Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - African Union (AU) officials and human rights experts have issued a grave warning regarding a global human rights crisis as increasing numbers of African nationals are trafficked into Southeast Asia to work in forced criminal operations. During a consultative forum held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa this week, experts detailed how transnational organized crime networks are luring vulnerable youth with false promises of high-paying jobs, only to imprison them in fortified compounds where they are forced to conduct online fraud. The rise of forced criminality ha

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

- African Union (AU) officials and human rights experts have issued a grave warning regarding a global human rights crisis as increasing numbers of African nationals are trafficked into Southeast Asia to work in forced criminal operations. During a consultative forum held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa this week, experts detailed how transnational organized crime networks are luring vulnerable youth with false promises of high-paying jobs, only to imprison them in fortified compounds where they are forced to conduct online fraud. The rise of forced criminality has become a sophisticated multi-billion-dollar industry. Victims from various African countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Ghana are reportedly being trafficked into countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Once there, their passports are confiscated, and they are held under the threat of violence. Maemo Machethe, Director of the AU’s Continental Operational Centre for Combating Irregular Migration, emphasized that this is no longer just a labor issue but a severe violation of human dignity. "Trafficking in persons for forced criminality is not just exploitation but a serious violation of human rights, which sometimes ends in the death of victims who are kept and isolated in inhumane scam compounds," Machethe stated.

some of the traffickers caught by Chinese police

Traffickers are increasingly using digital platforms, including social media and encrypted apps, to recruit victims. These individuals are often coerced into perpetrating pig-butchering scams, cryptocurrency fraud, and illegal gambling operations. Churchill Monono, Chair of the AU Permanent Representatives’ Subcommittee on Refugees, noted that many victims, in their quest for better livelihoods, find themselves transported to unknown destinations where they face torture, debt bondage, and extreme working hours sometimes up to 19 hours a day. The forum, held in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), concluded with a call for a unified continental framework. Key priorities identified include enhancing cross-border collaboration between African and Southeast Asian law enforcement. There is ensuring that victims who are forced to commit crimes are not prosecuted but instead receive protection and rehabilitation, and launching targeted campaigns to warn job seekers about the red flags of fraudulent overseas recruitment. As the scale of these scam factories reaches industrial proportions, the African Union is pivoting toward a more aggressive, coordinated strategy. Experts warn that without immediate intervention and stronger legislative reforms across member states, the convergence of cybercrime and human trafficking will continue to exploit the continent’s most vulnerable populations.

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