Human trafficking is a Growing Problem in South Sudan

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said it has helped two teenage Kenyan victims of human trafficking to return home from South Sudan. In the first case of its kind handled by IOM South Sudan, the teenagers, who were recruited in a rural Kenyan community for domestic servitude and later forced marriage, escaped and were referred to IOM and UNICEF by the Kenyan community. Following IOM screening, they were referred to a safe house in the South Sudanese capital, Juba. IOM has since returned them to Kenya, where they will receive shelter, counselling, education and reintegration support to restart their lives. Human trafficking has been identified as a growing problem in South Sudan, with evidence that trafficking for forced labour and the sex industry are particularly prevalent in the country’s urban centres. Young girls from rural areas and women who are internally displaced are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for forced labour as domestic servants. IOM has called on the international community to intensify efforts to address the issue and has appealed for funding to conduct an initial base-line assessment to determine the extent of human trafficking both across the border into South Sudan from neighbouring countries, and internally between rural areas and urban centers.