Niamey, Niger 05 October 2020 – UNODC, under the framework of the Global Action to address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT-Niger), works on supporting the Government of Niger in the design and implementation of a national data collection and monitoring system on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM). As a fundamental step in developing this system, GLO.ACT accompanied the National Agency for the Fight against Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (ANLTP/TIM) in the process of engaging the main data providers from national institutions and civil society organizations through the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on data collection and sharing.
The signature of the MoU took place during Niger’s national day against trafficking in persons, celebrated every year on 28 September 2020. The ceremony of the signature was presided over by Francesca Maria Orsini, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Italian Embassy in Niger. In her speech, Ms. Orsini said that the signature of the MoU is a fundamental step in the process of developing a data collection and monitoring system and congratulated and encouraged ANLTP/TIM and its partners to continue to show their commitment. She also highlighted the importance of GLO.ACT project in the framework of bilateral relations and cooperation between Italy and Niger.
After the opening ceremony, the Director General of ANLTP/TIM signed the MoU, following which the document was also signed by the Prosecutor of Niamey, the Head of the National Gendarmerie and the representatives of three civil society organizations working to address TIP and SOM.
Through the MoU, the heads of the institutions representing some of the main data providers in Niger, have agreed on data sharing models as well as on a timeframe for data sharing and reporting with ANLTP/TIM. The signed MoU also represents the beginning of an open process which can bring together other national and non-state actors wishing to contribute to the design and development of a centralized data collection and monitoring system on TIP and SOM in in the country.
GLO.ACT was encouraged by the positive engagement of all relevant stakeholders and their interest to support ANLTP/TIM as the central institution in charge of collecting, analyzing and reporting data on TIP and SOM according to Art. 6 of Law 2010-86 on trafficking in persons and Art. 31 of Law 2015-36 on smuggling of migrants.
The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants – Niger (GLO.ACT-Niger) is a two-year (2019 - 2021), € 500.000 joint initiative by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MFA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). An earlier phase of the project (2015-2019) was funded by the European Union.
The project builds on a global community of practice set in motion in GLO.ACT 2015-2019 and assists the Government of Niger in targeted, innovative and demand-driven interventions: sustaining effective strategy and policy development, strengthening the criminal justice response, and regional and trans-regional cooperation.
This project is funded by the Government of Italy
