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OAS to Train Law Enforcement Officers in Trafficking in Persons

  August 2, 2010

The Organization of American States (OAS), through its Department of Public Security (DPS), will begin its second phase of the training program, “Strengthening the Capacity of Law Enforcement Officials, Judges and Prosecutors in Central America, to Identify and Combat Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,” on August 4 in Panama. It is hoped that at least 45 Panamanian police and immigration officers, prosecutors and judges will receive the training.

The two-day program seeks to increase awareness among law enforcement officers of the crime of human trafficking; to strengthen the role of police, prosecutors’ offices and the courts in implementing laws to combat trafficking; to increase the exchange of information between agencies involved in combating human trafficking in Central-America; and to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement officers to protect victims.

Towards that end, the program, led by OAS anti-trafficking experts, will train law enforcement personnel in such areas as the difference between trafficking and smuggling; crime scene management; victim identification, assistance and protection; and standard operating procedures for immigration control. The program is funded in part by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Trafficking in persons (TiP) is a modern-day form of slavery and a violation of basic human rights involving not only coercive sexual exploitation, but also forced labor, involuntary servitude, and child soldiers, among others.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-285/10