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WORKSHOP ON NATIONAL LEGISLATION AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The First Workshop on National Legislation against Human Trafficking, organized by the Colombian Government in coordination with the Organization of American States (OAS) Department for the Prevention of Threats against Public Security, will be held in Bogotá, Colombia, August 21-22.

Human trafficking is an activity of transnational organized crime, which is growing in the Western Hemisphere. Recognizing the seriousness of this issue, the international community has clearly defined and banned these practices in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

Colombia ratified the Protocol in 2004 and is one of few countries in the region to have an adequate legal framework to fight this crime in an efficient manner. For this reason, and recognizing that human trafficking should be tackled through a combination of national measures, bilateral efforts and multilateral cooperation, it offered to host and support the meeting. Its goal is to exchange experiences at a regional level on issues related to development, adoption, implementation and enforcement of the law to confront this growing crime in the region. In order to raise awareness of the importance of passing legislation in accordance with international standards to confront this crime, the workshop is designed for law-making representatives from 18 OAS Member States, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, , Uruguay and Venezuela.

The meeting is being held within the framework of the activities carried out by the Trafficking in Humans Section of the OAS Department for the Prevention of Threats against Public Security, which facilitates the exchange of information, and provides training and support to the Member States in their promotion of policies to fight human trafficking.

The event will be opened by the Vice Minister of Interior, María Isabel Nieto Jaramillo, who is the Technical Secretary of the Inter-institutional Committee against Human Trafficking and by the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs, Adriana Mejía Hernández. Ambassador Alexandre Addor-Neto, Under Secretary for Multidimensional Security, will represent the OAS.

Other participants include representatives from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Colombia and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Reference: E-198/07