This week, the Mexican Government promulgated the General Law to
Prevent, Sanction and Eradicate Crimes Related to Trafficking in
Persons and for the Protection and Assistance of Victims of these
Crimes.

The new Law supersedes the 2007 Law to Prevent and Sanction
Trafficking in Persons, and clearly defines the roles amongst the
three levels of government (executive, legislative and judiciary),
as well as the coordination mechanisms to prevent, investigate,
prosecute and sanction crimes related to trafficking in
persons.

With funding from the US State Department’s Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), IOM Mexico has
carried out several workshops to strengthen the capacities of state
authorities in Mexico for implementation of the new Law and of the
National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Persons
(NAP).

To date, IOM has trained 275 people, including legislators and
members of civil society organizations, in the Federal District and
in the states of Tlaxcala, Puebla and Hidalgo.

“Although to date, 20 Mexican states have adopted local
counter-trafficking legislation, these reforms vary in content and
effectiveness, and can cause coordination problems between the
federal and state levels. IOM has also noted that many key actors
at the state level face information gaps about the new federal
anti-trafficking General Law and its implications at the state
level,” explains Thomas Lothar Weiss, IOM Chief of Mission in
Mexico.

“The increased harmonization and coordination mechanisms
that the new Law promotes will enhance capacities to detect and
assist victims and to prosecute the crime, which has been one of
the authorities’ main challenges in recent years,” he
adds.

Under the new legislation, a victim’s consent is no longer
required to prosecute the crime, and for the first time, clients or
consumers can be prosecuted for soliciting services derived from
the exploitation of victims.

Media companies can also be held accountable for publishing
advertisements promoting services where human trafficking is
involved.

The Law also increases comprehensive protection and assistance
of victims through the creation of a Federal Fund for Victim
Assistance.

According to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission
(CNDH), an estimated 20,000 people are trafficked annually in
Mexico, which is a country of origin, transit and destination for
trafficking victims.

IOM Mexico has assisted a total of 185 victims of trafficking.
Some 70 per cent were cases of labour exploitation and 28 per cent
were cases of sexual exploitation. Fake adoptions and forced
marriages accounted for just 2 per cent. Over 60 per cent of the
traffickers were women, and in most cases the victims knew their
trafficker, who was either an acquaintance or a family member.

For more information, please contact



Hélène Le Goff

IOM Mexico

Tel +52 55 5536 3922

Email: "mailto:hlegoff@iom.int">hlegoff@iom.int