Training Workshop on Data Collection, Management, Research, and Analytical Skills, Islamabad and Karachi

22 October 2021, Islamabad – The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized a two-day training workshop on data collection, management, research, and analytical skills in Karachi. This was the third and last training workshop on data organized for LEAs, under the project “Combatting Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants in Pakistan” - funded by the Government of Canada, through Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The overall aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the Federal Investigation for its fight against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM), the Police as well as the Social Service departments in improving prosecution of traffickers, smugglers, and protecting and supporting victims and witnesses, while upholding the rule of law and in recognition of human rights. The series of workshops expanded the knowledge of LEAs on data collection methods and their usefulness. The workshops stressed the importance of maintaining comprehensive data on HTMS and ensuring its accuracy for reporting for prevention purposes. The previous trainings were held in July and August 2021 for the Police and FIA officilas from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. In total, 82 officers (57 male, 15 females) from Police and the FIA attended the training. Over the two days, participants were able to enhance their understanding of HTMS, the difference between TIP/SOM, the human rights perspective, and standard indicators of TIP & SOM, guidance on data collection management, and reporting.

Ms. Shahida Gilani, National Programme Officer, UNODC Pakistan said “The UNODC’s mandate is to fight against illicit drugs, transnational organized crime, terrorism, and corruption. The organization is the guardian of most of the related conventions and one of those is the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three protocols (against trafficking in persons, smuggling of migrants, and trafficking in firearms). In Pakistan, we are working side by side with stakeholders providing legal and technical assistance in drafting specialized legislation and development of national policies and plans of action. These workshops are part of the technical assistance, organized in consultation with FIA.”  

During the sessions, Mr. Sardar Zaheer Ahmed, Director Anti-Human Smuggling, FIA highlighted the importance of data management in preventing crimes. In addressing the participants, the Director said, “the data collection and management is the foundation of preventing this crime and prosecuting the criminals. It is very important that data collection, as well as data sharing, meets the standards of data management. Understanding the why behind data collection helps encourage how the data is collected. These efforts are important in identifying gaps in existing strategies and making preventive measures. These workshops are important for our learning and our work. The facilitators and the trainers’ workshops are the technical experts providing a holistic overview of data management. We are hopeful that all participants will utilize this opportunity and get the benefit of this learning platform.”

The training workshops were facilitated by Specialists in social and data sciences. The training reinforced the importance of disaggregating TIP and SOM data, the need of understanding the difference between TIP/ SOM, the utility of effectively collecting, managing, sharing, and reporting the disaggregated data. With help of these workshops, the participants were able to understand the international perspective about data management.

 

The main objectives of the workshops were:

  • Understand trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants as two separate offenses – be able to explain the key differences between these crime types and their linkages
  • Know the provisions of the Pakistani law related to trafficking and migrant smuggling offenses, their application, and interpretation.
  • Understand the data collection tool developed in collaboration with the Federal Investigation Agency.
  • The importance of segregated and accurate data and its management.

 

The participants expressed their views about the trainings sessions as mentioned below.  

“As Officer of FIA, I am involved in data collection and management. In particular to TIP & SOM, the understanding of crime and having concrete knowledge of relevant tools is very important. This workshop helped me in both aspects. It enhanced my understanding about the crime and also familiarized me with the data collection indicators and tools.” -  Participant

 

“This opportunity of learning from the technical experts was very helpful to me. Before the training, I had some queries on data sharing and reporting. This training has enabled me to understand the standard indicators of data collection, reporting, and segregation. As an LEA Officer, this was a good learning platform for me. “ –Participant

 

 

 

For more information, please contact:

 

Ms. Shahida Gillani, National Programme Officer

Email: Shahida.gillani@un.org