Bogotá, Colombia, 20 March 2018 - During the second half of 2016, UNODC and the Institute of Family and Welfare ( ICBF) engaged with 16 local government departments to raise awareness about trafficking in persons (TIP), especially the trafficking of children and adolescents. As a result of this engagement, departmental authorities signed six territorial pacts entitled "Territories committed to the eradication of trafficking in children and adolescents" to help make the crime of TIP more visible within the country.
It is in this context that, in the second half of 2017, UNODC and the ICBF committed to supporting local authorities on the implementation of the 5 activities included in each pact. These activities cover prevention, prosecution and victim assistance.
Under the framework of the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT), seven workshops were run in Leticia, Barranquilla, Cali, Medellin, Villavicencio, Arauca and San Andrés. The aim of the workshops was to ascertain the level of ownership of the territorial pacts by the departments and to evaluate the progress made with regards to implementation. In addition, action plans for 2017-2018 were agreed upon by the Committees to Combat Trafficking in Persons in each territory, with a specific focus on children and adolescents. The workshops themselves focused on the provision of additional awareness-raining tools, the protection and assistance provided to children and adolescents, as well as investigating and prosecuting TIP cases.
During one of the workshops, Ms. Ana Teresa Tirado, Sectional Prosecutor of the Childhood and Teenagers Unit of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, commented, "These workshops will help strengthen investigation and prosecution processes. Furthermore, this is a way to raise awareness with other institutions about our joint responsibility to not only work on prevention but also support each other during investigations and research."
Speaking on behalf of the ICBF, Ms. Rosa Leonisa Suarez, territorial liaison of the ICBF said, "Having TIP experts support the territories on this issue is very important to us. It helps to strengthen the work that we have been doing as they provide us with tangible tools that we will be able to use going forward. In addition, these workshops enabled us to have a clearer vision in relation to our duties with regards tackling this crime. Finally, they have also encouraged us to develop our activities based on local context and the needs of the local population."
To date, 16 out of 32 Colombian departments or local territories are now developing and working on specific activities to protect and guarantee the rights of children and adolescents with approved workplans for 2018.
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:
Mr. Carlos Andrés Pérez
GLO.ACT National Project Officer
carlos.perez@un.org
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act