IOM is conducting a series of on-site trainings in Peru at four
international borders used by thousands of people on a daily basis,
including irregular migrants, many of whom could be potential
victims of trafficking.

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vspace="1"> With support from the country's Institute for the
Study of Childhood and the Family (IDEIF by its Spanish acronym),
the "Cross-border Strategy" is providing information and training
on human trafficking and migrant smuggling. In addition, border
authorities and officials will be given the tools needed to combat
and prevent these crimes, including information on legislation
passed in January 2007 allowing for sentences of up to 25 years for
convicted traffickers.

The sessions, being held in the Peruvian border towns of Puno
(Bolivia), Tacna (Chile), Tumbes (Ecuador) and Puerto Maldonado and
Iñapari (Brazil - Bolivia), are also raising awareness
amongst 80 journalists, 80 immigration officials and police as well
as 120 local authorities and NGO staff from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Chile and Brazil.

Other events during the training include a press conference for
journalists from both sides of the border, training workshops for
immigration officials and police, and sessions with local
authorities in order to reinforce cooperation between countries and
to encourage bilateral agreements to combat human trafficking.

Peru is a country of origin, transit and destination for human
trafficking with a predominance of internal trafficking of women
for sexual exploitation.  Children and men are trafficked to
work in the mining and timber and agricultural sectors. There are
also high rates of human trafficking for domestic labour.  At
the international level, there have been cases of Peruvian women
taken to Argentina, Japan, Spain and other countries for sexual
exploitation.

IOM in Peru has been working since 2003 to combat human
trafficking through information and campaigns, training and
technical cooperation.  At the request of the Peruvian
government, IOM produced the technical draft for the National Plan
of Action on Human Trafficking, which was approved in July
2007.

IOM also created a human trafficking information and assistance
hotline in March 2006. Since then, the hotline has received some
10,000 calls, including 90 cases that are being investigated by the
authorities. IOM has also provided training to more than 3,000
people including officials, journalists, NGOs and members of civil
society.

For more information, please contact:

Juan Pablo Casapia

IOM Lima

Tel: +51.1.221.7209

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