1. 24 June 2005 Department of Home Affairs
PRESENTATION TO THE JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE STATUS OF WOMEN
24 June 2005
Department of Home Affairs

2. Presentation Content Introduction Legislative mandate
Trafficking in women and children-Observations
Department of Home Affairs response
Questions and Answers

3. Introduction
The Department reports to the Joint monitoring committee on the improvement of quality of life and status of women on request.
The Department made a submission to the committee in November 2003.

4. Legislative mandate No Anti-Trafficking Law exists in SA or in Africa.
Laws applicable:
Immigration Act, No 13 of 2002
Refugees Act, No 130 of 1998
Marriages Act, No. 25 of 1961
Recognition of Customary marriages Act, No. 120 of 1998
Films and Publications Act, No 65 of 1996.

5. Trafficking - Observations
South Africa lacks a proper system in terms of which assistance can be provided to victims of trafficking.
Victims of trafficking are deported to countries of origin without a prior investigation into their circumstances in order to establish whether protective systems are in place in their countries of origin, to ensure that the person is not vulnerable to the same circumstances.
A substantial number of victims trafficked to SA do not have the necessary documentation entitling to be in SA.
Research by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) found approximately 85% of victims trafficked to SA spoke Portuguese, Swahili, French or an East Asian or Eastern European language. Providing assistance to victims may therefore be hampered by the fact that service providers may not be able to communicate with victims in a language understood by the victim.

6. DHA response-Partnerships
Inter-departmental task team- chaired by NPA.
Various departments that includes SOCA, DoJCD, IOM, DHA, SAPS, DOL, UNODC, SD, Molosongololo are represented in this task team.
Government initiative.
Recently appointed an international consulting team, Tea Cogos Consortium Brussels, appointed and funded by the EU Commission. (5-mil. Euros).
The mandate of this consortium is to investigate Human Trafficking issues related to SA and to compile a report on the findings and recommendations to the task team on how to take human trafficking counter actions forward.
Report finalized and will be submitted on the 24th of June 2005 to the task team.
On the 27th of June 2005, the report will be finalized and audit by the task team. The Task team will submit the report to the EU member states in SA, from there to Brussels,and it is anticipated that funding will be distributed in line with the recommendations by January 2006.

7. Slide 6 –continues/The role of DHA-Immigration services
When the police identify or arrest a possible victim of trafficking in the country without proper documentation, they approach the department of SD. SD the leading department of victims and victims assistance programmes. SD approach DHA , DHA legalize the person temporarily, for purposes I.e. investigations or victim assistance programmes.
In cases where special circumstances exist, such victims of trafficking being needed to testify as a State witness against a perpetrator, or part of an assistance programme, an application for an exemption in terms of section 31(2)b of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No 13 of 2002), supported by the NPA may be submitted.
Authorization may be granted to the victim of trafficking in terms of Section 32 (1) of the Act, while waiting the outcome of the application for exemption.

8. Slide 7–continues/The role of DHA-Immigration services
In terms of section 49 of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act no 13 of 2002) it is an offence to knowingly assist or intentionally facilitate an illegal foreigner to stay in the RSA or to receive public services.
Such foreigners should be handed over to institutions or NGO’s facilitating victim assistance programmes e.g. IOM

9. Thank you
Questions and Answers