Bogotá, Colombia 18 January 2018 - On the invitation of UNODC's Country Office in Colombia and with the support of the Government of Colombia and the City of Bogotá, GLO.ACT's second annual internal field staff meeting opened in Bogotá on 18 January 2018. GLO.ACT will convene its second field staff meeting from 18-25 January 2018 and the meeting will build on the foundations of the first meeting in 2016.
UNODC has a long history of cooperation with the government of Colombia working on issues of common interest. Indeed, GLO.ACT is one if UNODC's flagship project with regards to fighting Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and the Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) and has two main features that Mr. Bo Mathiasen, UNODC Country Representative for Colombia referred to during his opening speech. He pointed out that the project is currently being rolled out in 13 selected target countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America as well as highlighting the willingness of national and local governments to participate in the coordination and implementation of the project, including following up on the results.
He went on to say that, "as human trafficking and migrant smuggling are global phenomena that involve organized criminal networks in countries of origin, transit and destination our responses to them have to be equally comprehensive". Therefore, the main objective of the second field staff meeting is to facilitate a dialogue and information exchange between Colombia and staff from GLO.ACT participating countries with a strong focus on regional and trans-regional links.
Addressing the participants, Mr. Miguel Camilo Ruiz, Director of Multilateral Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "For the Colombian government it is a great opportunity to be part of GLO.ACT. This gives us the opportunity to share our experience when fighting human trafficking and migrant smuggling." Meanwhile, Ms. Matilde Ceravolo, Deputy Chief of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union in Colombia was delighted to see a room filled with such a diverse group of people calling it a "mini United Nations". She echoed Mr. Mathiasen stating that "global issues need global action and this exchange of experiences means that we can really learn what works and what does not. I am delighted to see that a community of practice has been created."
The agenda for the second field staff meeting covers a broad range of topics from finalizing work plans for 2018, being updated on policy guidance and emerging issues and GLO.ACT country presentations on best practices at a public event on the prevention of TIP and SOM.
Concluding the opening session, Ms. Margaret Akullo, GLO.ACT Project Coordinator paid tribute to the field staff by saying, "The GLO.ACT field staff in many respects should be seen as highly valued assets for project delivery, very much owning the success of the project to date together with the government authorities that they closely engage with on a regular basis." She ended her speech expressing her appreciation to the Government of Colombia, to UNODC Colombia as well as acknowledging the generous support provided by the EU.
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. GLO.ACT works with the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach. 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