The Tribune

THE United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, will undertake an official visit to the Bahamas from December 9 to 11, it was announced yesterday.

Her visit will be the first ever to the country by an independent expert from the UN Human Rights Council.

Ms Ezeilo, who was invited by the government, said that she will study the state of trafficking in women, men and children in the Bahamas, and assess the country’s responses to counter trafficking in persons and the protection of the human rights of its victims.

The UN Special Rapporteur is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to prevent and fight trafficking in persons in all its forms, and to encourage measures to uphold and protect the human rights of victims.

During her three-day visit, Ms Ezeilo will meet with representatives of various government agencies, as well as members of international and civil society organisations working on the fight against trafficking in persons.

“I look forward to my discussions with the government and all relevant authorities and to engage with them in a collective effort to fight 
all forms of human trafficking in the Bahamas,” she said.

At the end of her visit on Wednesday, the Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.

Ms Ezeilo’s will present her final observations and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2014.

Ms Ezeilo is a lawyer, feminist, and 
activist who was appointed the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially with respect to women and children since 2008.