Many men who migrated voluntarily to South Africa to work illegally in agriculture and mining became victims of labor trafficking.
Some Basotho women who voluntarily migrated to South Africa seeking work in domestic service became victims of traffickers, who detained them in prison-like conditions and forced them to engage in prostitution.
While operating under severe resource constraints, the government formed an active multi-sectoral task force, created a national plan of action, trained more officials to identify trafficking situations and victims, and raised public awareness.
[5] The government did not increase its law enforcement efforts during the past year, and no suspected trafficking offenders were identified during the reporting period.
The Multi-Sectoral Committee, an anti-trafficking task force, in partnership with a local NGO, arranged for and participated in three trafficking workshops.
The Multi-Sectoral Committee on Trafficking, which was formed in July 2009 and is composed of representatives of government ministries, NGOs, police, border security, the judicial system, UNDP, UNICEF, academia, and religious institutes met regularly and began working on a national plan of action.
The government requested and received funding from UNDP to research trafficking in Lesotho; the Ministry of Home Affairs is expected to make the final report available in mid-2010.
Authorities conducted several high-visibility information campaigns during the past year, spurring a sharp rise in the number of news reports about human trafficking.
The Minister of Home Affairs presided over the launch of an NGO's Red Light 2010 Campaign, which addressed sex trafficking in the context of the World Cup in South Africa in June 2010.
As part of national campaigns against gender-based violence, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking, the government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.