There is a potential collusion between enforcement Agents and Traffickers: Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General of NAPTIP tells CNN

Following CNN’s recent exclusive reporting on migrants being sold in Libya by smugglers, the CNN Freedom Project is looking at how migrants are falling victim to modern day slavery and human trafficking. Reports air on CNN International throughout this week looking from issues in origin countries to the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, and the fate that awaits them in the sex trade or as labourers in destination countries.

A special hour-long panel discussion “CNN Freedom Project – Solutions to End Human Trafficking” will first air on CNN International at 2200 CET on 9 th December. Hosted by Richard Quest and in collaboration with Link Campus University in Rome and the Essam and Dalal Obaid Foundation, the show brings together top government and human rights experts from Europe and Africa.

These experts – Gervais Appave, Special Policy Adviser to the Director-General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM); Franco Frattini, Former Italian Foreign Minister; Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General of NAPTIP, Nigeria’s Anti-Trafficking Agency; and Joanna Rubinstein, President and CEO of World Childhood Foundation – look at the issues around identifying human trafficking survivors and dismantling the criminal operations lurking inside this international migration crisis.

Guests such as Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and Sciences, also contribute to the debate.

According to Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General of NAPTIP, there is a potential collusion between enforcement Agents and the traffickers: “I can assure you that some of the law enforcement agents are part of the trafficking. They are settled by some of the trafficking gangs.

And they are based in the destination countries. They work with them. They know exactly what is going on.  They are part of it.” He said.

Speaking on potential solutions to curbing the trafficking, Okah-Donli stated: “Information sharing between the countries of origin, transit, and destination. Most of the time we have a problem with truthful information, transparent information, and full disclosure.

When we give all the information that is required we do not get the reciprocal thing coming from the countries of destination. This trust is not there. We should have joint operations, we should have joint investigations. Mutual legal assistance. But all of this is missing.”

Full air times for “CNN Freedom Project – Solutions to End Human Trafficking” on CNN International:

Saturday 9 December – 2200 CET

About The CNN Freedom Project
The CNN Freedom Project produces original reports, articles and documentaries on human trafficking in all of its forms – from debt bondage in India to sex trafficking rings in Southern California and African slaves in the Sinai desert.

Since its launch in 2011, the multi-award winning CNN Freedom Project is among the most successful and highly visible programming initiatives on CNN International. It has generated more than 500 investigative stories of modern-day slavery from across five continents.

Various NGOs report that these CNN Freedom Project stories have contributed to changing laws and corporate policies, led to more than 1,000 survivors receiving assistance and sparked more than $24 million in donations to anti-trafficking organizations. The Essam & Dalal Obaid Foundation (EDOF), which shares the same values of the Freedom Project and has a commitment to pursue peace and remedy injustices in areas such as human trafficking, has supported the CNN Freedom Project since March 2015.

They have collaborated with CNN on a number of initiatives including a high-profile special event at
Harvard’s Belfer Center, and a partnership with Italy’s Ministry of Education, University and Research
(MIUR) to educate young people across the country about human trafficking and modern-day slavery. www.cnn.com/freedom