By Chemtai Kirui
Kenya Airways (KQ) has launched its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Policy and Public Awareness Campaign in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) to combat human trafficking.
The campaign aims to raise awareness among the airline’s employees and the wider community about the misconceptions and realities of human trafficking, and forms a crucial part of the company’s comprehensive strategy to combat this organized criminal activity.
The airline’s TIP policy, which took effect in January 2023, outlines KQ’s position and actions against human trafficking. The public outreach campaign aims to educate Kenya Airways staff and the public on the misconceptions and realities of human trafficking, as well as how to identify and report suspected cases.
Hellen Mwariri Mathuka, Chief Financial Officer of Kenya Airways, reiterated the airline’s firm stance against all forms of human trafficking and modern slavery. Mathuka said, “We recognize that our employees at the airport and on flights are uniquely positioned to look out for this type of crime.”
KQ has invested in capacity-building programs to train its employees to identify and report suspected cases of human trafficking.
The launch of Kenya Airways’ TIP policy was praised by Hon Kipchumba Murkomen, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Roads and Transport. He commended KQ’s efforts to combat trafficking in persons and set the bar high as the “Pride of Africa.”
“We are keen on ensuring such measures are replicated by other players in the sector through closer collaboration, with the support of partners like the UNODC. We look forward to you being the lead agency in this fight and inspiring other agencies to do the same,” Murkomen said.
According to the 2022 Global Estimates of Modern Slavery Forced Labor and Forced Marriage report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 49.6 million people are in modern slavery on any given day.
Hon. Florence Bore, Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Labour & Social Protection, acknowledged that human trafficking requires a multi-disciplinary approach within and across sectors and borders.
Bore commended Kenya Airways’ commitment to combating trafficking in persons and said, “It is no doubt that the training and creation of awareness among the KQ airline staff, provided for in the policy, will build their capacity to proactively play their role in the fight against trafficking in persons.”
Maria Temesvari, Deputy Regional Representative for Eastern Africa at UNODC, commended Kenya Airways on the launch of their policy on trafficking in persons.
“I wish to congratulate Kenya Airways on the launch of their policy on trafficking in persons and acknowledge its role to further enhance the Government of Kenya’s capacity in combating trafficking and increasing the number of detections and investigations of this crime.” Temesvari said.
The UNODC organized a specialized interagency workshop on combating Trafficking In Person (TIP) at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in December 2021. The workshop brought together officers based at JKIA from police, immigration, airport authority, customs, prosecutors, and representatives of Kenya Airways.
After four days of interactive sessions, the participants adopted recommendations, including for Kenya Airways to develop actions to prevent and combat TIP.