Human Trafficking in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Street Children in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Lesotho] [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Kingdom of Lesotho [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho [map] upon independence from the UK in 1966. Lesotho, located in S Africa, is an enclave within the Republic of South Africa. Maseru is its capital and largest city. Lesotho’s economy is primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback.

Scope and Magnitude. Anecdotal but uncorroborated reports indicate that Lesotho may be a source and transit country for small numbers of women and children trafficked for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking within Lesotho does not appear to be organized by rings or criminal syndicates, and some anecdotal information suggests trafficking may be practiced with the sanction of a victim’s family, especially in the case of children. Basotho boys may be internally trafficked for use in cattle herding and street vending, while girls may be trafficked for cattle herding, domestic servitude, or commercial sexual exploitation. There are unconfirmed reports that young men or groups of women in some towns operate as pimps, exploiting underage girls in return for food and other basic needs. After migrating to neighboring South Africa in search of work, some vulnerable Basotho women and girls may become victims of trafficking for domestic labor or commercial sexual exploitation. There is also anecdotal evidence to suggest that, to avoid South African immigration controls, Lesotho is a transit point for the smuggling of South and East Asians into South Africa; some of these individuals may be victims of human trafficking. During the reporting period, an Ethiopian domestic claiming abuse by her Ethiopian employer was discovered in Maseru; it is likely that this woman is a victim of human trafficking. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008 [full country report]

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Lesotho. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

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The Protection Project - Lesotho [DOC]

FORMS OF TRAFFICKING – Children from rural areas of the country who are escaping hardship and the effects of HIV/AIDS gravitate toward Maseru, where they are coerced or kidnapped by Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans. They are taken across the border in private cars to asparagus farms and border towns in eastern Free State. There they are held captive in private homes, where they suffer a particularly “sadistic and macabre” sort of exploitation. The children are often locked in the house and left alone during the day; at night they are violently raped and verbally and sexually assaulted by groups of white men.

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National Plan of Action

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Boys as young as 4 years are employed in hazardous conditions as livestock herders in the highlands, either for their family or through an arrangement where they are hired out by their parents.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons. During the year the minister of Gender and the assistant minister of Education publicly stated their concern about six cases of child trafficking and the possible increase of trafficking‑related activities. There were no official statistics available on the issue of trafficking. The police can charge persons suspected of trafficking under the Labor code, the CPA, and kidnapping statutes enshrined in the constitution. The Ministry of Home Affairs and the GCPU are responsible for monitoring trafficking.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001

[55] Labor laws regulating child labor do exist in the State party, but the Committee notes with concern the high and increasing number of children, especially boys, employed as animal herders, inter alia, and children employed as street traders, porters and in textile and garment factories. The Committee is concerned, in addition, at the number of children working in potentially dangerous conditions and at the lack of monitoring and supervision of the conditions in which they work.

The Protection Project - Lesotho [DOC]

FORMS OF TRAFFICKING – Children from rural areas of the country who are escaping hardship and the effects of HIV/AIDS gravitate toward Maseru, where they are coerced or kidnapped by Afrikaans-speaking white South Africans. They are taken across the border in private cars to asparagus farms and border towns in eastern Free State. There they are held captive in private homes, where they suffer a particularly “sadistic and macabre” sort of exploitation. The children are often locked in the house and left alone during the day; at night they are violently raped and verbally and sexually assaulted by groups of white men.

The Protection Project - Zambia [DOC]

TRAFFICKING ROUTES – Zambia is a country of destination for street children from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru.

South Africa linked in the global human trafficking

She says that there have been reports children from neighboring Lesotho have been trafficked for labor by farmers in South Africa’s Free State province. In 2003 a research study by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also found that South Africa is a main destination for trafficked women and children.

Human Trafficking Stretches Across the Region

Women from rural China, many of them poorly-educated, are often brought to South Africa, said Martens. The women are flown to Johannesburg, and then taken to Swaziland, Lesotho or Mozambique. They then cross the border back into South Africa - all this in a bid to circumvent airport immigration controls.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 2 Civil Liberties: 3 Status: Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

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Human Trafficking in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Street Children in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Lesotho] [other countries]