Labor Minister, Cllr. Charles Gibson wants Mano River Union Member States consolidate efforts and be more proactive in the fight against Human Trafficking.

Cllr. Gibson said an increased collaboration among member states will lead to a massive clampdown on human trafficking which he described as a global menace.

The Head of the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force was speaking in Freetown, Sierra Leone during a high level meeting with Senior Sierra Leonean government officials.

Cllr. Gibson told the Sierra Leonean Officials that President George Weah attaches urgency to stopping Human Trafficking and all forms of transnational crimes.

He to Sierra Leone’s Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Madam Manty Tarawalli, and the Inspector-General of Police that Liberia is seeking consensus from Sierra Leone and Guinea to convene a mini-summit aimed at consolidating efforts and advancing a synchronized strategy in fighting Human Trafficking.

Both countries expressed concerns about the operations of the outlawed Q-NET group which has over the years served as a major vehicle for human trafficking within the MRU region, and expressed the urgent need to ensure its disbandment.

Cllr. Gibson is today holding separate meetings with his    Sierra Leonean counterpart, Alpha Osman Timbo, and the Minister of Justice, Minister of Social Welfare, the Commissioner General of Immigration and the   Parliamentary Committee Chairman on Human Rights.

Other members of the delegation include, Mr. Adolphus Satiah, Director of the Human Trafficking Secretariat, Inspector Joseph Washington, Commander of the TIP Unit of the Liberia National Police (LNP) and Josephus Flumo, Special Assistant to the Minister of Labor.

The delegation arrived in Freetown on Monday, December 20, 2021, and is expected to return to Monrovia on Wednesday, December 22.