Durban, South Africa - 27 July 2017 - In South Africa, training is highlighted as one of the key interventions in the draft national policy framework on the Prevention and Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act. In order to respond to the capacity needs of criminal justice practitioners involved in the response to Trafficking in Persons (TIP), the Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) facilitated a three day workshop on TIP from 24 -26 July 2017.
During the opening ceremony of the workshop, H.E. Ambassador Marcus Cornaro, Head of European Union Delegation to the Republic of South Africa, said that: "Europe and South Africa face similar challenges with regards to migration, whether this is done legally or illegally." He went on to say that "in order to keep our liberal asylum policies alive we need to show that we can manage migration and Trafficking in Persons".
While Ms. Moipone Noko, Provincial Head of the National Prosecuting Authority in KwaZulu Natal, explained during her intervention that as much as KwaZulu Natal has done well in hosting the workshop, she expects the KwaZulu Natal team to monitor and evaluate the results of the training to see what kind of impact the workshop had.
The objectives and deliverables of the workshop were:
During the workshop, Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. John Jeffery said that: "A standardized training manual that includes social context and case law should be developed in order to streamline training programmes for South Africa."
The workshop covered the following subjects:
Speaking during the workshop, Mr. Greenwell Lympe, UNODC Capacity Development Officer in Zambia, said that: "Building the capacity of criminal justice practitioners on the prevention of TIP is of paramount importance if traffickers are to be arrested" and went on to explain that UNODC was looking forward to assisting the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development with the planned coordination workshop for the National Inter-sectoral Committee on TIP.
We are delighted, that following an invite by Ms. Dawn Coleman-Malinga Senior State Advocate, National Prosecuting Authority, Chairwoman of the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Task Team for Trafficking in persons, Mr. Banele Kunene, GLO.ACT's National Project Officer and officials from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, will attend a meeting of the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Task Team. The meeting is set to take place on 27 July 2017 and the aim of the meeting is to discuss the plan of action for the KwaZulu Natal Provincial Task Team for Trafficking in Persons.
Workshop participants included the National Prosecuting Authority (KwaZulu Natal), the South African Police Services, the Department of Social Development, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Health, the Department of Labour, the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the South African Inter-Sectorial Committee for Trafficking in Persons (NICTIP), the KwaZulu Provincial Task Team, civil society representatives and GLO.ACT project implementing partners.
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 the 13 countries to plan and implement strategic national counter-trafficking and counter smuggling efforts through a prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships approach.
For more information, please contact:
Banele Kunene
National Project Officer
banele.kunene@unodc.org
www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/
Email: glo.act@un.org
Twitter: @glo_act