IOM is supporting Ecuador’s first national symposium on human
trafficking and smuggling, which opens today in the Catholic
University of Ecuador in the capital Quito.

The three-day event, which will be attended by government
officials and civil society representatives from Ecuador and the
Americas, will highlight issues of gender, human rights, access to
justice and public policies in the fight against trafficking and
smuggling. 

It will also discuss the provision of training to those already
involved in combating human trafficking and raising Ecuadorian
public awareness of the issue.

A human rights unit attached to the Ecuadorian Ministry of
Interior is currently the only body overseeing the implementation
of the country’s National Plan against Trafficking, which
subscribes to the “3P” approach of prevention,
prosecution of traffickers and the protection of their
victims. 

According to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Interior, 187 cases of
human trafficking were reported in Ecuador between 2011 and 2012.
But only 11 cases were prosecuted and just five resulted in
convictions. IOM has been assisting the government’s efforts
to combat human trafficking in Ecuador since 2006. 

For more information, please contact: 

Jaime Paredes

IOM Quito

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

Tel.+593 9 3597322.