Footprint to Freedom Featured on UBC News Following the Launch of Safe Haven Shelter and Three-Year Strategy, “United for Sustainable Freedom”

M7’s Govt Backs Footprint to Freedom Strategy to Strengthen Fight Against Human Trafficking – Footprint to Freedom launched a revised three-year strategy focused on prevention, survivor protection, recovery and sustainable reintegration. State Minister for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations Simon Mulongo officiated the launch of the Footprint to Freedom Revised Strategic Plan 2026–2029 and the opening of the organisation’s new office and facility at Namyoya Village in Goma Division, Mukono District. Footprint to Freedom is a survivor-led organisation working to prevent human trafficking and support survivors through protection, recovery, empowerment, advocacy and pathways to sustainable independence. The strategy is anchored on four pillars: prevention; empowerment and skills development; protection and recovery; and reintegration, survivor leadership and advocacy. The organisation’s strategic direction is summarised as Prevention → Empowerment → Protection and Recovery → Reintegration and Independence. Presenting the strategy, Footprint to Freedom Board member Emmanuel Wataka said the revision was driven by the recognition that preventing trafficking must be matched with sustained support for people who have already experienced exploitation. Footprint to Freedom says sustainability will also depend on diversified funding, strategic partnerships, local resource mobilisation, in-kind support and carefully assessed social enterprise opportunities. The organisation will monitor outcomes including survivor safety, access to psychosocial and health services, skills development, economic empowerment, safe reintegration and sustained independence. The revised strategy is intended to complement Uganda’s wider efforts to combat trafficking by placing survivor needs at the centre of prevention and response. At the launch, Minister Simon Mulongo officially unveiled the strategy and opened Footprint to Freedom’s new office and facility in Mukono, marking what the organisation described as a new phase in its survivor-led approach to ending trafficking and modern slavery. The organisation says its ultimate goal is to break the cycle of trafficking by creating a pathway from vulnerability to resilience, exploitation to recovery, and recovery to sustainable independence

African Survivor Coalition Member Bakary Koné Featured on Miroir TV Following Participation in the senior officials forum in Kenya on Victim-Centred Protection in Human Trafficking Cases Mr. Koné, a member of the African Survivors Coalition (ASC), recently appeared on Miroir TV to share key insights and outcomes from the Forum on Victim Protection held in Kenya. During the interview, he underscored the critical importance of strengthening efforts to protect survivors of human trafficking and exploitation, ensuring perpetrators are held accountable through effective prosecution, and expanding access to comprehensive support services for survivors. Mr. Koné emphasized that survivor protection must remain at the center of anti-trafficking efforts, supported by coordinated action among governments, civil society organizations, law enforcement agencies, and survivor-led networks. He highlighted the need for holistic assistance that addresses survivors’ psychosocial, economic, legal, and reintegration needs, enabling them to rebuild their lives with dignity and security. The interview also provided an opportunity to showcase the work of Action Entrepreneuriat Jeune Emploi et Développement (AEJED), an organization dedicated to vocational training and the socio-economic reintegration of young people, including individuals who have experienced trafficking, exploitation, and other forms of vulnerability. Through skills development and empowerment initiatives, the organization supports survivors in achieving sustainable livelihoods and greater independence. In addition, Mr. Koné discussed the mission and impact of the African Survivors Coalition, a survivor-led network that advocates for the rights of survivors across the continent. The Coalition works to amplify survivor voices, influence policy and practice, promote meaningful survivor leadership, and strengthen collaboration among survivor-led organizations in Africa. The television program focused on reporting on the major forum convened in Kenya, highlighting the progress, challenges, and opportunities in protecting, assisting, and supporting victims and survivors of human trafficking. Such platforms play a vital role in raising public awareness, sharing key messages, fostering dialogue among stakeholders, and reinforcing collective action to prevent trafficking and uphold the rights and dignity of survivors. Through continued advocacy, partnership, and survivor leadership, organizations and networks across Africa are contributing to a stronger and more coordinated response to human trafficking, ensuring that survivors are not only protected but also empowered to lead change within their communities.

Footprint to Freedom was represented at the GLO.ACT Women’s Network General Meeting in Istanbul, Türkiye, by our Executive Director, Malaika Oringo. It was an encouraging and enriching experience to participate in the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) Women’s Network General Meeting, held in Istanbul, Türkiye, on 18–19 August 2026. The meeting provided a valuable space to learn about developments, initiatives and challenges in addressing trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling from a gender perspective, while exchanging experiences and good practices across countries and sectors. I particularly valued learning from colleagues representing Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Iraq and Pakistan, as well as the Central Asian perspectives represented by Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan. Bringing together perspectives from government, law enforcement, the justice sector and civil society made the exchange even richer. I was pleased to contribute to the Voices of Experience session, highlighting the importance of meaningful survivor engagement I leave Istanbul with new learning, strengthened connections and a renewed appreciation of what we can achieve when we learn across countries, sectors and regions. My sincere thanks to #UNODC UNODC, particularly Martin Reeve, Nushofarin Noziri, Shahida Gillani, Umeda Salieva, Zubaida Shakir and the wider team, for creating this valuable space for learning and exchange. A special acknowledgement to Emmanuelle whose leadership and commitment over the years have contributed significantly to the growth of the GLO.ACT Women’s Network, and to the #EuropeanUnion for its support through the EU-funded PROTECT project. I look forward to carrying these connections and lessons forward as we continue strengthening inclusive and collaborative responses to human trafficking.

Geneva, 23 June 2026  – On the margins of the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council, ICAT presented its Issue Brief on the Ethical Inclusion of Survivors of Trafficking in Persons at the event “Survivors First: Towards ethical engagement with survivors of trafficking,” held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Moderated by the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Siobhán Mullally, the discussion brought together lived experience experts, the European Union, UNODC, OSCE-ODIHR and OAS around a single conviction: that survivors of trafficking are not beneficiaries, but human rights defenders and experts whose lived experience is essential to designing responses that work. Read More

ICAT’s New Guidance Reinforces the Need for Ethical Survivor Inclusion in Anti-Trafficking Responses The release of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) Issue Brief on Ethical Survivor Inclusion marks an important milestone in strengthening survivor leadership within the global anti-trafficking movement. At Footprint to Freedom, we welcome this guidance as an important step towards ensuring that survivors are not only invited into conversations but are engaged safely, ethically, meaningfully, and as valued experts whose lived experience strengthens policy and practice. The guidance reflects principles we have long championed through our grassroots programmes and the African Survivor Coalition (ASC). Key Messages We welcome ICAT’s contribution and encourage governments, civil society organizations, donors, and international agencies to integrate these principles into anti-trafficking responses. 

Global Forum for Human Trafficking Survivors “We come as few but carry the stories and wisdom of thousands.”