Bogotá, Colombia, 31 January 2018 - As part of GLO.ACT's second internal field staff meeting, UNODC Colombia hosted an interagency meeting between the European Union (EU) and the three implementing agencies of GLO.ACT, namely UNODC, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The objectives of the meeting were to:
The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Tito Contreras Angarita, Cooperation Officer at the European Delegation to Colombia and Mr. Carlos Andres Perez, National Project Officer for GLO.ACT, UNODC Colombia.
During the meeting, IOM and UNICEF had the opportunity to learn more about the implementation of GLO.ACT on a global level as National Project Officers provided insights into project implementation in their selected target country. Representing UNICEF, Mr. Fredrik Spielberg pointed that that UNICEF was still working on some details with its government counterparts but that there was lot to be learnt from listening to the experience from other GLO.ACT countries. Following this, Mr. Contreras Angarita pointed out that it had become clear that "different spaces need to be created for different actors when implementing GLO.ACT in the target countries". He went on say, "These sort of dialogues are very important as we are keen for projects to avoid overlap and duplication." He concluded by pointing out that "the EU can become a bridge between local government and implementing agency". Speaking on behalf of IOM, Ms. Gaby Rengifo explained that Colombia was not a GLO.ACT implementing country for IOM but that they are nevertheless very keen to always engage with the project.
Meeting participants included representative from the EU, IOM, UNICEF, all 12 National Project Officers, UNODC HQ as well as UNODC Colombia.
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