The African Tourism and Development Organisation (ATO) organised recently a two-day training summit against trafficking in human beings and illegal migration at the Sun Beach Hotel in Bakau.

The two-day training on the theme Addressing the Root Causes of sub-Saharan Africa Trafficking in Human Beings, Sex Exploitation in Travel & Tourism & Illegal Migration Through Prevention, Demand, Reduction & Victims Assistance as an African Development Goal, also coincided with the second annual sub-Saharan Africa Youth Cycling Race and Public Awareness campaign.

In her keynote address at the opening ceremony, Madam Ndioro Ndiaye, Deputy Director General of the International Organisation of Migration, Geneva, Switzerland, stressed the need for campaigners against trafficking to work closely with the police to put a stop to the problem.

She added that there is more need for a database to be used by the Departments of State for the Interior and for Finance to ensure effective capacity building.

She however stressed the need for governments to play major role in the fight against trafficking and organise themselves to protect victims of trafficking or illegal migration.

For her part, Mrs. Duni Jones, Regional Director of ATO in Sub-Saharan Africa, noted that ATO is highly interested in combating illegal migration.

She said she was dissatisfied with African governments’ detentions of illegal migrants in poor conditions.

The chairman of the summit, Mr. Dodou Bammy Jagne, Gambia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, challenged stakeholders to put more seriousness in combating trafficking.