The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has enacted a law that will compel its member states to prevent human trafficking and prosecute perpetrators of the crime.

The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill, 2016, comes after an international report showed that the crime of trafficking in persons is prevalent in all East African Community partner states.

The Bill was moved by Dora Byamukama (Uganda) and received affirmation on Tuesday from the House, as the latter resumed sittings for its second meeting of the fifth session in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

“The object of the Bill is to provide a legal framework for the prevention of trafficking in persons, protection mechanisms and services for victims and development of partnerships for co-operation to counter trafficking in persons in the community,” reads a statement from the Community in part.

The law will be operational once the Community’s Heads of State assent to it in line with Article 63 of the Treaty of the Establishment of the EAC. In the event that all the presidents sign it into law, it shall become an Act of the Community, being superior to other laws on the same matter.

The debate on the Bill was preceded by the tabling and presentation of a report of the committee on Legal rules and privileges on the EAC Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill, 2016.

The report presented by Maryam Ussi (Tanzania), followed public hearings held across the five countries in September. The report among other things, ascertains that the crime of trafficking in persons is prevalent in the region.

READ: East Africa ranks low on human trafficking report

In comparing the magnitude of the problem in the region with other countries around the world, the committee referred to the Trafficking in Persons Report published annually by the Department of State of the United States of America.

The report ranks all countries in the world in four categories or tiers basing on the respective government’s efforts against trafficking as measured by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 standards, ranging from Tier 1 to Tier 3.

The key parameters considered in ranking countries are actions taken in the prosecution, protection and prevention sections of trafficking in persons of that country.

Tier 1 comprises countries whose governments fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards: Tier 2 are countries that do not fully comply with the TVPA minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into the compliance with those standards.

Tier 2 Watch List is similar to Tier 2 but countries in this category further commit to undertake additional steps over the next year in combating trafficking in persons. Countries in Tier 3 do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are yet to make significant efforts to do so.

According to the Trafficking in Persons Report of 2016, Kenya and Uganda are in Tier 2; Rwanda and Tanzania are in Tier 2 Watch List, while Burundi falls in Tier 3.