Washington, DC USA The Gambia government has positively stepped up its activities in the monitoring and combating of human trafficking, thus resulting in the reassessment in 2006 to a higher level of Tier 2 from Tier 2 watch list by the United States Department of State Office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, a Department of State official with direct knowledge to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, told this reporter.

The Gambia was reassessed and taken from the watch list. It could be recalled that the government passed, in 2005, a child trafficking act and started to draft a comprehensive trafficking law that prohibits trafficking in adults.

The governement did even better in opening a shelter in Banjul that can accommodates 48 persons and establish a hotline. They also established a hotline for reporting trafficking crimes and information centre for victims.

Cracking down on nine cases of trafficking in persons, the government with Child Protection Alliance (CPA-an NGO umbrella group) conducted sensitisation programmes.

Prior to the reassessment, The Gambia has a weak law enforcement and victim’s protection efforts towards trafficking in persons that resulted in the placement to Tier 2 watch list-a designation of ranking for countries that are in danger of slipping down to the third Tier, a position that can lead to non-trade and non-humanitarian sanctions on a country.