An IOM programme covering Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast,
Guinea, Mali and Senegal aiming to promote cooperation and
establish a network among civil society, law enforcement and the
judiciary to fight human trafficking has kicked off, representing a
step forward in inter-regional efforts to deal with the crime.

Funded by the Swiss Federal Office for Migration and IOM's 1035
Facility, the programme follows on the adoption of the joint
ECOWAS/ECCAS plan of action and multilateral cooperation agreement
on countering human trafficking in Abuja in July 2006. The plan of
action requires member states to implement specific measures to
improve their capacity in fighting human trafficking. The measures
include criminalizing human trafficking, protecting and supporting
victims, awareness raising, the creation of specialized
anti-trafficking units, cooperation between border control
agencies, enhancing data collection mechanisms and research as well
as establishing national task forces.

The programme will bring together 60 professionals from
different sectors in each country for training aimed at
strengthening their skills in protecting and assisting victims of
trafficking and in prosecuting traffickers.

Best practices in countering human trafficking in West Africa
will also be shared during workshops to be held in various cities
in the region and an operational manual will be prepared for
distribution to relevant national institutions.

For further information, please contact:

Pauline Querbes

Project Coordinator

IOM Bamako

Tel: + 223 229 76 98

E-mail: "mailto:pquerbes@iom.int">pquerbes@iom.int