Brasília, Brazil - 2 October 2017 - The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT) facilitated an International Seminar against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and the Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 19 and 20 September 2017. The main objectives of this seminar were to contribute to the assessment report of the Second National Plan to combat TIP as well as to consolidate inputs from federal and state level for the drafting of the Third National Plan to combat TIP. In addition to the seminar, a meeting of the National Anti-TIP network also took place on 21 September 2017. The aim of the network is to be able to exchange best practices as well as coordinate regional action.
During the seminar, Ms. Eurídice Márquez, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at UNODC said: "The challenge is to prevent crime, to try to keep people from falling into the hands of trafficking. How do you do this? By improving the living conditions of the population." In turn, the National Secretary of Justice and Citizenship, Mr. Astério Pereira dos Santos, referenced the new anti-TIP law promulgated in Brazil on 6 October 2016. He said: "The legislation is ready. What we need now, above all, is to make people aware of this reality". Referring to the new law, Ms. Márquez stressed that the measure aligns Brazil's legislation with the international standards set by the UN in responding to human trafficking.
The international seminar and the meeting of the National Anti-TIP network fall under the framework of the European Union's efforts towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings and the smuggling of migrants by assisting the Brazilian government in developing and implementing comprehensive national counter-trafficking and counter-smuggling responses.
150 participants were invited from all over the country to attend the international seminar. Participants included representatives from the tripartite coordination mechanism composed of the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety, the Secretariat for Human Rights, and the Secretariat for Women Policies; the National Committee against Trafficking in Persons composed of members of the government and civil society; the Interministerial group that monitors and evaluates the objectives of the National Plan - currently made up of 18 different ministries; the network of State Nuclei to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons, the Advanced Posts for Humanized Assistance to Migrants, the State Committees to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons, State Councils that address trafficking in persons, civil society organizations, research centres, representatives of international organizations and foreign embassies, as well as the National Coordination to Combat Trafficking in Persons belonging to the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety.
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 further information, please contact:
Ms. Fernanda Patricia Fuentes Munoz
National Project Officer
Liaison and Partnership Office (LPO) in Brazil
fernanda.fuentes@unodc.org
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act