The National Committee Against Human Trafficking, with support from
IOM, is today presenting a procedures manual for the return of
children and adolescents victims of trafficking.

The Committee's President, Margarita Escobar, who is Vice
Minister of External Relations for Salvadorians Overseas welcomes
the new tool: "These guidelines are vital because they spell out
the most urgent needs of children and adolescents who have been
trafficked. Their return must be swift, but at the same time it has
to be humane and must respect their rights."

El Salvador is a country of origin, transit and destination for
human trafficking. The Salvadorian victims, mainly women and
minors, are trafficked inside the country and across international
borders, while victims from Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua are
trafficked into El Salvador. Most victims in the region are
trafficked for sexual exploitation, although there is evidence that
many are trafficked for forced labour.

The manual presented today is aimed at strengthening
inter-institutional cooperation for the return of children and
adolescents, who are the most vulnerable victims of human
trafficking.

IOM's regional counter-trafficking unit in San José, has
coordinated the drafting of similar protocols for all Central
American countries.

Funding for this initiative was provide by the US Department of
State Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration and the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

For further information please contact:

Agueda Marin

IOM San José

Tel: +506. 221 53 48 ext 119

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