Libya navy saves 441 migrants from drifting boats as US group raises voice for trafficked persons
- A Libyan coast guard has said that it rescued 441 migrants in two rescue missions on theMediterranean Sea
- The report said that the migrants were from Chad, Nigeria, Mali and Libya
- As a way of helping victims of human trafficking, a US-based group has called on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to use toll free lines in their operations
Libya’s navy has reported on Tuesday, February 20, that its coast guard recently rescued 441 migrants in two separate operations as their boats drifted off the western coast.
In the report by the navy, 35 women and 16 children were among the 324 illegal migrants rescued in one of the operations on Monday, February 19, with assistance from a fishing boat. The report said that the migrants were from Chad, Nigeria, Mali and Libya.
The coastguard also saved 117 migrants, including five women and two babies, off the coast of Zawiya, west of the capital Tripoli, The Libya Observer reports.
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Meanwhile, non-profit organisations have been encouraged to use toll free lines to help rescue victims of trafficking.
The admonition was given by Polaris, a United States-based group, which spearheads the battle against human trafficking. The group gave its advice at a briefing with foreign newsmen hosted by the department of state’s foreign press centre in Washington.
Caroline Diemar, the national hotlines director, who is in charge of the US national hotlines programme, emphasised the need for the provision of infrastructure and support in ensuring the application of hotlines and rescue text message tools for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
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Diemar said: “Even though it is an NGO running the hotline, it should have government support not only for funding purpose but for some form of legitimacy. At the same time, the independency of being an NGO hotline dedicated to combating and preventing human trafficking should not be eroded by government interference.”
In his speech on how Polaris takes advantage of data and technology to track traffickers, Andrea Rojas, manager of Strategic Communication, remarked that functional toll-free line has proven to be effective in fighting the scourge globally.
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Rjoas said: “A dedicated toll-free line for human trafficking is definitely something to explore. We have done it in other countries as well and it works depending on the peculiarities of that country, but we definitely recommend a number that can be remembered by everybody. It is not just for survivors but it is also for service providers because we know how mobile the population is."
So far, the US national human trafficking hotline has identified 36,270 cases. According to UN's statistics, there are 40.3 million victims of modern slavery.
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that the UN migration agency, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that not less than 90 people were feared dead on Friday, February 2, in the latest migrant incident in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya.
The statement by IOM which revealed that the tragedy took place on Friday, February 2, reported that 10 bodies were washed up on Libyan shores, including two Libyan nationals and eight Pakistanis.
Nigerians speak on slavery in Libya -On NAIJ.com TV
Source: Naija.ng