Cárceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil - 14 July 2017 - On 5-6 July GLO.ACT and the National Secretariat of Justice and Citizenship, in partnership with the State Committee to fight Trafficking in Persons of Mato Grosso (CETRAP/MT), facilitated a course entitled "Approaches to Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants" at the auditorium of Fórum da Comarca de Cáceres.
The main aim of the course was to enhance the capacity and knowledge of government authorities and civil society with regards to Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM) as well as victim protection and assistance.
The course focused on:
Overall, the course created a space in which experiences and information on how to best address these crimes could be shared.
After the course, the Coordinator of the State Committee to fight Trafficking in Persons of Mato Grosso, Dulce Amorim, said that: "The course in Cáceres was very important because it helped the committee to strengthen prevention work, since we were able to bring together professionals from a broad range of sectors such as health, education, social assistance and public safety. Furthermore, with the support of GLO.ACT it was possible to give visibility to the activities that the committee is already carrying out in fight against these serious crimes."
The Course commenced with the launch of the 2017 Blue Heart Campaign by the State Committee to fight Trafficking in Persons of Mato Grosso (CETRAP / MT), which initiated a series of activities to be carried out during the month of July 2017, promoting awareness, solidarity, and mobilization in the fight against TIP in the state.
The speakers included representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, including the department against TIP, the department of migration, and the National Secretariat of Policies for Women, as well as representatives from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), academics, civil society, and from the Bolivian government. The 132 attendees included: psychologists, social workers, educators, military police, federal police, high way patrol police, border patrol, civil society, human rights and LGBTI activists, child protection services, among others. The participants came from the cities of Cáceres, Pontes and Lacerda, Porto Espiridião, Rondolândia, Vila Bela da Santíssima Trinidade, Cuiabá, Varzea Grande and Goiânia.
GLO.ACT is a four-year (2015-2019), €11 million joint initiative by the European Union 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) and reaches thirteen countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. GLO.ACT works with 13 countries, including Brazil, to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Fernanda Patricia Fuentes Munoz
National Project Officer
Liaison and Partnership Office (LPO) in Brazil
fernanda.fuentes@unodc.org
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act
[1] Law 13.344, promulgated on 6 October 2016.
[2] Law 13.445, promulgated on 24 May 2017.