Santo Domingo, (Dominican Republic), 24 June 2022
Every year, millions of migrants, in a desperate search for a better and safer life, get into the hands of criminal smugglers who see them as an opportunity for high profits.
Last week, a migrant smuggling advisor from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held a mentoring session for professionals from law enforcement agencies in the Dominican Republic on how to investigate and prosecute migrant smuggling and aggravated migrant smuggling, including gender-based and sexual violence.
“It is necessary to consider the aggravating factors of the crime, in particular if there is a linkage to gender-based violence, in order to ensure that the human rights of migrants are respected throughout the investigation process. There is impunity for sexual crimes committed against migrants. We need an institutional and international response to curb impunity and inequality in access to justice.”, said Maria Biela Alonso, UNODC migrant smuggling advisor.
During the mentoring sessions, participants have improved their response to migrant smuggling and aggravated crimes on the ground by working with migrant smuggling case scenarios and engaging in field visits.
“If we think about the crime of smuggling of migrants as the mere crossing of borders, we put the migrant person at the centre of the investigation, instead of focusing on organized crime that brings profits to perpetrators and exploits vulnerability of victims and political instability in neighbouring countries.”, said Cabo Wendy Melisa Gomez Morillo, psychologist in the Investigation Division for Sexual Crimes and Domestic Violence of the Dominican Republic.
Under the umbrella of the STARSOM project, task forces on migrant smuggling and aggravated migrant smuggling will be created in Dominican Republic, Honduras and Costa Rica, and will engage in investigations led by the specialized prosecutors.
"During the mentoring sessions, we first identified the most common types of sexual violence suffered by migrant women in transit and in the Dominican Republic, and we then shared the relevant guidelines on legal assistance in criminal matters with the new STARSOM task force which will protect migrant population at risk, through organized police actions", added Ms. Morillo.
The Dominican Republic is an origin, transit and destination point for migrants from other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean on their way to other countries in South and North America.
This activity contributed to the SDG 5, SDG 10, SDG 16 and SDG 17 to achieve gender equality, reduce inequalities, advocate for access to justice and build strong partnerships, respectively.
STARSOM is funded by the Government of Canada through its Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program (ACCBP).
