Brussels, Belgium - 27 February 2018 - On 6 February 2018, UNODC, IOM and UNICEF - the three implementing agencies for GLO.ACT - participated in the 5 th EU-UNODC project steering committee meeting held in Brussels, Belgium. Participating in the steering committee were European Commission (EC) representatives from the Directorate-General, International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), the Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs (DG Home), the European External Action Service (EEAS), EU Country Delegations, as well as UNODC, IOM and UNICEF staff.
The 5 th EU-UNODC project steering committee provided the three project implementing agencies with the opportunity to update EU colleagues on the progress made in terms of project implementation and the impact the project is starting to have across all 13 GLO.ACT target countries. The GLO.ACT team provided country updates, explained the type of activities that have been delivered in line with the six project objectives, outlined the outputs and, in some cases, the outcomes these activities have achieved, as well as provided a quick glance at what lies ahead.
Highlights included key updates on Egypt, Mali, Morocco, Niger and Pakistan - focus countries that generated a lot of interest and discussion during the committee meeting. EC colleagues took the opportunity to find out more about the status quo of Egypt's smuggling of migrants legislation, while other colleagues were particularly interested to find out more about Morocco's trafficking in persons (TIP) Law 27-14 and about a recent conference on TIP organized under the framework of GLO.ACT in Pakistan. There were updates also on assistance to victims of trafficking, with IOM speaking about a recently opened outreach and accommodation center providing services to vulnerable migrants in Bamako, Mali. UNICEF took the opportunity to also speak about an up-coming conference on restorative justice in Belarus in March 2018.
Having just hosted the recent GLO.ACT field staff meeting in Bogotá, the National Project Officer for Colombia and the EU Delegation took the opportunity to provide some feedback on the meeting and spoke about Colombia being a best practice example in terms of coordination between local and national government stakeholders in the fight against TIP and the smuggling of migrants (SOM). During the meeting, EC colleagues also asked some questions about the Venezuelan migrant crisis and how GLO.ACT implementing partners are responding to it. This enabled colleagues from UNODC to speak about how GLO.ACT supports the work of the Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU) in Brazil. The project steering committee meeting concluded after all country presentations were delivered, and a brief discussion on next steps was held with the project implementing agencies.
Attending the project steering committee meeting also provided the opportunity for UNODC HQ staff to meet with colleagues from the UNODC Office in Brussels, which is a liaison office to the European Union and its institutions. The meeting with the UNODC Brussels team ensured that GLO.ACT priorities and up-coming events requiring the support of the liaison office were discussed and planned. The liaison office continues to provide invaluable support to GLO.ACT's project management team.
The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), €11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.
For more information, please contact:
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act