Vienna, Austria – 21 November 2023 - The GLO.ACT Women's Network organized an informative and interactive webinar to enhance its members' knowledge and awareness of trafficking in persons (TIP) for the purpose of organ removal. Although human trafficking for organ removal is a lesser-known form of trafficking, it is a heinous crime that is unfortunately growing in scope. Nonetheless, as highlighted by Aimée Comrie, GLO.ACT Project Coordinator, 'it remains a blind spot in the anti-human trafficking movement, with too few resources being dedicated to the issue and subsequently very few victims being detected, and only a small number of cases being prosecuted successfully.'
The workshop began with Dr. Ibtisam Aziz, Chairperson of the GLO.ACT Women’s Network, opening the session. Aimée Comrie then introduced the issue of trafficking in persons for organ removal, emphasizing key statistics and global trends, drawing attention to the uniqueness and complexity of the crime, and providing a succinct overview of the applicable legal framework.
To offer practical guidance, Ilir Boçi, GLO.ACT Project Management Assistant, presented the recently launched UNODC Toolkit on the Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons for Organ Removal. He outlined how to identify key indicators of trafficking for organ removal. Aimée Comrie further enhanced the participants' capacity to combat the crime by providing an overview of lessons learned from prominent/landmark cases in Kosovo, Costa Rica, and the United Kingdom.
During interactive Q&A sessions, network members had the opportunity to share their experiences and ask questions. Additionally, participants were given a case study and guiding questions for their consultation.
The session, attended by over 45 members of the GLO.ACT Women’s Network, was conducted online via Zoom.
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The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants – Asia and the Middle East (GLO.ACT-Asia and the Middle East) is a four-year joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in up to five countries: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Afghanistan), Islamic Republic of Iran (I.R. of Iran), Republic of Iraq (Iraq), Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Pakistan). GLO.ACT-Bangladesh is a parallel initiative also financed by the EU and implemented with IOM.
The project builds on a global community of practice set in motion in GLO.ACT 2015-2019 and assists governmental authorities and civil society organizations in targeted, innovative, and demand-driven interventions: sustaining effective strategy and policy development, legislative review and harmonization, capability development, and regional and trans-regional cooperation. The project also provides direct assistance to victims of human trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and protection mechanisms. The project is fully committed to mainstreaming Human Rights and Gender Equality considerations across all of its activities.
The project is funded by the European Union.
To find out more about the Women’s Network and GLO.ACT, please check:
