The Media and the Fight against Trafficking in Persons and Child Labour in Nigeria

Abstract

Trafficking  in persons has been an age-long practice at both local and international levels and this has gained international attention with the ‘Protocols to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons especially Women and Children’ which is also referred to as the ‘Trafficking Protocol’. This United Nations’ instrument has evidently removed the practice from the local to international domain of operation and therefore has become an issue of universal concern. However, the signing and domestication of this protocol in municipal laws of member countries particularly in Africa has not impacted significantly on the practice as cartels of human traffickers keep erupting even as the battle turns fierce against them. Child labour which is one of the main impetuses for the trade is still rife in many communities particularly in Africa. This paper peruses the causes of trafficking in persons, the resultant child labour, its dynamics and the media engagement in the fight against the scourge. It proffers some peacebuilding suggestions for the involvement of the media in the fight against human trafficking and child labour.

Keywords: Human trafficking, Child labour, Media, Peacebuilding, Human Smuggling