Better coordination and cooperation amongst the Law Enforcement Agencies is the need of hour

4 May 2017, Islamabad - A two day roundtable meeting for Law Enforcement Agencies for better coordination and understanding of human trafficking and migrant smuggling issues was organized in Islamabad today. The event was jointly supported by the United States Department of State and Australian Government Department of Immigration and Border Protection.  Two more roundtables are in line to be organized in Quetta and Karachi during the month of May 2017.

Participants from the Federal Investigation Agency, Islamabad Police and National Accountability Bureau attended this two days meeting to recommend mechanisms for information sharing and better coordination. The concepts of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants were renewed along with utilization of international best practices on Law Enforcement and Narcotics interdictions by both national and international trainers. 

For better coordination and information sharing, it was stressed to review current relationship and coordination between the agencies to develop formal procedures including MoUs for referral of cases and other forms of cooperation. This will not only help in creating mechanism for joint task forces but also will ensure and encourage information and data sharing on regular basis.

Utilization of inter-agency resources was also emphasized where training facilities, including academies, modules and human resources can be utilized. Through this event UNODC has vowed to present international best practices for improving cooperation and coordination amongst the agencies for the investigation, prosecution and protection of victims in both Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants.