measures to address basic causal factors, systemic responses to TIP linked to related protection concerns, and TIP specialist response measures affirming the internationally recognized 4Ps (prevention of human trafficking, protection of victims, prosecution of traffickers, and partnerships) and recognizing the relevance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” as stated in a post-conference toolkit (PDF). 

CenHTRO played an essential role in the Roadmap’s development, following substantial engagement with the Sierra Leone Office of the Vice President and the National Anti-Trafficking in Persons Secretariat/ Task Force over more than two years. Sierra Leone Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh served as keynote speaker at CenHTRO’s program launch in 2021, and we have collaborated extensively with the Vice President’s office on a national conference on human trafficking in 2022, in addition to our work on the 2023 regional conference. 

The Freetown Roadmap overlaps with CenHTRO programs in West Africa in the following ways:


  • The Roadmap's attention to root causes and risk factors fits with CenHTRO research on the determinants of trafficking in persons and vulnerability to trafficking. The focus on strengthening trauma-informed, survivor-centered care, especially in rural areas, as well as the capacity of social service and criminal justice practitioners also fits with our priorities. 

  • The ECOWAS guidelines on protection, support, and assistance to witnesses also aligns with CenHTRO programming priorities on protective services. To enhance speedy trials of trafficking in persons cases, the project provides support and assistance to witnesses to facilitate court appearances, especially in rural areas, and marginalized communities. 

  • The Roadmap’s provision to ‘promote local community frameworks and structures for child protection’ fits well with our focus on capacity building approaches for community groups, such as Village Parent Groups and Child Welfare Committees, in child trafficking identification and response, provision of awareness raising skills and equipment, and income generating activities.

Download the Freetown Roadmap (PDF)|  Download the Regional Conference Toolkit  (PDF)

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